3/11/2004
18
Mainstream Educational Software (It's Effective with Deaf Children, Too!) (T10B)
nRosemary Stifter
Laurent Clerc National
n Deaf Education Center

Email: rosemary.stifter@gallaudet.edu
nNancy Topolosky

Thursday, 6/26/03 -- 10:00 AM
Location: LBJ [060] 1510

Strand: Using Technology to Support Learning
Type: Formal    Audience: K-12

Summary:   Since there is little software specifically designed for elementary deaf children it does not mean we need to stop our search. This presentation will take a discerning look at good mainstream educational software which can be used effectively with Deaf children.
Since there is little software specifically designed for elementary deaf children it does not mean we need to stop our search. This presentation will take a discerning look at good mainstream educational software which can be used effectively with Deaf children.
Some educators of deaf and hard of hearing students shun the idea of using software developed for hearing students because of accessibility issues. But you'll find that regular, mainstream software is the best software, even for deaf students. Much of the software created especially for deaf children is mediocre in design, presentation and content. All children deserve and want quality interactive experiences, and much of what works for the general population, will work for deaf children, too. Last summer, the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center conducted a software evaluation workshop in which teachers and staff evaluated educational software and its application to their grade level and/or content area. Some of the software reviewed were specifically for deaf students but most were mainstream software titles. They discovered software that is engaging, intuitive, visual, structured, challenging, motivating, or interactive and can meet their instructional needs regardless if it was not completely accessible to deaf students. This presentation will take a first hand look at some of educational software products designed for hearing students that we found can be effectively used with deaf students and we will discuss what to look for when you begin your search for appropriate software for your deaf students.