Nancy Kelley

Rather than continuing to tell her students to put their cell phones and iPods away each day, Kelley wants to incorporate these technologies into the curriculum as part of a program she calls, "Technology - It's What They Know". Kelley, who teaches deaf students as well as American Sign Language (ASL) to hearing teens at Mountain View High School, wants to help all of her students bridge the gap in learning and retention by creating podcasts of sign language video clips that can be uploaded onto their desktops, laptops and iPods. Unfortunately, there is often little communication between the deaf students Kelley teaches and their parents because, from her experience, few parents of deaf children learn to sign. This program will help reconnect these deaf students with their parents by making it easier for parents to learn ASL and assist with homework assignments. Kelley believes this active engagement in students' learning will contribute to long-term improvement in their reading, writing and core vocabulary. Additionally, she hopes other ASL teachers and teachers of the deaf will be motivated to use popular technologies teens are familiar with to help disabled students with their assignments. Kelley lives in Pleasant Grove.