E-LEARNING: DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR THE SIGN TUTOR OF THE HEARING IMPAIRED

The process of teaching the hearing-impaired is a complex mental task in which the knowledge of the professional sign language tutor is combined with the previous knowledge acquired through experience, as a result of associating with the hearing-impaired. The learning difficulties and communication constraints which created a wide gap between the hearing-impaired and their counter parts (hearing people) has been a source of concern over the years. This gap has been in the form of educational, employment and social opportunities, that has resulted in the inability of the hearing-impaired to develop their potentials to the fullest. This paper is aimed at designing a computer program that will facilitate the communication and learning process with the hearing-impaired. This will go a long way towards motivating them to learn, and will make the learning process interesting. It will also reduce teachers’ personal participation in classroom and the number of drop-outs among the hearing-impaired.