In the article, The Embodied Classroom: Deaf Gain in Multimodal Composition and Digital Studies, the writer gives readers an insight into the challenges and benefits associated with a classroom of deaf and hearing students caused by the access of their learning environment.
They begin by discussing the difference between access to student feedback and actual student feedback. And how in general, this generation of students is more likely to give feedback using technology tools rather than being voluntarily sharing on their own. This is where the struggles become an issue for the combination of all students.
The article gives readers a look into the non-verbal meaning of communication. This is very important in a class with deaf culture and picked up on more than people may realize because students are not able to hear. Accessibility has moved far beyond American Sign Language (ASL) to accommodate the deaf culture in a classroom; technology and human interaction play a more prevalent role to ensure the successful learning of all students in the classroom. Making students feel different is when they turn their back to learning because they may feel that the materials are not reaching them. ASl changes that norm because it is a way of communicating that speaking to and for both the deaf community as well as the hearing community. “Nonverbal communication is the story we tell with our bodies.” (Hunter, 2015). Body language is a huge part of the ASL process; by slightly changing the position or direction of a symbol, the meaning can change as well and this is important because the relationship within a classroom is different. From teacher to student, from student to student, from teacher to parent and parent to student.
When asking students to stage a series of experiments in connection to dissecting their consumer identity. Students were able to come up with course materials including a “mixture of digital, literary, and critical texts, including Rachel Botsman’s TED talk on “Collaborative Consumption” (2010), Lars Eighner’s essay “Dumpster Diving” (1993), Denis Diderot’s “Regrets for My Old Dressing Gown” (1769), Reviewer Rosenbloom’s New York Times essay “But Will It Make You Happy?” (2010), and selections from Lisa Ede’s The Academic Writer (2010).” (Hunter, Washington State University, 2015). His findings were conclusive with how he thought multimodal helped students. With several examples above, students were able to see an example of the learning they wanted to encounter.
Overall, this research was well established and gave readers a more than deep insight into the deaf community learning experience through digital technology.
Hunter, Leeann. “The Embodied Classroom: Deaf Gain in Multimodal Composition and Digital Studies.” The Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, Washington State University, 17 Dec. 2015, jitp.commons.gc.cuny.edu/the-embodied-classroom-deaf-gain-in-multimodal-composition-and-digital-studies/.