The second Classroom Access Project pilot was implemented through partnership with Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta and Cerdon College, Merrylands NSW over Terms 3 & 4 in 2010, incorporating the model classroom concept and building on the learnings of Classroom Access Project 1.
“We’ve taken a collaborative approach to the Classroom Access Project at Cerdon College, which has really encouraged staff, students and parents to take ownership of the project. MAA’s involvement in the school’s existing mentoring program for hearing impaired students, and the introduction of a project wikispace, have been key in fostering engagement of hearing impaired students, enabling them to contribute to and gain further benefits from the project,”
- Media Access Australia Education Manager Anne McGrath.
CAP film
A captioned short film of the Classroom Access Project was made at Cerdon College to highlight the importance of access to captioned video and other media and improved sound for all students, with particular benefit for students with hearing impairment. This video is open captioned (OC):
Student discussion film
A short captioned filmed feedback session with the students with hearing impairment, facilitated by Media Access Australia Education Manager Anne McGrath, took place part-way through the project. This video is open captioned (OC) and audio described (AD):
CAP2 feeback
Responses from CAP 2 were overwhelmingly positive. As demonstrated below, the wide-range of people involved agreed upon the positive outcomes of the project:
"It was one of those projects that I immediately jumped at a chance to be involved in because we have a number of students who have hearing impairment, and we want to try and improve the outcomes for all of our students. So we needed, perhaps, to educate ourselves a little bit about how we could actually best meet their needs.”
- Patricia Baker, Principal
"It’s made me think a lot more about facing the students more directly and talking to them, not giving out bits of paper while I’m giving out instructions, stopped them talking when I’m talking, which you try to do anyway, but I’m a lot more conscious of it now”.
- Naomi Collimore, English Teacher
"(The project) made everyone aware of the hearing impaired students, teachers (are now) more aware of best practise for hearing impaired students”
- Anonymous teacher survey response
"Students pick up everything said with captions. They read along as well as listen which is good for all students, hearing impaired or not”.
- Anonymous teacher survey response
“It does help, because when we were in class yesterday, I found that, for me, it was easier. And I went home and decided, OK, I’m going to put captions on the TV and so I did, and it did help”
- Year 8 student
“I found that it was a lot easier, especially when a teacher was writing on the board and she wasn’t facing you, so you couldn’t lip-read. But I could still hear her perfectly fine because she had the little microphone on. So I noticed a big difference.”
- Year 10 student
Interested school communities are encouraged to consider implementing the CAP ideas in their schools; and further information can be requested:
Anne McGrath
Education Manager
anne.mcgrath@mediaaccess.org.au
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