Classroom Access Project promises better deal for deaf students

Students watching captioned DVD

The Classroom Access Project (CAP), the first pilot of its kind in Australia, is designed to maximise the learning of deaf or hearing impaired students in a mainstream setting by using a mix of technologies, including captions.

The project aims to set a benchmark in best practice for meeting the needs of hearing impaired students, particularly in the context of the increasing use of audiovisual resources in Australian classrooms, and is an initiative of MAA.

Importance of classroom access

MAA’s Education Manager, Anne McGrath, said deaf students were often denied full access to education because of poor sound quality, insufficient visual information and the use of audiovisual materials without captions. While some mainstream schools had implemented technological solutions, Ms McGrath said, “a customised approach, specific to these students’ needs, is required”. 

Teacher wearing Soundfield system microphone

How the model works

“The ‘model classroom’ involves the merging of technologies,” said Ms McGrath. These include:

• Captioned audiovisual resources
• An Interactive White Board (IWB)
• A Soundfield amplification system and the student’s own FM devices
• Supported by MAA’s database of educational captioned resources, the Accessible Education Database.

Student with hearing aid watching captions

The interplay of technology

The IWB is used to display audiovisual content with captions as well as other visual content, driven by a computer and supported by downloadable captioned resources.

The teacher uses a microphone to transmit the sound directly to the students’ hearing aids or cochlear implant, which provides the students – along with their classmates – with greater quality sound and clarity, ensuring they have full access to the entire lesson.

Pilot locations

The CAP was first ‘tested’ in Term 1, 2010 at La Salle Catholic College in Bankstown, and will soon be rolled out at Cerdon College in Parramatta.

Teacher with Soundfield microphone around neck, with class