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Technology

Technology

St. Rita School for the Deaf continually strives to meet the unique challenge of educating students who cannot hear. Typically in our country, from the time a hearing child is born, that child is continually exposed to the English language by listening to television, radio, environmental sounds, and people talking.

They are able to accumulate this learned knowledge about language and will continue to build upon this with more exposure and formal instruction. When a Deaf child is born, there is no model of oral speech communication on which to base their understanding of the English language.

For Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Apraxic students, English is almost like a second language where reading and writing is truly challenging and intimidating. These children must receive special instruction in order to develop fluent reading and writing skills.

The key to understanding Deaf education is to remember that these children learn through visual and tactile learning experiences. They need every available accommodation in their learning environment to assist with their learning, such as technology.

Technology has been and continues to be of paramount importance in educating our students. Our students can learn and comprehend just as fast as typical children given the appropriate technology, instruction, and learning environments that best supports their needs.

Access to technology engages students and makes them excited about learning. St. Rita School for the Deaf realizes the value in technology and uses technology improvements to bring more visual instruction to the students attending our school.

Interwrite School boards, internet access, projection equipment, iPads, and laptops have been added to the classroom learning environment in order to better enhance visual methods of instruction for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Apraxic students.