Technology support for the inclusion of deaf students in mainstream schools: a summary of research from 2007 to 2017

Abstract

The paper examines the use of technology as a means for the inclusion of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) students in mainstream K-12 schools, covering the publications of the last decade. A systematic search of databases was carried out to locate theoretical and empirical studies investigating technologies as auxiliary or supporting tools for the inclusion of DHH students. Results are presented in two categories: (1) review/survey or theoretical papers and (2) studies of technology design and evaluation. Based on our findings, there is only preliminary evidence on how technology can support the inclusion of DHH students in mainstream schools. We argue that there is less need for research on technologies specialized on the disability, aiming to accommodate hearing loss, such as technologies to support the acquisition of sign language or speech-to-text translation of the teacher's talk. There is a major need for technology integration and research on its real-world use and utility, towards the inclusion of all students in the mainstream classroom, serving the needs of both DHH students and the general student population.

Play and Learn with an Intelligent Robot: Enhancing the Therapy of Hearing-Impaired Children

“…A complete suite of NAO applications with customizable content and difficulty levels can support the inclusive (kindergarten) classroom and benefit both hearing and students with hearing impairment. How intelligent robots can support the educator in adopting an inclusive education approach is a very promising direction for future research, considering the rise of children with hearing impairment in mainstream schools vis-à-vis the underutilization of novel technologies [43]. Yet, while the above-mentioned idea presents an exciting opportunity for future research in inclusive education settings, the present study does not yet provide evidence that NAO would be appropriate for or beneficial for use with children without hearing loss.…”

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“…Secara keseluruhan hasil penelitian memilki skor ratarata 3,375 dikategorikan sangat tinggi. Hasil ini membawa implikasi bahwa pengembangan teknologi asistif berupa sign language (bahasa isyarat) dan speech to text yang akan mengubah langsung narasi lisan menjadi tulisan sangat diperlukan bagi kalangan penyandang disabilitas tuli (Constantinou et al, 2020;Cranmer, 2018;Rodolitz et al, 2019;Talib et al, 2019). Speech recognition merupakan teknologi yang cocok untuk memenuhi aksebilitas penyandang tuli (Davydov & Lozynska, 2016;Fajar & Hartanto, 2019).…”

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“…Last, we conducted open-ended interviews which were recorded and transcribed for qualitative coding analysis through Otter.ai. 1…”

“…So far, researchers have not introduced HoloLens to education for the DHH community. According to Constantinou et al, 1 current studies on new assistive technologies for DHH remain at the prototyping stage without discovering specific requirements or suitable arrangements. Thus, our research attempts to explore the potential of deploying cutting‐edge MR technologies while also investigating user acceptability toward such applications.…”

“…Since HoloLens has not been widely used compared to mobile augmented reality (AR) applications, design guidelines, and user tendencies have not been fully explored, especially for the specific user group, the DHH community. Constantinou et al 1 suggested that more research should provide unified tools for teachers to adapt to DHH students' needs. To achieve that, assessments of DHH students' user tendencies, preferences, and human‐centered interaction factors need to be conducted.…”