Past Projects
Please contact NCAM for additional information about any of these projects.
Captioned Media and Educational Technology: Research into Contemporary School Practice
Captioned Media and Educational Technology: Research Into Contemporary School Practice was a collaboration of the Gallaudet Research Institute at Gallaudet University and NCAM from 1993 to 1996. The project conducted three surveys:
- Instructional Technology in Schools, Educating Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children collected data from 546 schools regarding inventories of equipment, presence of technical support, and technical needs of the schools. The results were published in American Annals of the Deaf (vol. 141, no. 2).
- The Captioned Media and Educational Technology Survey collected information from 212 teachers regarding their use of captioned media in the classroom. The results were presented by Judith Harkins of Gallaudet at a December 1995 symposium, Captioning: The New Frontier. Proceedings are available from NCAM.
- The third survey sought out educators who were doing noteworthy classroom instruction involving innovations with technology and media. We interviewed 92 teachers and other school staff from 23 public schools and 24 special and center schools. The result is an award-winning handbook, Success Stories: deaf and hard-of-hearing students learning with technology and media.
This project was funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs.
Enhanced Arthur
Enhanced Arthur, produced by WGBH Interactive and the CPB/WGBH National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) in Boston, is an interactive prototype of Arthur, the Emmy award-winning show based on author Marc Brown's popular children's books, that promotes reading, writing, creativity and problem solving.
The prototype explores new educational opportunities provided by emerging digital technologies such as digital television and the World Wide Web. WGBH has adapted an episode of Arthur to include interactive activities children can do during and after the broadcast. Through personal interaction with the television series, children try out their own solutions to the dilemmas faced by Arthur and his friends. Enhanced Arthur contains a number of features, made possible through the use of new technology, geared towards children with disabilities. These include:
- a sign language introduction to the Arthur story that identifies characters and sets up the story
- the entire Arthur story in American Sign Language
- two caption tracks, one verbatim and one edited for timing and vocabulary to serve beginning readers (see below for great news about this feature)
- a glossary with words and definitions in print, ASL and audio
- audio descriptions for blind and visually impaired children in English and Spanish which compliment the English and Spanish program audio tracks
Enhanced Arthur and its advanced accessibility features were funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). CPB and the U.S. Department of Education are also providing NCAM with funding for further research and development of access features for digital television.
Reaction to the Enhanced Arthur prototype has been overwhelmingly positive. Access features have been demonstrated at consumer conferences, and a short article on the project in WGBH's Caption Center newsletter drew a large number of "Where can I buy this?" inquiries from parents, librarians and teachers. The prototype is not for sale, but was developed to show program producers, television equipment manufacturers, parents, teachers and children what could be possible. While digital television will present many new commerce-centered marketing opportunities (click here to buy!), it also has tremendous educational potential as well.
Arthur images used with permission. © 1999 Marc Brown and © 1999 Cinar Corporation.
