The Classroom Access Project (CAP) operated for 20 weeks in both trial schools, which provided necessary longevity to test the concept of access to captioned video and other media and improved sound in mainstream schools.
Access to captioned video and other media for students with hearing impairment can be challenging due to the increased use of online curriculum resources to support the curriculum, and also a need to upskill teachers in the use of captions.
There are a range of organisations and interactive hubs which are valuable for teachers who work with students who are Deaf or have hearing impairment.
Visit Australian Curriculum website; ACARA also provides specific information about student diversityincluding students with disability.
Audiovisual resources have become integral to the classroom. A high percentage of these materials are used to support the curriculum, yet the access barriers for many students that this presents are not being adequately addressed by all states and systems.
Advances in technology have seen the concept of learning escape the confines of the classroom, however teachers need to ensure that BYOD and other devices or equipment in the classroom don’t pose a barrier for students with diverse learning needs. Accessibility features may need to be enabled on the devices.
To achieve best practice, modelling accessible use of media in your school communities can be facilitated by:
The theme of the conference for teachers, led by teachers, was ‘Teachers driving school improvement’. Over 60 papers, workshops and poster presentations from teachers, principals and researchers were presented. Some of the topics included collaborative professional communities and the use of new technology for real-time data collection.
cap that! asks educators to become Captions Champions, where they are provided with a kit of information to learn about captions, promote them to colleagues and introduce them into their lessons. We recruited 577 Captions Champions this year, which well and truly topped last year’s 375.
This announcement was made at yesterday’s National Schools Disability Stakeholder Forum: Australian Schooling Promoting Equity and Excellence,a forum with 65 stakeholders from the disability and education sectors.
Of key interest to the forum was the $200 million More Support for Students with Disability initiative, the development of a nationally consistent definition of disability, and the Australian Government Review of School Funding.
