Lesson 2How to ensure inclusive project management
- Notion 8 - Project practices that promote the inclusion of users with learning disorders
- Notion 9 - Project practices that promote the inclusion of users with socioeconomic difficulties
- Notion 10 - Project practices that promote inclusion of users with hearing impairments
- Notion 11 - Project practices that promote the inclusion of users with visual impairments
- Notion 12 - Project practices that promote the inclusion of users with physical impairments
- Notion 13 - Project practices that promote the inclusion of users who don't speak the country's native language, have low literacy and/or have a lack of digital skills
- Notion 14 - Review of the main concepts
Notion 10
Project practices that promote inclusion of users with hearing impairments
Target skills
Gain practical knowledge on how to ensure project management is inclusive toward users with hearing impairments.
Users with hearing impairments refers to people trying to navigate the digital sphere with hearing loss, from slight to profound, i.e., deaf and hard hearing. This impairment can affect one or both ears and lead to difficulty hearing conversational speech or loud sounds. In addition, people with hearing loss must live with the complications that such a loss can bring. One of the most common is the feeling of exclusion. The feeling of being left out of conversations, activities or get-togethers all because communication is hard.
How can this feeling of exclusion be overcome?
- When communicating with these users, don't start shouting louder. Instead, repeat more clearly what you said before with improved enunciation (if the deaf person lip-reads), use other words and gestures or allow time for different ways of communication (writing etc.)
- If the deaf or hard-of-hearing person can lip-read, speak facing this person, so they can see your lips. Then, pronounce the words clearly and articulately but without exaggerating.
- Since people with hearing impairments need to focus on the gestures, lips, and expressions of the others, it is necessary to plan lighting and distance, making sure that the speaker's background is not distracting.
- If you choose to work with a sign language interpreter, make sure you leave enough time for the interpretation and possible questions.
- Agree with the user with hearing impairments about the *visual ways to start and end a session activity. For instance, you could switch the lights on and off after a break or use different colour lights.
- It is helpful to carry a pen and paper if you are with deaf or hard of hearing people.
Project practices that promote the better teaching of users with hearing impairments
Different inclusive teaching strategies can assist all students to learn and help teach a project group that includes students with hearing impairments:
- Use assistive listening devices such as induction loops if available in the conference room. Hearing aids may include transmission/reception systems with a clip-on microphone for the lecturer.
- Do not speak when giving instructions facing a whiteboard or other teaching aid.
- Allow users to record lectures, make copies of the notes available and provide minutes from meetings.
- Make sure that lists of subject-specific jargon and technical terms that students will need to acquire are made available at the beginning of the course.