Soundfields have universal benefit as a solution introduced for children and students who have hearing difficulties, with positive outcomes noted for everyone in the learning space.
Progressive schools in the United States are building soundfields into new classrooms for this reason – notably as solutions facilitate collaborative teaching and learning activities.
That’s the beauty of classroom technology: it can be differentiated at student or group level, or at individual device level for personalised learning as students and educators need.
Modern Learning Spaces Have Poor Acoustics
With research showing good school acoustics improve student learning, the importance of positive acoustics in modern learning spaces is vital to remember. Many of us struggle to hear in dining areas, routinely built from similar materials as shared learning spaces.
Richard Bishop, an audiologist in New Zealand, says modern flexible learning spaces have ‘hostile’ acoustics – with children being wrongly labeled as disruptive or short of attention.
Soundfields as a response to acoustic challenges, can ‘layer’ to different user needs, particularly with mainstream education now a default option for children with hearing issues.
Tech Support May Influence Students’ Careers
Sustained tech support for educators and students is a chronic skills shortfall identified in Bridging The Gap – Technology In Education, to the extent that older students may assume this role on a school leadership or even an apprenticeship basis.
One potential outcome from this student activity is an understanding of school acoustics and sound engineering, which may lead students into fields around the science of hearing.
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