Teachers' DEN (Deaf Educators' Network)

Captions in the Community

The Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education is thankful to AMC 17 in Indianapolis for its collaboration to show the Lego Movie 2 on Feb. 24, 2019, with open captions. We had a sold-out show! The Center will continue working with local theaters to bring open captioned movies to children who are deaf and hard of hearing and their families. If an open captioned movie is not available, there is technology available for increased accessibility in movie theaters. The Described and Captioned Media Program describes the various systems  available to movie goers.

Captions in Schools

Visual media that is actively used in schools must be equally accessible. This includes visual media in curriculum, assessments, to supplement educational content and all audio-visual components of school websites and content portals. DCMP.org has a wealth of information regarding captioning, but it also has a library of described and captioned media that is available to be streamed anytime at no cost. Many educational topics are available and some even contain lesson plans. If schools need accessible visual media, they can conduct a search and find content on a myriad of topics. The library can be used for self-study as well as for enjoyment. 

For teacher- or student-created content, Amara.org is a free resource to caption YouTube videos. Clips is a speech-to-text app that can be downloaded and used for videos created using iOS applications.

Schools can start up “caption clubs” to assist teachers with captioning materials that they frequently use. Learning to caption is a great skill and can turn into a rewarding career. 

Captions on the Go

Advances in technology has made it easy to have captioning with us at all times. From needing to have access to a quick
conversation or to caption a presentation, check out these free tools that are ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Ava

Microsoft Translator

Skype Translator

Live Transcribe

Google Slides

For additional information about captioning, speech-to-text or accessibility laws, contact the Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education at skiefter@isdh.in.gov or 317-232-0971. 

TACKLIN’ Assessment

TACKLIN’ AssessmentTherapists Actively Consulting & Knowledgeably Leading INdiana

Psychometric Data: Misunderstanding and Misuse

Assessment requires forethought, expertise and knowledge of how to choose the tools used and interpretation of the results. Students who have limited access to language as well as children with delayed  language development may present as lower functioning than their true abilities. Educators should use caution when interpreting results for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. This is especially true for those who may be misidentified as having intellectual challenges. Sometimes we find that these challenges impacting their acquisition of language and subsequent skill development may be due to other factors. Some of those factors could be lack of opportunities to develop language, such as poor access to language in the environment (e.g. amplification, skilled interpreter, etc.), lack of typical peer language models and limited enriching educational experiences.

A Case Conference Committee decision cannot be made on one statistic alone. Because people, not instruments, make decisions, the instrument is only as good as the clinician using it.

Qualified clinical judgment plays a critical role!

  

A … common misuse of classification concerns misleading assumptions regarding precision of scores. ... Although the statistical reliability of most scales … is well established before the test is published, it is still important … that professionals carefully consider the possible statistical error in any score, the variability in scores across different tests, and the importance of the [student’s] physical limitations, motivation, and cultural background.  

-Schalock et al. (2010, pp. 81-82)

… the knowledge required to  answer the verbal questions, for example, gets in the way of measuring the child’s ability to think (intelligence)...-Jack Naglieri

I was taught that cognitive ability tests measure attainment, the sum of formal and informal learning experiences and  opportunities. -Mark Shinn