Accessibility In The Classroom Part 1
Today I am beginning a series of posts and podcasts centered around accessibility in the classroom. I have spent nearly twenty years as an educator and this topic is becoming more of a passion to me than ever before. I think part of it stems from what I have witnessed students and colleagues struggle with over the course of my career and part of it ties into the multitude of resources we have available to us that we are not using effectively.
With each post I am going to try to tie some research and resources in so you can immediately make changes to benefit your students. These changes are things that you can do to help your students with disabilities, impairments or medical constraints. They are also changes that can help all learners in your classroom.
I want to go beyond that with these posts as well. I want you to keep in mind all the stakeholders that may need access to your resources and materials. Some of these changes can be beneficial to your colleagues, supervisors, parents/guardians and anyone else that might need to use your materials. We want all stakeholders, typical and atypical to have equal access to the materials.
When it comes to preparing materials and lessons for your classroom I want you to keep this statement at the front of your mind.
How do we do that? That is what I want to cover with these posts
While contemplating these posts I came across a tweet that lead me to an article that really drives this home and actually is going to lead into the first topic I want to share.
The article mentioned in the post drives home the point so well that I could almost insert the entire thing into this post. Instead, I am going to encourage you to read the article for yourself and let it sink in a little bit.
Now that you have taken the time to read that article, and processed it a little bit, why don't we apply it to the classroom. What are some proactive steps you can take today to make your classroom more accessible for those with hearing loss or other hearing challenges?
First on the list is to use the microphone. If one is available, use it. As the article pointed out, the microphone is not for you, it is not to make you louder. The microphone is for the audience, so that they can clearly hear and participate in the learning. As the article points out, the sound is much more clear when coming through speakers and allows your voice to fill the space equally. Not only should you use the microphone, but you need to insist that anyone speaking in your classroom, including students, use the microphone as well. Explain why you are using the microphone, not because the principal says you need to, but because it gives everyone an equal opportunity to hear and learn.
I know some of you think you are loud enough that a microphone isn't necessary. Think about this, if you are at the front of the room trying to project enough for the back row to hear you, what is the front row experiencing? Realistically, the back row still can't hear you, the front row feels like they are being yelled at, so the middle section is the only group able to gain anything from your lesson. So what it amounts to is you lose even more of your audience when you try to "talk loud enough for everyone to hear you."
The microphone allows you to talk more quietly, yet fill the room fully. This puts everyone on more equal ground for learning.
But there are added benefits to using a classroom audio system. By distributing your voice equally around the classroom, it adds to the proximity effect.
What do I mean?
Have you ever noticed that the further you are away from some students, the greater the tendency for them to not pay attention or act out in some cases? Some of this has to do with them not being able to hear you as well (yes some has to do with the fact that you are not close them) when you are farther away from them. This is when you classroom management strategies kick in and you move closer to the students to curtail the disruption or to help them refocus. By using your microphone it is like you are always right beside them even though you may be working your way around the room. So one of the added benefits of using a classroom audio system is a decrease in discipline issues.
Here is a link to a white paper on the Benefits of Classroom Audio Systems. Granted it is distributed by one of the manufacturers, but provides some great additional information to the discussion.
Along with the benefits, there are abuses that can occur in the classroom with an audio system. If you have the volume up too high it can have the opposite of the intended effect. One way to test the volume is to walk around the room as you are talking and if you hear an echo or get feedback, you need to turn it down. You should be have the volume at a level that is comfortable around the room and not overwhelming to anyone. Your voice should be consistent coming from you and the speakers. If you are a loud talker, this may force you to back off a little bit.
Some other things to keep in mind: Never yell into the microphone and never reprimand a student through your classroom audio system. Both diminish your effectiveness and destroy your relationship with your students.
What if you don't have a classroom audio system? I would begin to look for grants to fund that for your classroom or ask your district what their plans are for that. There are ways to link the funding of these systems to your federal programs budgets because of the impact it is shown to have on reading.
In addition to using a classroom audio system, there are other ways to make your classroom more accessible for stakeholders with hearing impairments. So if you don't have a classroom audio system, the next post will provide some resources and ideas for you.
I don't want you to think I am advocating an either/or situation here. I believe we should provide both the classroom audio system and use the tips, tricks and tools in the next post to enhance our lessons for all learners.
Thank you for reading The Cluttered Desk. You can find me on Twitter @jasonbengs. Please feel free to comment on the post and share your ideas with me. If you found any value in this post, please share it with others.
With each post I am going to try to tie some research and resources in so you can immediately make changes to benefit your students. These changes are things that you can do to help your students with disabilities, impairments or medical constraints. They are also changes that can help all learners in your classroom.
