Category: Irish Deaf Kids

A blog by @mircwalsh

CESI Meet 2012

About me So about me for the CESI people who may not know me I graduated with a Journalism degree from Griffith College in 2009. After this I took up an internship writing for Irishdeafkids.ie During this time I was introduced to the world of captioning, writing and technology. I learnt a lot and in…
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Advocating For Your Child’s Service Provision

As a parent, fighting for services for your child can lead you into loops and delays. Times when you don’t have an essential letter with you for example, or a report on your child that needs forwarding after appointments. To avoid delays in service provision, you can do a few things to stay in the…
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Captions In The Classroom Boost Literacy Skills

New educational technologies give teachers an immediate advantage in making their lessons relevant and interesting to students of all ages. With interactive white boards, DVDs, laptops and smart devices, classrooms become exciting places to learn instead of simply reading from a book. Teachers can boost their students’ literacy by using captioned material when teaching, regardless…
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Digital Readers (eReaders) Improve Child Literacy

Until now, eReaders (digital book-reading devices) were used exclusively by adults, but the release of vTech’s eReader models for children and Apple’s iPad means it is time to explore the benefits of eReaders for kids. One year ago, IDK noted how web technologies make story-telling inclusivefor deaf and hearing children who may be in the same…
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Australia’s Deaf Kids Get Captions In Classrooms

For the first time deaf kids in Australia can gain equal access in classrooms, with  a pilot schools-captioning idea from access solutions firm, Ai Media. Ai Media was formed in 2003 and has since dedicated itself to providing generic captioning services. In Australia about 85% of deaf children attend mainstream schools and last year AI…
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Young Readers Learn From DVDs & Touch-Phones

With young readers now having the latest screen-based reading options like e-books, touch-phones, DVDs and more, we are firmly in the digital age. In the US, a new DVD to teach children sign language is now on release. It is based on “Goodnight Moon” and other bedtime stories, adapted from the 1947 storybook by Margaret…
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Connect School Project Enables Inclusive Teaching

Universities in Ireland have used the Moodle interactive teaching system for years, while schools are just “getting it”. In this piece, we show how the universal design of the Moodle-based Connect School system enables seamless inclusion in class for all pupils. Connect School is a joint initiative of South Dublin County Council and St. Aidan’s School, in…
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iPhone Subtitle App Puts Captions In Users’ Hands

The first-ever iPhone subtitle application promises to give movie buffs the chance to receive subtitles directly to their phone for the movie/DVD of their choice. It’s a great solution until more cinemas provide subtitled movies and as the app develops, cinemas may use it as a low-budget captioning option. This application is currently available for…
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Literacy Skills In Children Aged Three to Five Years

This piece follows on from IDK’s earlier post, Infant Literacy Skills: Newborn To Three Years, and complements other IDK posts on early-years literacy. The bottom line is that children learn about literacy from birth, regardless of their hearing ability. While early introduction to literacy is essential in babies and toddlers, the process needs to be consistent.…
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IBM’s KidSmart Application Deadline: July 8, 2010

With IBM’s 2010 KidSmart PCs application deadline approaching on July 8th, 2010 for primary schools in Dublin city & county, IDK asked one school in Cork, how their pupils like the PC unit. Pupils at St Columba’s GNS with facility for deaf children in Douglas, Cork have used the school’s KidSmart PC unit since September 2009. It…
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