Foreword

Foreword When the editor of this special issue of the American Annals of the Deaf'became a teacher of deaf youngsters in 1957, his educational media consisted mostly of books and a valued gift from his retiring predecessor —a file of pictures clipped out of magazines over the previous 40 years. The contents of this 1993 issue would have seemed incredible to him at that time, and much of it remains so even now. This is not the first occasion on which a special issue of the Annals has been devoted to the general topic of applications of technology in the education of deaf students. Between 1965 and 1983, a special issue of the Annals was devoted each year to the topic. Each of these 19 issues was based on what became known as the annual "Lincoln Symposium" at the University of Nebraska. In 1985, another special issue reported the proceedings of a national conference at Gallaudet University on classroom applications of computers. This 1993 special issue is also a report of a national meeting , titled National Symposium on Educational Applications of Technology for Deaf Students, which took place May 2830 , 1992, in Rochester, New York. Its program consisted of three major parts: plenary addresses, participant presentations , and the development of national priorities. The contents of this issue of the Annals follow the same order, but appear as articles, abstracts of presentations, and national priorities. Articles The first article, written by Robert Davila, also opened the symposium. This and the following article by Ernest Hairston demonstrate the central and vital role of the federal government and its officials in assuring that deaf children and adults derive full benefit from presently available and emerging technologies. The third and fourth articles, written by Robert Stepp, Jr., and by Frank Withrow, include their reflections on trends and This symposium was planned and hosted by the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), and by the Rochester School for the Deaf (RSD). The planners are grateful for the support of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services of the U.S. Department of Education, and for additional assistance from the University of Arkansas' Research and Training Center for Persons who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. events over the past two or three decades that have influenced our uses of media and technology in educating young people who are deaf. Drs. Stepp and Withrow write with authority, both having been major participants in many of the developments they report on in their respective articles. The fifth and sixth articles are more focused. Carl Jensema discusses telecommunication technologies as used by people who are deaf or hard of hearing, including telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDDs) and relay systems, and extending to communication options such as those offered by Fax and E-Mail. William Clymer and Rhonda Parrish write about practical administrative applications of computers in schools and other programs for deaf students, from the perspectives of both the central office and the classroom teacher. Ted Hasselbring and Jan Hawkins contributed the final two articles. Both are nationally recognized scholars on the subject of applications of technology and media in educationat -large. Hasselbring's article provides a cognitive orientation to the use of media, backed up by a substantial number of theoretical and empirical citations. Hawkins' article places technology squarely within the context of the ideological, social, and political forces leading to changes in our nation's schools. Abstracts Of Presentations By way of introduction to the abstracts, a few words should be said about the suggested program topics as they appeared in the symposium announcement and call for papers . The topics were derived from responses to a national survey of people professionally associated with the education of deaf students. The program was organized around six topical areas, each with several associated subtopics: 1. Instructional applications of computers - Current applications of computers in the instruction of deaf students of all ages - Curricular considerations, e.g., language, speech - Development, selection, and evaluation of instructional software - Development of computer literacy in students - Special tools such as HyperCard and computer graphics 2. Instructional applications of television - Innovative TV applications in the...