My first post

FINAL EXAM

The Final Exam is NOW available online. 

One of the questions on your "study guide" is NOT on the ONLINE Final.  Be certain to log onto the Final to determine which question you do NOT need to be spending time answering.

Japan Earthquake!

I was googling on the internet and ran into this video! It is of two Japanese people signing about the current news in Japan. I found it interesting because I was able to understand a few of the signs. This is awesome because I could never understand Japanese but I can understand some of their signing!

Pretty cool! :)

http://deafyouvideo.blogspot.com/2011/03/deaf-japan-news-earthquake-information.html

-Janaye Pack

Red Bull Commercial

I can't find a link for it, but there's a new commercial out for Red Bull. There's a motorist riding around on a course doing the jumps and such. At the end, the helmet comes off and it's a girl. She signs 'welcome to my world'. Then endorses Red Bull in sign, which I thought was pretty cool. Yay deaf/hard of hearing sponsors.

The deaf rapper.

I love rap music. This can be looked at as music that has no meaning except profanities and partying. However I am inspired by these hard working individuals who spend many days and nights perfecting this art. This video explains how rap music has reached the deaf community. By introducing the first deaf rapper. This is an amazing story.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMF6_tR3h6k

FINAL Exam

Faculty was sent an email this evening containing the following paragraph:

After considerable review of the length of our academic semester, the University community collectively decided to retain the 16-week semester plus the week of finals. If finals are given during dead week, the faculty member has arbitrarily shortened the semester. This action is in violation of our policy. Students who have concerns about finals being rescheduled should speak with the appropriate department chair or college dean.

Therefore...I will NOT be able to make your ONLINE FINAL available to you EARLY as I had emailed earlier. It will be made available to you Monday morning of Finals Week and due WEDNESDAY EVENING by midnight - NO EXCEPTIONS in order for me to have all grading completed by the end of the semester.

Test 3 - Due Date Postponed One Day

I realize many of you may be going home or spending time with friends for the holiday weekend.  I want to honor the various ways many of you will choose to celebrate or spend time this weekend.  If you have not had ample time to complete your online test and need an additional day - - - you know I won't get to grading those immediately due to Projects for 260.  So, you may have until Monday night at midnight to submit Test 3 if you need it.

i711.com

As promised here is the link to i711.com!  One of the MANY perks to being the mom of a Deaf son is the cool tools, websites, etc.  I'm sorry I've not shared earlier.  The video blogs or vlogs are just too cool!

Educational Interpreting

Here is a link I found interesting related to a child's first experience with an educational interpreter, as well as the roles and boundaries of an educational interpreter in the classroom setting.

Enjoy!

http://www.i711.com/vlogs/logs.php?id=282

Thoughts on Being the "Deaf Kid"

A few people have asked me what it's like to be the "deaf kid" in class, especially in high school. I can tell you from first hand experience that it's awful. Chalk it up to a bad high school experience in general, but I hated every minute of it. I sat in the front row, wore the FM system, had to bug teachers constantly to use the microphone; at one point one of my teachers got a class mike to pass around. The other students abhorred it and blamed me for its use. They would tell me to just sit closer, or my favorite "don't worry about it" (/sarcasm). I was always made to feel bad about not being able to hear someone, and if I didn't hear a teacher the typical response was "ask your neighbor." High school was never fun; I never enjoyed it or made lasting friendships. I haven't spoken to any of my classmates since I graduated.

Here it isn't so bad. There are still moments where I feel excluded, but overall it's a major improvement. My quality of life has definitely improved. And I don't want anyone to think I posted this for the attention; usually I'm happy when the issue is just accepted and essentially ignored. But I think it's important to realize that not everybody has the wonderful people we do now, that being the only one of something isn't always a good thing. I've missed so much growing up, and missed out on even more. It really sucks when someone doesn't want to call you because they get too frustrated with a phone call, or people don't want to talk to you at school because much of the conversation is "what?" or "huh?" Standing in the lunch line and staring off into space, or sitting alone because it was too hard to decipher who was speaking, that is an awful feeling. It's something I wouldn't wish on anyone.

I'm sorry if all of that is really depressing. But sometimes it's necessary to look at the darker side of things; not every deaf person had a wonderful life full of Deaf community involvement, not everyone had the support they needed.

