What is Video Conferencing and how can it be used for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing population??

The Deaf and Hard of Hearing population is small relative to the hearing population.  Many of these students are being mainstreamed which can lead to a feeling of isolation.   With Video Conferencing we can connect the Deaf and Hard of Hearing students with each other and create a learning environment that is fun!   The same can be done with the general population.

Pictured is the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf using this technology now to connect their deaf students with other students around the world.  Its not brand new technology but it is under used technology that could change our world.  

www.wpsd.org/Images/p_video.jpg

Here is a picture of U.S. and Indonesia students interacting over video conferencing from one country to another.        These students do not have a hearing loss and are benefiting from the usage of Video Conferencing that same way that a deaf or hard of hearing person would. 

Below is a picture of another class connecting 56 miles apart via video conferencing using NASA Digital Learning Network. 

Exploration of Social Media

Video conferencing has become more popular than ever.  Many communication methods have been developed by enterprising webmasters to link two individuals face to face and change the way we think about social media.  While this method of communication was developed primarily for social networking, there is a great potential for students to advance their skills in English while using their native language for communication, especially student that are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.  Click on the video link below to see a brief explanation of social media:

Youtube.com

There are many different social media interfaces available.   

How can we use this tool in a meaningful way??? 

Video conferencing can be used to teach English to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing population by connecting with other Deaf or Hard of Hearing classrooms.   A weakness of some isolated Deaf and Hard of Hearing programs is the lack of teachers for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing that are fluent in American Sign Language.   Sometimes Deaf adults in the community can serve as role models for these students.   They can sign stories in their native language, American Sign Language (ASL).  If we connect these students with others who are fluent in ASL it will lead to an increase in the deaf child's first language (L1) abilities which in turn will assist the deaf child with learning English as a second language (L2).   This is just one advantage of using this technology. 

Lessons that can be taught through video conferencing are unlimited for all ages.    Some ideas for the High School age students are as follows:

• Team teaching two classes to develop a debate over current issues via video conferencing.
• Have a "Book Club" unit and the two classes can discuss what they have read.   Focusing on different elements of the book such as the climax leading to the plot.  
• The two classes (depending on the size) can participate together in a play.    I currently have an English class with one student and another English class with 3 students.   Those English classes  in conjunction with another participating Deaf and Hard of Hearing class would allow us more opportunities for interaction among peers.
•  One issue among ASL users can be the limited access to learn new signs for new words if there is not a strong Deaf community to support these learners nearby.  Connecting with classrooms from all over the nation will allow multiple opportunities to learn new signs to express new concepts.   Everyone will benefit from the increased interaction through the social network. 
• For more ideas and lesson plans for all age groups visit http://k-12.pisd.edu/distance_learning/vidconf.htm 

Lesson plan for Romeo and Juliet .doc  

This website is designed to connect users together for video conferencing.   If you are interested in working collaboratively with another teacher throughout the United States or around the world using this technology click the following link:  http://www.cilc.org/c/education/academic_classes.aspx 

One very popular video relay system is Skype.  Skype is a free internet based software that can be installed in most computers and mobile devices.  This method of video conferencing is open to anyone who has access to a computer.    Anyone can get an account and use it to hook up with other classrooms to intercat and learn from one another.  

Purple Communication has a copyrighted program called Hands on VRS.  This program provides for direct communication bewtween two parties using either a computer with the software or device provided by Purple Communications.  Because there is no interpreter the communication is considered "point to point" with no third party involved in the communcation dialogue.  Unlike Skype, Purple was developed with the primary intent that Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing individuals could communicate directly without third party interpret services.  In fact, Purple Communications has offered WiFi devices to Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing individuals free of charge.  While Skype is free as well, it is primarily software based over the internet and with no hand held WiFi devices available.

YouTube.com

Sorenson is another company that has invested in working with the Deaf community to connect them directly to communicate with one another.  

References

http://www.YouTube.com

http://k-12.pisd.edu/distance_learning/vidconf.htm 

http://www.cilc.org/c/education/academic_classes.aspx

http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/home

http://www.sorensonvrs.com/

http://www.purple.us…Pages/VideoRelay.php

Image References

 http://edtech2.boise…/502/conceptmap.html 

 http://en.wikipedia.…i/Video_conferencing

 http://www.wpsd.org/Images/p_video.jpg