The project has been put into
practise by the Model Experimental General Lyceum of the University of Macedonia
during the 2014-2015 school year. 17 students are participating along with 15
deaf and hard-of-hearing students of the Special
High School and Lyceum for the Deaf
and hard-of-hearing of Thessaloniki and 20
students of the 2nd Primary School of Pefka, Thessaloniki.
The project is named “Communicate
in a different way!” and the aim is to “build
bridges and pull down obstacles”.
has been defined as a code in which ideas about the world are presented through
a system of conventional symbols for communication. Man uses language mainly as
a means of communication. But what is communication?
Teachers work with many different types of
pupils. Many of these children require educational programmes customized to
their unique needs. We must remember that exceptionality
is always relative to the social or cultural context in which it exists. As
teachers, we are in a unique position to help shape and mold the attitudes and
opinions of our students.
Students of the Model Experimental
General Lyceum and the 2nd Primary
School of Pefka
are working cooperatively to subtitle songs, hymns, parables, poems and funny
or sensitive commercials. They are working with passion for the students of the
for the deaf; in this way they will understand the meaning of parables or poems
they will have fun with the funny commercials and finally they will share their
experiences. We want our students to understand the mode of communication such
as sign language, speech and simultaneous communication, gestures as in a wave
or a point, or touch.
A sign language
(also signed language or simply signing) is a language which uses manual
communication and body language to convey meaning, as opposed to acoustically
conveyed sound patterns. This can involve simultaneously combining hand shapes,
orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly
express a speaker's thoughts. They share many similarities with spoken
languages (sometimes called "oral languages", which depend primarily
on sound), which is why linguists consider both to be natural languages, but
there are also some significant differences between signed and spoken
Wherever communities of deaf people exist, sign
languages have been developed. Signing is not only used by the deaf, it is also
used by people who can hear, but cannot physically speak.
The students of the
School for the Deaf are learning and practicing in clipflair because all the activities
are offered online through a social networking web platform. The students
of the Model Experimental
School and the 2nd Primary School of Pefka approached the coordinator of the project
and asked permission to share the presentation with all the students of the School
for the Deaf and students from other schools.
Questions posed by this project are:
Does computer-mediated communication facilitate equitable communication among deaf
Do deaf students perceive they can communicate easily via computer-mediated
Do deaf students
perceive computer-mediated communication as an effective instructional
Do students with no difficulties perceive computer-mediated communication as an
effective instructional approach with deaf students?
our students to approach language as a tool of messaging, communication and
intellectual power configuration.
that the language code is activated depending on economic, social and political
conditions of each society.
awareness and set their own attitude towards people with special features, Deaf
capture and understand the elements which make up the community of Deaf.
with other schools as well as with a different school, like the Special
High School and Lyceum for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing of Thessaloniki (http://gym-ekv-thess.thess.sch.gr/)
and to exchange material and experiences.
To deal actively
with audiovisual material, developing basic skills such as reading, writing and
foster European awareness and identity through their active participation in a
European platform which enables them to produce their own educational material
with subtitles for the deaf or creating material with audio description for the
understand that the need of the Deaf for a language adapted to their visual
needs, and not the loss of hearing, is what makes them a cultural group. The
use of this common (visual) language is what distinguishes Deaf from other disabled
groups (or people with special needs). These groups, even though they have some
shared experiences arising from their particular needs, such as the loss of
sight for the blind, cannot be regarded as cultural groups, because they use
the language of the wider society and have the culture of that society.
Today the students are proud of their performance, and are talking about the
importance of cooperation. They are also interested in learning new skills and
creating a web community by using clipflair. This is not just a project; the
students and their teachers have turned it into a learning experience for the
youngest students of the Special
School for the Deaf.
Coordinator, Xanthi Albanaki, Model Experimental Senior Lyceum of the University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki
Chrysoula Gioura, 2nd Primmary School of Peuka Thessaloniki
Sofia Kourtidou, Special High School and Lyceum
for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing of Thessaloniki