And now you know, and knowing is half the battle,

Steff

The other side of being proud of deafness

For most, being deaf is a thing to be proud of. It's a sense of pride and culture. Being deaf is no "problem". It's just a different facet of who you are. I understand that completely, and I'm glad people are proud of who they are. However, what about the other side? What about the things that have had a ripple effect because someone wants to be proud of being deaf?

Have you ever seen The Bee Movie? (Sorry if I give away the plot, still a cute movie and you should see it). It's about a bee that discovers humans are using the honey that bees create and he decides to fight for their rights in court. The bee ends up winning and the bees no longer make honey for the humans. In fact, all the honey is given back and the bees are swimming in it, there's so much. Sounds great for this bee. However, there are many ripple effects caused by this. The flowers dying is the huge one no one anticipated. The bees don't use the pollen which means the flowers don't grow which means they eventually die. Problems were created by a ripple effect and it was all accidental and unplanned for.

Now, to relate it all back, people saying that deafness is not a problem and you shouldn't worry about fixing it because it's who they are, I agree with that. It's great to have a sense of pride from it and it's great for them if they don't want to be "fixed". But what about those people who do? What about people like my mom and brother who need hearing aids but can't get them? Being deaf is a wonderful thing. But for some people, going deaf needs to be fixed. They can't adjust to a life of not hearing as they get older because they have never been exposed. They would benefit from hearing aids, but the insurance won't pay for them.

I don't know about your insurance, maybe it's different, but ours won't cover the tiny piece of equipment because too many people wanted deafness to be a sense of pride and to not be fixed.

I'm not saying you should or shouldn't feel proud. I'm not saying it's a horrible thing either way. I'm just trying to point out the ripple effects it has caused. Personally, I don't have a set opinion one way or another, so please don't think I'm saying something I'm not.

Hearing Loss Identification

Sometimes I wonder why people wait so long to be tested for their hearing. Hearing loss, I've discovered, runs in my family. However, we didn't know this until about a year ago. My mom has a slight hearing loss, we've known that for about 5 years. Really, that's not that long ago. Things have gotten harder for her. She's partially deaf in one ear and probably headed towards completely in one and partially in the other.

My brother, last year, discovered he has hearing loss and it will only increase with age. I'm not sure to the degree of his hearing loss, but I think it's interesting that someone could go 18 years and not realize they couldn't hear well. Maybe it becomes the norm to not hear. Maybe he was so used to ignoring what people said if he couldn't understand them that he just didn't care. I'm not sure the thought process on that, but I think it interesting.

Test 3 Information

Good Morning!

For the purpose of CLARITY. . .

The SELF REFLECTION & ASSESSMENT portion of Test 3 which was given out in class as Your Top 5 and is related to the CEC-CED Joint Knowledge and Skill Statements for All Beginning Teachers of Students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing (referenced in the text) is due this Wednesday, April 20th.  You MUST turn that in to me in class.

The ONLINE portion of Test 3 is due by Sunday, April 24th at midnight.

If you have questions about either one of those please do not hesitate to contact me in a way that is most convenient for you.

Mrs. White

Scholarship Available

Good morning!

Do you know of students who may qualify for this scholarship?  I encourage you to share it with them!!

Students with learning (or other) disabilities who are currently enrolled at the college or graduate level should be encouraged to apply for the KY-AHEAD scholarship ($500). The deadline is April 29, 2011.
Here's a website with details:
http://www.ahead.org/affiliates/kentucky/scholarships 


Mrs. White

Deaf Blind Workshop & Retreat

Hey guys! So the ITP and a few others just finished an incredible workshop about Deaf Blind people, SSP (support service providers), Deaf Blind etiquette, and all kinds of other things. I know, obviously, some of you weren't there, but for those of you who were -- what surprised you? What did you learn? And now, is there anything that you are more looking forward to for the retreat this weekend?

New show!

Hey guys! I just saw the trailer for this new show "Switched at Birth" and I was really excited to see that one of the main characters is deaf!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jgvw1S7FmI

There is a little info video on it. I'm excited to check it out!

Thanks guys,
Natalie

letsgofly08

http://www.deafvideo.tv/vlogger/letsgofly08 <- Check this guy out. His name is Daniel. I love him because he is so ASL and has some really great stories. The link I posted is to his personal website but look him up on youtube too, "letsgofly08".

