Hearing Impairments

This paper describes Project LITERACY-HI, an ongoing 3-year federally funded study of the benefits of electronically enhanced text for mainstreamed students with hearing impairments. Preliminary information documents the ongoing difficulties with reading experienced by most students with hearing impairments. The project is creating electronic versions of content area textbooks, which include multimedia resources that support the reader's comprehension. Specifically, the project is: (1) identifying the types of electronic text enhancements desired by these students; (2) exploring factors associated with appropriate and effective text enhancements; (3) investigating effects of electronically enhanced materials on students' literacy skills and academic achievement; and (4) examining whether this type of assistive technology can be realistically implemented in general education classrooms. Application of the electrotext authoring system to enhance one story is described. Extensive deta..1 and analysis on how one student (in a pilot study with six students) used the system during three sessions is provided. Preliminary conclusions include: it was relatively easy for students to learn the basic computer operations, and students often needed to be guided to use the additional resources, especially the text-based resources. Continued refinement and further testing is planned for the project's second year. (Contains 21 references.)