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Project LITERACY is a comprehensive three year endeavor to research the benefits of electronically-enhanced text for mainstreamed, hearing-impaired students. Participating students will be provided with Macintosh PowerBooks containing electronically-enhanced versions of their classroom textbooks. It is anticipated that the proposed use of technology will greatly enhance students' abilities to read and comprehend text from content-area materials by supporting their literacy needs unobtrusively, thereby maximizing the extent to which they can find success in less restrictive educational environments. Benefits from the use of electronically enhanced text are expected for studentsÍ literacy skills, acquisition of content-area knowledge, academic achievement, and psycho-social development.
Project LITERACY was designed to achieve six objectives. The objectives of this project are to : (a) identify the types of electronic text enhancements appropriate for students with severe to profound hearing impairments; (b) develop and refine electronically-enhanced reading materials for students with severe to profound hearing impairments; (c) research the short-term effects of electronically-enhanced reading materials on hearing-impaired students' comprehension of content-area materials and academic achievement in regular classes; (d) research the long-term effects of electronically-enhanced reading materials on hearing-impaired students' literacy skills, academic achievement and psycho-social development; (e) research the extent to which environmental factors affect and are affected by the use of electronically-enhanced reading materials for students with severe to profound hearing impairments; and (f) disseminate results of this research on the use of electronically-enhanced reading materials in ways that maximize the impact of this innovation on the education of students with hearing impairments.