Test 3 - Timeline

Good evening!

I trust each of you have had a great week and are planning on a wonderful weekend! I am trying to catch up from a terrific week away with work focusing on the Common Core State Standards in New Orleans. I've coupled focused work on our Kentucky Core Academic Standards with some time to enjoy the historic city of New Orleans to which I'd never been.

I am now focusing on FINISHING the semester STRONG as I prepare for the final weeks of Spring semester. The section of the curriculum on which we are currently working entails:

Chapter 9 - American Sign Language and Manual Communication
Chapter 10 - Early Intervention, Infant and Preschool Programs
Chapter 11 - The Acquisition of English: Teaching and Training Techniques
Chapter 12 - Literacy: The Development of Reading and Writing

As discussed before I was gone we WILL complete the chapter on Literacy with YOUR activities on ASL and Reading Strategies that you worked on in small groups the week I was with you in class.

Therefore...time line:

Wednesday, 4/13
**Conclude Reading/ASL Strategy presentations
**Review/Update me on class I missed 4/6
**Ensure we've covered all material to be on Test 3

Wednesday, 4/13 Test Opens
Sunday, 4/24 Test is Due

Let me know if you have any questions!

Talking Twin Babies

Hey guys, here's the video we talked about in class. It's really interesting to watch the communication happening here with no actual words. Enjoy!

Challenging signers

So, I've noticed that as I have conversations with Deaf individuals and just ASL users in general, that I have a really hard time receptively understanding male signers. They are much harder for me to understand and read than a female signer. I'm not quite sure why this is, but I was wondering if you all would like to share what kind of signers are hard for you to understand??

deaf education around the world

I have friends who are missionaries in the Dominican Republic who have twin daughters who are deaf (with cochlear implants). They are very passionate about their work and have encountered many Deaf people along the way. Many Deaf in the DR (dominican republic) have not grown up with a language because Deaf people there are not necessarily given jobs or careers.

I'm not sure about the standings in Mexico, but I thought this video that I found was interesting. It's about a deaf school in Mexico that is being forced to close due to financial strain. If Mexico is anything like the DR, I'm sure the school has provided many kids with education and language avenues that they may not have received without it. It's very touching to see the impact the school has had on some of the students, but also very sad to see that it is closing...

http://vimeo.com/2294498


-Kristi Hamm

CLASS TONIGHT!!

Hello Everyone-

As per request of our teacher Ms. White-I am to inform all of you that we WILL have class tonight, April 6th, just like any other week. We will have Karen Dilka teaching on the chapter of ASL. So, show up to class ready to learn tonight!!!!

I believe when Ms. White comes back next week, we will continue to work on our "project" of the 15 reading instructional strategies of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

See y'all in class tonight!!!

86 the country accent with interpreting???

Today while I was in my ITP ASL to English class this topic come up. I can't seem to find an answer or a clear cut answer. Perhaps there is not one. My teacher and peers had input that I really value. I would love to get some feedback from everyone and perhaps that can help me have some more insight. Ok, so here goes. There are common misconconceptions about people with a "country accent". This is really unfair and inaccruate. I know for a fact that accents do not affect an individuals intelligence or personality. Accents are regional and very rich part of regional culture. Accents thick or thin are fabulous and should be cherished. Unfortunately, a "hick" or "country" accent is frowned upon. There are misconceptions that those with this accent are less intelligent and unqulaified for jobs. With that said, I bring up the field of interpreting. In southern regions of the US there are Interpreters with this type of accent. Should these interpreters be expected to lose their accent when interpreting for a Deaf person? I ask this because Interpreters are supposed to present their consumers accurately and appropriately. This is apparently supposed to be done using "Standard English". Clearly, if there is an interpreting setting in which all parties involved have the same regional accent then there is really no issue or even question about whether or not the accent is appropriate. Well, what if an interpreter from the south leaves the south to interpret? Or an Interpreter in the south who is interpreting in a setting where the accent is inappropriate? Should the interpreter lose thier accent? If they do, is this cultural oppression on the Interpreter? What do you think?