I want to go beyond that with these posts as well. I want you to keep in mind all the stakeholders that may need access to your resources and materials. Some of these changes can be beneficial to your colleagues, supervisors, parents/guardians and anyone else that might need to use your materials. We want all stakeholders, typical and atypical to have equal access to the materials.
When it comes to preparing materials and lessons for your classroom I want you to keep this statement at the front of your mind.
Don't Assume! Ensure!Whatever you do, don't assume that there is no one in your audience that has a disability or impairment. The majority of issues are not visible, and of the 7.5 billion people in the world, over 1 billion of them will need accessibility options at some point in their lifetime. So never assume that no one needs accessibility options for your materials, consider it a given. Instead you should ensure that you are making your materials available to all stakeholders.
How do we do that? That is what I want to cover with these posts
While contemplating these posts I came across a tweet that lead me to an article that really drives this home and actually is going to lead into the first topic I want to share.
A Note From Your Colleagues With Hearing Loss: Just Use a Microphone Already https://t.co/sPHeMnZoqu via @chronicle // Attention scientists giving presentations at conferences.— Dr. David Shiffman (@WhySharksMatter) March 27, 2019
The article mentioned in the post drives home the point so well that I could almost insert the entire thing into this post. Instead, I am going to encourage you to read the article for yourself and let it sink in a little bit.
Now that you have taken the time to read that article, and processed it a little bit, why don't we apply it to the classroom. What are some proactive steps you can take today to make your classroom more accessible for those with hearing loss or other hearing challenges?
First on the list is to use the microphone. If one is available, use it. As the article pointed out, the microphone is not for you, it is not to make you louder. The microphone is for the audience, so that they can clearly hear and participate in the learning. As the article points out, the sound is much more clear when coming through speakers and allows your voice to fill the space equally. Not only should you use the microphone, but you need to insist that anyone speaking in your classroom, including students, use the microphone as well. Explain why you are using the microphone, not because the principal says you need to, but because it gives everyone an equal opportunity to hear and learn.
I know some of you think you are loud enough that a microphone isn't necessary. Think about this, if you are at the front of the room trying to project enough for the back row to hear you, what is the front row experiencing? Realistically, the back row still can't hear you, the front row feels like they are being yelled at, so the middle section is the only group able to gain anything from your lesson. So what it amounts to is you lose even more of your audience when you try to "talk loud enough for everyone to hear you."
The microphone allows you to talk more quietly, yet fill the room fully. This puts everyone on more equal ground for learning.
But there are added benefits to using a classroom audio system. By distributing your voice equally around the classroom, it adds to the proximity effect.
What do I mean?
Have you ever noticed that the further you are away from some students, the greater the tendency for them to not pay attention or act out in some cases? Some of this has to do with them not being able to hear you as well (yes some has to do with the fact that you are not close them) when you are farther away from them. This is when you classroom management strategies kick in and you move closer to the students to curtail the disruption or to help them refocus. By using your microphone it is like you are always right beside them even though you may be working your way around the room. So one of the added benefits of using a classroom audio system is a decrease in discipline issues.
Here is a link to a white paper on the Benefits of Classroom Audio Systems. Granted it is distributed by one of the manufacturers, but provides some great additional information to the discussion.
Along with the benefits, there are abuses that can occur in the classroom with an audio system. If you have the volume up too high it can have the opposite of the intended effect. One way to test the volume is to walk around the room as you are talking and if you hear an echo or get feedback, you need to turn it down. You should be have the volume at a level that is comfortable around the room and not overwhelming to anyone. Your voice should be consistent coming from you and the speakers. If you are a loud talker, this may force you to back off a little bit.
Some other things to keep in mind: Never yell into the microphone and never reprimand a student through your classroom audio system. Both diminish your effectiveness and destroy your relationship with your students.
What if you don't have a classroom audio system? I would begin to look for grants to fund that for your classroom or ask your district what their plans are for that. There are ways to link the funding of these systems to your federal programs budgets because of the impact it is shown to have on reading.
In addition to using a classroom audio system, there are other ways to make your classroom more accessible for stakeholders with hearing impairments. So if you don't have a classroom audio system, the next post will provide some resources and ideas for you.
I don't want you to think I am advocating an either/or situation here. I believe we should provide both the classroom audio system and use the tips, tricks and tools in the next post to enhance our lessons for all learners.
Thank you for reading The Cluttered Desk. You can find me on Twitter @jasonbengs. Please feel free to comment on the post and share your ideas with me. If you found any value in this post, please share it with others.
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