Tech & Learning - June 2008 - (Page 43)

FEATURESTORY { THEY CAN HEAR YOU NOW By Elaine Jones 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 at the students.” Hogerson says that reflected sound, such as speech bouncing off a chalkboard, can be much less intelligible than forward-directed speech. INCREASING CLARITY IN SPEECH AND INSTRUCTIONAL MEDIA REAPS BIG DIVIDENDS FOR BOTH STUDENTS AND TEACHERS. } | 43 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 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 SOUNDFIELD SYSTEM Improving the clarity of the teacher’s speech throughout the classroom is highly desirable. Industry studies clearly show that sound reinforcement can give stu- TECH & LEARNING

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Technology & Learning - June 2008 Contents Editor's Desk News & Trends They Said It: What Tech&Learning Insiders Are Writing Online Junket Justifiers Back Office Business Students of the World Unite! Get Small for Fall Summer Reading for School Leaders They Can Hear You Now What's New - NECC Highlights and More Leader of the Year Profile

Technology & Learning - June 2008

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