Little House on the Prairie

A teacher in my major (Occupational Science) brought this video up during our discussion of ASL. She found it interesting the way of communication then. I found it awesome that she found an interest in ASL. There were many things I was able to tell her about ASL that she was unaware about! Love it! She spoke about how many people are unaware of ASL in the world!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEJxAjudJwc

Deaf School versus Mainstream School - a mother's perspective

Here is another interesting vlog (with English captioning) of a mother's perspective on a deaf school versus a mainstream school for her kids. To me this highlights how this is a very personal decision that varies from parent to parent and from child to child. The more dialogue I see on this issue the more I realize how personal a decision this is and how complex each situation can be.

Pump it

I love this guy! he makes videos of songs translated into ASL. he does a very good job at it and is very entertaining. I picked this one for the simple fact that he replaced a microphone with a magnify glass, i thought it was funny! I hope you all enjoy! (he has other videos on youtube just search B Storm ASL)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAu5uFpbanU

Lexington Speech and Hearing Clinic

Hey guys, just to let everyone know that the LSHC is going on spring break next week, so the best time to schedule observations is the week of the 11th. Only three people are allowed in an observation booth at a time (and the woman on the phone, Jessica, said the UK speech/path students need observation hours too so they are scrambling for the hours). You might want to give them a call and schedule your observation.

Also, fair warning for those who are not a fan of the oral method, the center does not sign with the kiddos.
-Steff

Who is looking for volunteer work? I might have found something for ya!

Hey guys,

I don't know how many of you have taken SED 338 with Debbie Haydon, but if you have you will probably have gone to Heuser Hearing Institute in Louisville (if not, they have a website. I'll list it below, check it out!), formally known as Louisville Deaf Oral School. When I went last semester during our tour, the head administrator, Ms. McCubbin, mentioned that they were setting up a day camp for deaf children the age of their students, and so I recently asked her for more information about it.
She emailed me back and asked me to pass it along to Deaf Education majors from EKU (I would assume ITP people, Speech Pathologists, and whomever is going to plan to work with the deaf in the future would apply also. I just mentioned that I was Deaf Education major in my email.) so I am passing it along. This is what I know:
-Volunteer Position
- (2) 1 week sessions June 27-30 (Mon-Thurs) and July 11-14 (Mon-Thurs)
-Location: Heuser Hearing Institute in Louisville?
- Time: 9am-12pm

If I find anything else out, or if you guys are interested I will let you know who to contact for sure; The woman who emailed me made it seem like she was in charge, but I want to check before I give her name and she is the wrong person :P

Thanks guys,
Natalie

Clarke School for the Deaf: A Sound Future

The video below is a video that showcases the Clarke School for the Deaf. I thought that this video was unique and interesting and also very fitting for our class, because we have recently covered Early Intervention and the Family studies of deaf children. This video has examples of that as well as it talks about English Acquistion and teaching Deaf students to speak and listen which we are now covering in class. The video also shows technology used in the classroom such as an FM system, it shows children with hearing aids and cochlear implants as well. I personally think this is a great showcase of the Oral method of teaching. I hope you enjoy!

BSL vs. ASL

I don't know if any of you have had the opportunity to look into foreign sign languages, and if you have, i'd love to get your input! I've learned the British Sign Language alphabet recently, and realized that it is pretty hard. If you don't know, each letter (except for C) is made using both hands, which is a huge difference than ASL which only uses the one hand to make each letter. Can you see the benefits in using both hands for each letter? Do you think there is one?

KYRID

Hey just curious out of everyone who went to the KYRID conference this past weekend, what was your favorite part of the conference? What was something that fascinated you or something new you learned in a workshop that you can use throughout the rest of your career?

Princess Diana Signing British Sign Language (BSL)

I happen to be a huge fan and am really inspired by the work that the late Princess Diana had accomplished. I have so much respect for her, even though she is not deaf she did work with the deaf. In this video you can see a man's impression as he met her. She learned to sign British Sign Language (BSL)

DEAF TRUTH: For Hearing Parents with Deaf Child(ren)

I thought this would be an interesting video to share, since we have recently covered the topic of Deaf children and Hearing parents. This perspective is from a guy who has hearing parents. Very interesting and great point of view! Hope you enjoy!

Speaking up for deaf education

I recently found this video and thought it would be good to post to show a unique way of using technology to teach Deaf/Hard of Hearing students.

