An analysis of the effects of graphical symbols based technology-aided learning environments on literacy and communication skills of hearing impaired students

The purpose of this research is to develop technology-supported learning environments based on graphic symbols and to examine the effects on hearing-impaired students literacy and communication skills. The study, which was shaped within the framework of the mixed research approach, was conducted in the third and fourth grades in a Hearing Impaired Primary school in the Eastern Black Sea Region during the 2014-2015 education period. Participants of the study consisted of third and fourth grade teachers and students, parents and the teachers who worked in the same school. Document, interview, observation and writing forms were used as data collection tools. Quantitative data obtained from data collection tools were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis and descriptive analysis. The findings obtained as a result of the analysis of the data are changes in students "vocabulary knowledge", "sentence building skills" and "communication skills". According to findings from the research, technology-based applications based on graphic symbols have a positive effect on students literacy skills. Students are able to learn the vast majority of words permanently thanks to technology-based materials developed on the basis of graphic symbols. Considering the achievements that students have achieved especially in permanency test, the possibilities of repeat and individual speed advancement provided by technology-aided implementations are effective in permanently learning the words by the students. At the beginning of the study, students who have established a one-word sentence at the beginning of the study can form meaningful sentences containing three or more words at the end of the practice.