Hearing+Impaired+and+Web+2.0+Vodcasting_Video+Conferencing


 * The Hearing Impaired and Web 2.0 Vodcasting/Video Conferencing **by Wayne Long (Summer II 2012)

There are many technology challenges facing disabled students. Now more glaring then those faced by students who are somewhat to completely hearing impaired. As technology has advanced over the years to help disabled students one group that seems to have been left behind is the hearing impaired. Having realized this potential problem school districts are now scrambling to incorporate Web 2. 0 tools for the hearing-impaired into their lesson plans. One way this is being done is through Vodcasting and video conferencing. Vodcasting has been proven effective in teaching a foreign language to hearing impaired students. The lessons are videos in sign language which explain the purpose of the material to the study are a quiz or exercise. One of the biggest benefits is the ability to pause or reply to video. Another benefit is the many ways teachers can exploit visual means. For example they could record a lecture in sign language, use a desktop PC, a White Board, are a PowerPoint presentation containing support and explanations and sign language videos. A barrier in all of this could very well be hearing impaired students feeling left out as they are sitting in front of a computer while other students are interacting with the teacher. I am not sure the student can move beyond this barrier on their own. I feel they would need the help of the school district. This was done in Kentucky when a school district there saw the need to move from Vodcasting to video conferencing. With video conferencing schools are able to share their interpreter with other schools allowing hearing impaired students from different schools to connect with each other and thus become part of the lesson. I would have to agree with Deby Trueblood’s assessment the video conferencing as part of the answer to teaching the hearing impaired. This is because sign language is so visual and we need to empower teachers and students with visual technology that will assist them in achieving the highest levels possible. M.D. Lytras et al. (Eds.): WSKS 2010, Part II, CCIS 112, pp. 514–521, 2010. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010 [] []
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