Hey guys,

I am currently in ASL 102, and for that class, as some of you may know or remember, that there are reading assignments for that class. The latest one I completed was a portion of "Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture" and I thought it was very interesting, and worth sharing to others who share a common interest with me. So, naturally, I thought of you guys! :) I could only find the preview of the book on Google Books, but I read the introduction and part of the first chapter for my class, which I believe the preview includes. So I am going to post the link below, and I hope you guys will take a look.

http://books.google.com/books?id=FLdCuk0YekgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=deaf+in+america+voices+from+a+culture&hl=en&src=bmrr&ei=APyHTaWtMcu2tgecksX0DQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

Thanks guys,
Natalie
P.S.- It is a little bit long, so it might take you a little while to read, but I promise, it is interesting, or at least I thought so. Enjoy!

8 Month Old's First Reaction to Cochlear Implant Being Activated

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTzTt1VnHRM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Such the sweetest thing. Look at his reaction to his mother (:

Welcome to Holland

As with many of the things I've shared on the blog, This is an item that a professor I had at UK shared with me. I have never forgotten it and it has really impacted the way that I think about what it would be like to find out that my child has a disability.

WELCOME TO HOLLAND

by
Emily Perl Kingsley.

c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

KYRID

I am attending the KYRID Convention this weekend, and am very excited about it! I have attended two in the past. Just curious if anyone else will be there too. :)

My Deaf Family (tv show)

Here's the pilot for a new TV show that was mentioned in class at one point or another-enjoy!

-Steff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-Gc85nQK8w

CLASS TONIGHT - 3/16

Good afternoon,

Just a reminder about the emails I have sent. Tonight, Wednesday, 3/16, we will be covering chapter 10, Early Intervention, Infant, and Preschool Programs. Please bring the following with you to class:

1. Your text book
2. A laptop if you have one
3. Any materials or resources you currently have or choose to get relative to this topic

We will be doing a variety of activities with our culminating activity being a panel discussion.

Kentucky School for the Deaf

Hey all!

I went to KSD to observe an elementary school classroom this morning, and I am still jazzed about it! I stayed for about two hours and I just felt like I fit. Like, my heart was telling me "This is going to be you in the very near future!" and I just wanted to say that I cannot wait to be in the classroom!
One thing I found to be so cool was now naturally the teacher could transition to different teaching techniques and keep the students engaged in the lesson. And what was even cooler was I recognized some of them from my education classes, and also from lectures in my SED classes thus far; must mean something is going right, right?
I know it will feel a million and a half times different when we actually have our own classroom and our own students from when we are just observing but I just feel confident that we are all on the right track, and have good set of teachers preparing us for our future careers.

That's all!
Natalie

Hands and Voices

http://www.handsandvoices.org/index.htm

2 classes ago, we watched a video that the parental support group, Hands & Voices, developed. I have been quite involved with the Louisville chapter for a few years now, working with childcare, and it is therefore a cause close to my heart. Each family has a different story and just seeks to learn more and do the best for their kid. I encourage you all to check out their website - it's a really great group that's been up and running for over 10 years. Check it out!

-Kristi Hamm

Class this Week, Wednesday, March 16th

This week we are jumping to chapter 10, Early Intervention, Infant, and Preschool Programs.  Please bring the following with you to class:

1. Your text book
2. A laptop if you have one
3. Any materials or resources you currently have or choose to get relative to this topic

We will be doing a variety of activities with our culminating activity being a panel discussion.  The panelists will be members of the class.  These panelist will be selected by you and no one will have to be a panelist if they choose not to be.

Class members in the audience will be responsible for creating and asking questions of the panelists.  I will serve as the discussion moderator.

We will have worked collectively on the information to be covered during the panel discussion prior to this in the various activities.  However, preparation for this class will certainly benefit you greatly.  There is information on Blackboard that will be of benefit to you in preparing as well as the information found in your text.

I look forward to our learning together on Wednesday evening!

Marlee Matlin on the Apprentice

So last night the apprentice premiered and Marlee Matlin is on it. I thought it was so cool to see her on it I was truly fascinated. I think what I loved more than anything is how strong she is and that nobody needs to underestimate her. I think that she is going to do very well in this show. She is raising money for a charity that gives hearing aids to children and adults for free. Here is a link where she talks more about her charity and how much it means to her. http://www.hulu.com/watch/218323/celebrity-apprentice-marlee-matlins-charity