The social facilitation theory by Triplett : The importance of human interaction on performance

The World Health Organization estimates the number of deaf and hard of hearing people in the world was 275 million in 2004. According to the National Center for Education Statistics as cited in (Lang, 2002), the estimation of DHH students in postsecondary programs in the United States was more than 25,000 in 2003. The available support services attract more DHH students to attend mainstream postsecondary programs despite the fact that there is still a demand to have a better inclusive environment. Moreover, there is a dearth of research on the impacts of support services on a DHH academic achievement (Lang, 2002). Statistics, DHH in education: For several decades, people fought for people with disability rights and they made dramatic changes in law, policy and legislation that opened the doors for DHH students to attend mainstream postsecondary education(Richardson, Marschark, Sarchet, & Sapere, 2010). In 1975, the law mandated that all students with disabilities must have appropriate public education under the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)(LAWs, DHH communication preferences, Dhh and technology). The number of deaf students attending postsecondary education has increased significantly in the United States(Kersting, 1997; Lang, 2002) .It is important to recognize the wide range of differences in DHH students’ backgrounds, educational experiences and communication preferences before implementing any technology into the classroom (Cavender & Ladner, 2008). All of the previous experience can affect the student’s preferences in choosing the proper accommodation. Therefore, the best accessibility solution depends not only on the student’s level of hearing loss but also on the student’s preferred communication style. Some students prefer sign language interpretation and others prefer to have access to text. While some hard of hearing students prefer to speak face to face with the speaker (Cavender, 2010). As a result, the use of technology is not always welcome by DHH students; it requires instructors to have a proper integration plan to introduce all students including DHH students to the assigned technology.There should be a solution where DHH students can have equal access to education and the learning contents in order to learn thoroughly (Cavender, 2010). In good educational environment, students should have their needs satisfied in advance and all the barriers should be removed for all students without negotiating a disability identity. This will support the idea of inclusive environment which means all students are equal and all the adjustments can benefit most of the students (Moore, Gorra, Adams, Reaney, & Smith, 2012). Nowadays, technology has changed the way of communication and reduced distance. It has been incorporated into our lives seamlessly and most of us are eager to obtain the best and new inventions. From telegraph to mobile phones, consumers welcome all the different technologies in order to have better communication.