AV Technology - May 2008 - (Page 34)

INCREASING CLARITY IN SPEECH AND INSTRUCTIONAL MEDIA REAPS BIG DIVIDENDS FOR BOTH STUDENTS AND TEACHERS. PHOTO BY ELAINE JONES Enhancing Audio in the Classroom By Elaine Jones Over the past few decades, school teachers have been embracing a number of electronic technologies for use in the classroom. Computers are now prevalent; overhead projectors are being replaced with dynamic teaching tools such as data projection, electronic whiteboards, and video media. But one key technology is just beginning to catch up to the others: audio amplification and reinforcement. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires most public venues to provide hearing assistance when requested. Assistive listening devices have been in use for many years, but are typically provided only to people with hearing impairment. However, numerous studies indicate that audio reinforcement can benefit all students, not just the hearing impaired. “It’s pretty common for adults to think a classroom is a perfect listening environment, when in reality it’s anything but that,” says Photo above: Soundfield microphones, either handheld or around-the-neck, hands-free designs, are easily re-chargeable for daily use in the classroom. John Merline of Front Row, a company specializing in classroom audio products. “Children with completely normal hearing can have difficulty capturing what the teacher is saying because of noise in the classroom and distance from the teacher. “Classrooms are noisy and full of distractions, and students are learning new material with brains that have not developed completely, so they can’t easily fill in the gaps when they miss a word,” says Merline. It’s common knowledge that performance and behavior problems occur in the back of the classroom, and Merline says much of this is due to the fact that they just can’t hear as well back there. Another issue is the teacher’s physical position relative to the students. “There’s a feeling that the teacher stands at the front and looks at the class constantly to address the students, but that often isn’t the case,” says Jerry Hogerson, vice president of sales and marketing at TeachLogic. “With the use of electronic media and even with regular chalkboards, the teacher is looking at the board or screen much of the time, talking and pointing to the board, and not looking FRONT ROW’S WEBSITE CITES SOME OF THE INDUSTRY STUDIES: Children’s auditory processes aren’t fully developed until their mid-teens. The average grade school student misses 25 percent of what a teacher says. On any given day about 43 percent of primary level children could fail a basic hearing test because of middleear infections. Even in an acoustically “good” classroom, the percentage of the teacher’s auditory “signal” that is heard by students drops significantly from the front to the middle to the rear of the classroom. For ideal signal-to-noise ratios in a classroom, noise levels should not exceed 35 dBA, however, typical classroom noise levels range from 41 to 51 dBA. www.avtechnologyonline.com 34 | AV TECHNOLOGY | may 2008 http://avtechnologyonline.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AV Technology - May 2008

AV Technology - May 2008 Contents Precedent Corporate: How to Qualify an AV Supplier Education: Working Smarter AV Technology's Guide to Networked AV Government: IPv6 — Why You Should Care Calculating ROI on Your Digital Signage Investment Enhancing Audio in the Classroom Minimizing Equipment Theft Smart AV The Tribe Has Spoken AV Enables Interactive Research AV Image Enhancement Product Spotlight Tech Horizons Product Review New Products AV MO

AV Technology - May 2008

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