SmartBoards and Deaf Students: Translating English text to ASL

One of the technologies that I was introduced to at the Deaf Technology Conference was the SmartBoard. WOW! I had never seen or used one of these before and was completely amazed! I attended a few different presentations and during two different ones the SmartBoard was used as part of the instruction for the presentation itself as well as used as an example of what teachers of the Deaf and hard of hearing could do with students, at all levels, in their classroom. One of the most useful tools that I was introduced to was the idea of using hyperliinks to connect "classmade" videos (video recordings of the actual students in the classroom using ASL to translate the books we are reading) to the exact phrase or word in the story, that has previously been scanned in to appear with pictured and words. The hyperlink provides a direct connection from the English language to ASL, all the while being created by the students themselves. This technology could enhance student learning by an unmeasurable amount. Showing my students how to read English by means of implementing their own signing is an innovative and very possible task! Technology like this makes me want to jump right into the classroom!

One of the technologies that I was introduced to at the Deaf Technology Conference was the SmartBoard. WOW! I had never seen or used one of these before and was completely amazed! I attended a few different presentations and during two different ones the SmartBoard was used as part of the instruction for the presentation itself as well as used as an example of what teachers of the Deaf and hard of hearing could do with students, at all levels, in their classroom. One of the most useful tools that I was introduced to was the idea of using hyperliinks to connect "classmade" videos (video recordings of the actual students in the classroom using ASL to translate the books we are reading) to the exact phrase or word in the story, that has previously been scanned in to appear with pictured and words. The hyperlink provides a direct connection from the English language to ASL, all the while being created by the students themselves. This technology could enhance student learning by an unmeasurable amount. Showing my students how to read English by means of implementing their own signing is an innovative and very possible task! Technology like this makes me want to jump right into the classroom!

Recently I attended a conference that was based solely on technology that would be beneficial for children who are Deaf and hard of hearing. The conference was extremely interesting and valuable. As I was taking part in the different classes offered, I often found myself coming back to this class and the importance of technology in every classroom. 

A few of the classes I attended incorporated the SmartBoard, hyperlinks directly to ASL video clips, TheraSimplicity, just to name a few. Of all the technologies that I was introduced to I was most impressed by the SmartBoard. This piece of technology is quite amazing to say the least. One of the classes that I attended over the long weekend that I was there, showed how to scan a children's book into the computer as a document, then have a student (preferably one that you are going to be reading the book with or other adult in the school/translator) translate specific parts of the story into American Sign Language, and then hyperlink the ASL video clips to the specific phrases in the story. This piece of technology allows the teacher of D/HH students to be interactive with their learning and actually see the story how it would be presented in their first language and then, if appropriate, learn or watch how the story would be signed or written in the English language. 

Overall, the conference allowed me to acquire a better understanding of just how important technology is and will continue to be in our student's education. Seeing how visual Deaf and hard of hearing students are and just how important this visual aspect is to their learning, it is obvious that technology can enhance their learning immensely.