Foreword

Foreword Robert E. Stepp, Jr. ROBERT E. STEPP, JR. is at present the Project Director of the Educational Media Production Project for the Hearing Impaired; Director of the Barkley Memorial Center; and Professor, Educational Administration , University of Nebraska—Lincoln (UNL). Previously, he was Project Director, Media Development Project for the Hearing Impaired (1977-1980); Director of the Specialized Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (1974-1977); Director of the Midwest Regional Media Center for the Deaf (1966-1974); Director of the University Bureau of Audiovisual Administration ; and Assistant Director of the Extension Division, all at UNL. Dr. Stepp has an A.B. from Central College (Missouri), a M.A. from the University of Iowa, and a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska—Lincoln. Dr. Stepp has been active in both state and national audiovisual organizations. As an author, speaker, consultant, and media specialist, his involvements in the education of the deaf are numerous. The Fifteenth Symposium on Research and Utilization of Educational Media for Teaching the Deaf was held on March 29, 30, 31,1982, at the Nebraska Center for Continuing Education in Lincoln. This conference was sponsored by the Captioned Films and Telecommunications Branch, Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education, and the Educational Media Production Project for the Hearing Impaired , Barkley Memorial Center, Teachers College , University of Nebraska—Lincoln. The Captioned Films and Telecommunications Branch is charged by law to develop and distribute educational media and to promote the use of educational technology in programs for the hearing impaired. The Educational Media Production Project for the Hearing Impaired, which co-sponsors this Symposium, is supported by this Branch. Each year since 1965, except for the period 1975-1977, the conference has been held at the Nebraska Center for Continuing Education, University of Nebraska— Lincoln. The topics have been current with the ever-changing technology. Captioned Films, known by many different organizational titles, was founded in 1958 for the purpose of captioning films in the broad areas of education and entertainment. Over the years, this role and assignment has changed and expanded. Probably the most significant characteristic is the fact that the Branch has been on the forefront in applying communication technology to the education of the hearing impaired . In the late 60s Captioned Films was a recognized leader in the utilization of 8mm films in cartridges and transparencies for the overhead projector. Many of the materials developed in those years are still being used today, soon to be 20 years later. Another breakthrough came with the advocacy of closed circuit tele468 A.A.O. / September 1982 Foreword vision in schools for the deaf. This was followed , logically, by the schools acquiring videotape recorders for ease of local production and captioning. Many schools are now able to produce their own materials in a wide array of formats. Another example of the Branch's leadership was the funding of a project at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln to develop and explore the use of the videodisc in educational programs for the hearing impaired. Ten discs were produced at a time (1978) when very few agencies in the United States had such capabilities and know how. One unique development was the marriage of a TRS-80 microcomputer to a MCA Disco Vision videodisc in an interface which permitted the application of programmed learning branching techniques to this technology. More recently, the efforts of Captioned Films and Telecommunications Branch have resulted in the development of a closed captioned decoder which permits the deaf viewer to see captions of selected commercial television programs—long a dream of hearing-impaired people. From the first symposium, the program had been planned for administrators, supervisors, media specialists, and college educators. The intent of that plan was to teach the decision makers and, through the years, keep them abreast of the current and future applications of technology in teaching the hearing impaired. The 1980 conference was a departure from this plan. The program was designed for supervisors , teachers, and media specialists. A glance at the program revealed the fact that both the keynote and concurrent sessions were, in the main, classroom-type demonstrations. The presentations were examples of actual utilization practices in the...