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Key words: Curriculum Materials, Deaf Education, K-12

Submitted by: Robin Schnier

Topic: Closed Captioning

Tasks: To describe how closed captioning works, and how it can be effectively used in the Deaf Education classroom.

Information:

Captions are written characters on the television screen that represent the spoken part of a television program or videotape. The words are located at the bottom of the screen where they will least likely interfere with the picture. The captions are described as closed so they may be turned on or off at the viewer's discretion.

The process begins with an original transcript of the show or movie. The captioner divides the words into captions, making sure the words and the audio are in the same time frame. Next, a computer encodes this information and combines it with the original tape of the program or movie to create a new tape that includes the captions. The viewer can only view the captions by pressing the caption decoder button on his/her screen.

A ten minute video costs less than $300 to caption. This is really not a lot to pay for such a valuable tool.

Due to the fact that the Hearing-Impaired student does not receive much information auditorily if any at all, visual representation of words and concepts become extremely important. For most regular education students, watching a video or a program on television may have the benefit of providing conceptual knowledge, however, the closed caption program provides an exercise in actual literacy enrichment.

The students may view the video, paying attention to certain words. After the video, the teacher may test the students for word recognition by using the actual book. For example, the teacher may ask the students to pay attention to what the bears in the "Berenstain Bears Forget Their Manners" do to act rude. After the students have viewed the video, the teacher can ask the students to point out specific things in the actual text that display this rudeness.

Schirmer states, " A classroom environment that implicitly communicates the message that literacy is valued here can exert a powerful influence on early literacy development." This contributes to the notion of a "print rich environment." The classroom should be filled with items that the student may read and discover about. This includes closed captioning in many various manners as well as the one mentioned above.

Certainly not. Captioners and sign interpreters address two different groups of people.

Prelingually deaf (or culturally Deaf) people have sign language (usually ASL) as their first language. English came later. They will be much more comfortable with an interpreter, and their comprehension level will be higher. For someone accustomed to ASL, English is quite limited in its expression, and written English is very "dry." Additionally, a Deaf person who has spent most of their life communicating in ASL may not have developed the reading speed necessary to fool with captions in real time.

Postlingually deaf people (or late-deafened adults) learned English before they learned to sign, if they learned to sign at all. For these people, captions will provide a far greater comprehension level. Of the deaf and hard of hearing population in the United States, roughly 10% actually know sign language.

Each method of communication has its strengths. For example, in a speech with heavy use of proper names and specialty terminology, it may be easier to follow captions than a frantically fingerspelling sign interpreter.

The maximum flow of information and comprehension will occur when sign interpreters and captioners work together at the event."
From: fox.nstn.ca/~ptiwana/john/cc&sap.html

I truly believe that closed captioning can be used in an effective manner in the Hearing-Impaired/Deaf Classroom. There are few things that the teacher needs to keep in mind when using this technology, however.

First, it is not appropriate for the teacher to pop in the tape while he/she grades papers or talks to the teacher in the room next-door. The students will not get anything out of the program simply by watching. The teacher needs to help the students become involved with the program by asking questions prior to, during and after viewing to allow the students to use their critical thinking skills.

Next, as mentioned in the information section of the presentation, the closed captioned program enriches literacy development by creating a print rich environment. This does not mean that words written on everything in the classroom such as blackboard, chalkboard, etc. will provide the setting for this environment. The words need to have meaning for the students. Therefore, a program that interests the students and is age appropriate can provide some of this need, but will not make up for a lack of literacy demonstrations in the rest of the classroom.

1. In all classrooms I have observed, closed captioned videos have been used as a time filler. Is this how they are used in the majority of school systems, and why haven't educators discovered that they can be a valuable tool for literacy development?

Schrimer, B.R. (1994). Language and literacy development in children who are deaf. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.

fox.nstn.ca/~ptiwana/john/cc&sap.html

The Berenstain Bears Forget Their Manners. Closed Caption videotape.

Uploaded by: Melissa Close/ Kent State University/Deaf Education Major