7 Ways To Improve Online Learning For Deaf Students

More and more learning has moved online recently, which students have had to learn to adapt to. But the online learning environment can be challenging, particularly for those with special needs. For deaf or hard of hearing students, online learning can present a whole new set of challenges.

Luckily, there are several ways to improve online learning for deaf students. All you need to do is make sure to incorporate a few of these strategies into your education to ensure a deaf child can learn just as seamlessly as anyone else.

How Do Deaf Students Learn Online?
When it comes to remote learning for deaf students, you may be wondering how this is accomplished. It’s a good question!

Deaf and hard of hearing students learn through the same online platforms as other students. Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Skype, and Google Hangouts are some of the most popular platforms. Teachers connect with students in their homes to provide virtual instruction and lessons. What is great about these online platforms is that they can be used to teach kids one-on-one or in a group setting.

Transcripts and captioning are tools that help deaf students access online learning. Visual media is often used along with image descriptions. The truth is that most deaf students, whether online or in person, know what they need to succeed. Teachers simply need to have an open dialogue with these children and their families to understand how they can best access the information being presented.

How We Can Help Deaf Students
There are several things educators can do to ensure that deaf and hard of hearing students are included in lesson planning and delivery. Some of these things include:

• Expecting diversity. Teachers should understand that every child is unique and has strengths in different areas of learning. Deaf learners are a diverse group of students, and each has their own methods of communication and ways they feel most supported. Teachers should expect this type of diversity and work to meet the student where they’re at in order to give everyone an equal chance to learn.
• Don’t assume. Teachers should not assume they know what it means to be deaf or hard of hearing. Deafness is expressed in a variety of ways and children who are deaf are supported in different ways, too. Adding captions or overlays to videos are great tools, for example, but may not make online learning accessible to every deaf child.
• Don’t overload text. Often, deaf learners are expected to quickly process text at a rate faster than their peers. But this simply isn’t realistic. Also, many assume that deaf learners want everything put in writing verbatim, but this often provides way too much text for them to process in a small amount of time.

How Can A Deaf Student Be Included In The Classroom?
The fact of the matter is that inclusive teaching has benefits for every learner, not simply deaf or hard of hearing students. Accessibility with remote learning methods is important, and teachers can accomplish it through:

• Staying visible. The speaker's face should be visible at all times. If you’re the speaker, make sure a light is shining on your face rather than behind you. Talk at a steady pace and take pauses between points that you deem to be important.
• Doing introductions. If someone is speaking for the first time, make sure they are introduced to the whole class.
• Having quality audio. Teachers should use a headset with a microphone in order to ensure the sound quality is high for all hearing students.
• Finding out about assistive tech. Teachers can work with deaf or hard of hearing students to find out what assistive tech they may have at home. They may have cochlear implants or hearing aids that help, and teachers can ask how to factor these into lessons.
• Checking auto-subtitling. Auto-generated subtitles should always be checked to ensure accuracy for learners. If the system being used isn’t accurate, there may be other approaches that can be introduced, such as a remote captioner or notetaker. Most online learning platforms have space for notes to appear for deaf or hard of hearing users.
• Bringing in an interpreter. American Sign Language interpreters can also be used to improve accessibility. If an interpreter is being used, it’s important that the deaf or hard of hearing student knows how to pin them on-screen so they’re always visible during lessons.
• Creating transcripts. Transcripts of each lesson should be sent out to every learner after its conclusion. There are apps that can be used to generate editable transcripts of lessons to help.

When sharing information through an online platform for a presentation, also remember to:

• Work at a pace all learners can follow that allows enough time to read, watch, listen, and understand.
• Keep slides simple and don’t crowd them with text.
• Send any prerequisite or supporting information in advance of a presentation.
• Record each lesson to ensure it can be viewed by anyone at a later time at their own pace.

Online learning puts demands on all students, but particularly those with special needs. Young learners of all stripes need more support through online learning as they develop the skills they need to manage the new world of online school.

Featured image by Annie Spratt on Unsplash