All Things CLASS

Hello.

I am reaching out to ask if there are any folks here who are hearing impaired/deaf that are certified CLASS observers and use equipment to support with doing the observations. Would you be able to inform what equipment you use to hear/read interactions throughout your observation?

Thank you.

Hi Veronica,

This is a great question. I am not aware of many other types of equipment that could be used for this, other than talk to text, which you can run into issues if this picks up other conversations at the same time.  They could also code video observations that have CC enabled. I would be interested to see what others in the community have to say or what their recommendations are!

Hi veronica.

I am also deaf and wear hearing aides. I have a microphone that I can clip on the teacher during an observation that is blue toothed to my hearing aides. I still have to figure out what is being said, but the extra volume and being able to hear one persons voice helps a lot. It also will pick up the child or children that is interacting with the person. 

These mini mics are available on line or from your  Hearing Aides provider. (If your Hearing Aides have blue tooth capability.) As far as captions go, You can download an app on your phone. It isn't as reliable for picking up what is being said though. I don't use the app for Observations.

It can be trying but hearing impaired use more visual and read lips more than is realized. 

I could use any information also. 

Hi Linda, 

These are excellent recommendations! Thank you and I look forward to seeing if any others have some helpful tips and/or recommendations!