Technology – Devices that Enhance the Educational Experience (J. Seif)

Within 21st Century classrooms, specifically in grades K-12, it is commonplace to encounter devices that enhance the educational experiences of students and educators. Many of the popular devices that are used to visually augment and enhance the learning experience of the students include visual alerting devices that support the auditory input within the classroom. Using educational videos to supplement curriculum and present materials is common practice. The presentation of educational videos can present challenges for students for a variety of reasons. The ability to provide closed captioning and transcription supports for students who may require additional supports to access materials and auditory inputs within the classroom is often a deciding factor on what technology and medium will be used to present materials.

According to Stritto and Linder (2017), closed captions can benefit all students within the classroom. Stritto and Linder (2017) suggest that these benefits include,

· Comprehension – helps students understand, organize and learn the information in videos

· Accuracy – helps students with details, terminology and spelling in videos

· Engagement – helps students focus on the content in videos

· Retention – helps student retain information in the videos through reading and studying

How often have you used closed captions to support the materials that you present in a video format within your classroom setting?

Alkhalifa, S., & Al-Razgan, M. (2018). Enssat: Wearable technology application for the deaf and hard of hearing. Multimedia Tools and Applications, 77(17), 22007-22031. doi:10.1007/s11042-018-5860-5

Stritto, M., & Linder, K. (2017, August 28). A Rising Tide: How Closed Captions Can Benefit All Students. Retrieved from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2017/8/a-rising-tide-how-closed-captions-can-benefit-all-students