Impact of NEWTON Technology-Enhanced Learning Solutions on Knowledge Acquisition in Pilots Involving Students With Hearing Impairments

Contributions: This article presents the results of a study carried out as part of two large-scale pilots and analyzes the impact of the use of modern technologies in education in term of knowledge acquisition in case of students with hearing disabilities. Background: Teaching topics from STEM area is a challenging task for all teachers who have students with hearing disabilities in their class. On the one hand, because of the high degree of difficulty of the information in this field and on the other hand, because of the difficulties that students with hearing disabilities face in understanding this information. In this context, the use of modern technologies in education, but especially the way they are used together with traditional ones, can provide great support for teachers of students with special needs. Intended Outcomes: A set of modern technologies, i.e., virtual lab, virtual reality (VR), in the game-based learning context of the EU-funded NEWTON project, were employed in education as part of the Earth Course. The goal was to increase the accessibility of STEM information in the area of natural sciences for the benefit of students, especially those with hearing disabilities. Application Design: The study targeted secondary school students with hearing disabilities. Content related to natural sciences (i.e., wildlife and sealife) was presented as part of the Earth Course via innovative applications that included virtual laboratories and VR. Avatars were used to support the students with special needs (sign-language translation). Findings: The results of this study demonstrate that the use of modern technologies, combined with game-based learning in science lessons for students with hearing disabilities, contribute to increasing their knowledge level. The best results were obtained when these technologies were used in mixed lessons, alongside the traditional teaching methods.