Thanks for the comment. Yes, I think having others provide questions is a great idea and I would welcome any that you have. Spread the word about the poll if you like, the more we have in the discussions the more meaningful they will be.
Barry

No prob -- I actually did go back and added my Twitter info.

Oh boy --- your question is actually a good one! The answer is --- there is no simple answer. What you said is part of the problem, yes. Lots of deaf/hard of hearing students miss the phonemic level of English because they have a hearing loss. But that's not all. It could be a lack of access to the language, it could be parent involvement, it could be late identification of the hearing loss, which also leads to late exposure to the language, or it could combination of some or all of these. There are so many more factors involved. It is such a complicated challenge.

The best thing to do, IMO, is that they need to be identified at birth if they are at risk for a hearing loss, then expose them to a language (whether it is English or American Sign Language) to lay that critical foundation for learning. I believe once a language is established, it will allow learning of other languages.

That's basically it in a nutshell for now. More later if you are interested.

Who/what do you teach?

Hi Elizabeth,
We're still learning how to use the ipods effectively. We have a booking system whereby classes book them in half hour blocks.
I'm in the process of getting our year 6 kids to write, then create a video explaining how to use an ipod - will be useful for staff and students (I hope!!)
Cheers
Denise