Class Act: Using This Site

This site contains a large amount of information intended to improve existing teaching practice regarding “access” to learning for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in postsecondary classrooms. To do that we have clustered the information in a series of links; you’ll find these links on the right and at the bottom of most pages. Each of those links is briefly described below.

NOTE: The handout at the left provides you with steps in a guided tour that you can print and follow to explore the entire site.

This section will be of interest to all users of the site. It contains:

An explanation of the principles of Universal Design incorporated into the design of this web site to make it as accessible as possible to all individuals.
A detailed explanation of special features for deaf, hard-of-hearing, and blind and low vision users.

This section is intended for classroom teachers with deaf and/or hard-of-hearing students in their classes, for support service providers (interpreters, tutors, notetakers, and captionists), for those managing or coordinating support services at your university, for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, and for parents. It contains:

The core of the entire website, a large database (accessible through almost 40 separate pages) of information containing challenges that you may face in working with deaf and/or hard-of-hearing students, and suggested strategies you can follow to address those challenges.
Videotape recordings of students commenting specifically on the individual challenges and strategies presented on these pages. (NOTE: if you have problem accessing the videotape segments, please refer the Help File for Viewing Class Act Videos.)
Handouts and special, helpful ‘tools.’ Some are intended to be printed and used as class handouts for all students in your classes, while others are tools that reinforce effective teaching strategies.

The discussion board is intended primarily for teachers; it provides a method for the exchange of ideas regarding the material at the web site. It contains:

Support for interactive discussions on topics related to access for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Faculty can post questions and can comment on issues raised by others.

We encourage all users of the site to view these videotape segments, as they provide direct comments from students who face access issues on a daily basis. Here you can view:

Videotape recordings of students discussing their experiences in accessing instruction from hearing faculty.

These recordings are of particular interest for classroom teachers who seek the perspective of other teachers who have ‘been there.’ Here you can view:

Videotape recordings of faculty commenting on their experiences with deaf and hard-of-hearing students in their classes.

This area includes a collection of basic sign language, a piece of animated software for your PowerPoint slide shows, and convenient collections in one location of all the videos and handouts that appear at other locations throughout this site.

This features allows you to search the Class Act site.

The site map provides an overall picture of the web site and is of potential interest to all users.

Those with an interest in the history of the project and the sources of funding will find those data on this page. This page:

Summarizes the grants received by the project directors, and records the history of the larger Project Access activities which includes the Class Act web site.

We strongly encourage all users of the site to use this button, which opens an e-mail window, to communicate with those responsible for this project. We are interested in any and all feedback on your thoughts regarding the site.

Universal Design provides a grand schema for providing a broad range of services and products, and for that reason, these topics will be of interest to anyone using the site.

This page provides an explanation of Universal Design, historical information, and details of how Universal Design is being applied in education. Finally, references on the topic, and links to related websites, are included.