November News

The research team for TOILS consists of:

Dr. Tane Akamatsu Toronto District School Board
Dr. Connie Mayer York University
Ms. Shona Farrelly Principal of the Toronto Metropolitan School for the Deaf

The first objective of the study was to see if deaf students would use wireless text messaging. Preliminary results indicate that children at least as young as 12 can and will use this technology.

The second goal is to learn if the use of this technology improves their English skill and their social skills such as independence and decision making. Initial results would indicate that this is also true.

At this point usage data has been collected for more than a year. Initial interviews were conducted before the study started. A second set of interviews have now been completed.

The research team for TOILS has released the following statement.

Initial analysis of the data indicate that the students are using the pagers, and the amount of use seems to be increasing as the months go by.

The students report being allowed to go to a greater variety of places, and increasing numbers of students are allowed to go "anywhere within reason" as long as their parents know where they will be and they are in pager contact with them. The pagers therefore appears to be alleviating parental concerns about the safety and whereabouts of their children.

Future research plans include investigating in more detail the development of independence, social skills, and literacy of these students, and more analysis of parental perception of the pagers.

The results of this research have potential policy implications for educational planning and funding.

The case could be made that pagers be added to the list of suggested accommodations in the Ministry of Education documents on developing Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for students in special education.
Further, it could be argued that pagers be added to the list of technological devices funded through the provincial government's Assistive Devices Programme (ADP). This would make pagers more affordable and available to greater numbers of students.