Visual Literacy

Eight teachers at Mantua are involved in an exciting project looking at how their use of an interactive whiteboard (SMART Board or a Mimio), projector and laptop in the classroom impacts teaching and learning. A previous study completed at Mantua Elementary in 1998, indicated that a very diverse group of deaf students were able to make significant gains in literacy skills when an American Sign Language (ASL) rich environment was provided, using a challenging integrated curriculum facilitated by the use of technology. (Fernandez, Renner, Skerker, 1998) This new project is expanding this concept by providing visual support to the learning process with the goal being to increase the literacy skills of at-risk students including at-risk young children, deaf or hard of hearing students, ESOL students, and learning disabled students.

Two multiage K-1 teachers, one 1-2 teacher, one third grade teacher, two Teachers of the Deaf, one ESOL teacher and one 6th grade LD teacher are involved in this project. Teachers use this technology to provide visual supports such as pictures, brief video clips, Internet resources, and additional print paired with ASL or Spoken English depending on the needs of the students. A doctoral student from Gallaudet University is collecting observational and anecdotal data. Teachers involved in the project meet monthly to share lesson ideas, discuss progress and identify next steps. Ongoing support and training is available from a technology specialist. Teachers have already noted that the large presentation format captures students’ attention and allows for more student participation. The capture notes feature of the interactive whiteboard has been extremely useful for the older elementary age children. Funding for this project was provided by a private donor with the understanding that the funds be used to help students who are having difficulty learning in the traditional classroom setting.