Supported eText in Captioned Videos: A Comparison of Expanded Versus Standard Captions on Student Comprehension of Educational Content
By Anderson-Inman, Lynne; Terrazas-Arellanes, Fatima E.; Slabin, Uladzimir; Journal of Special Education Technology, Vol. 24, No. 3, pp. 21-34Publication Date: 2009
Study investigated the effects of expanded captions versus standard captions on the comprehension of educational video materials on DVD by hearing impaired secondary students. Expanded captions are defined as captions designed to enhance the educational value by linking unfamiliar words to one of three types of information: vocabulary definitions, labeled illustrations providing a visual image of the word, or concept maps providing information about the word's position in relation to other words within the same conceptual domain. Study participants were 9 students in grades 6 through 10 with severe to profound hearing loss, of whom 7 wore cochlear implants and 2 used hearing aids. Participants were assigned randomly to a group of 4 and a group of 5, with each group experiencing both conditions in counterbalanced order. Scores from pretests and posttests of vocabulary and informational content revealed no statistically significant differences between the two conditions. Students' final exit surveys indicated that 7 of the 9 participants preferred to use the videos with expanded captions; the reason being given most frequently was that they liked being able to read the meaning of unfamiliar words. However, documentation of participants' use of expanded captions revealed that a relatively small percentage of the students actually accessed those captions. Study limitations and implications for future research are discussed.
Published by: Exceptional Innovations (Website:http://www.exinn.net)
Technology and Media Division (TAM) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) (Web Site: http://www.tamcec.org )
