Using Technology

• Computer or internet access is preferred for this activity, including the ability to project the screen for class viewing along with audio. Have access to Dangerous Decibels website dB Zone! What’s That Sound?. Have the “What’s That Sound?” activity loaded, selected, and ready to play (but not projected until it is time to deliver this module).
• Discuss the need for technology when scheduling the Dangerous Decibels program with the school or teacher. Sometimes schools have to pre-authorize websites for use on classroom technology systems for security reasons. Ideally, you would be able to test out the system in advance to make sure the audio and video work well. If you can’t personally test the system out in advance, you can ask the classroom teacher to access the website and verify that it plays well.
• The sounds in “What’s That Sound?” play in random order, so you can’t always test all the sounds in advance to make sure they are audible through the sound system speakers. The cricket sound may be extremely difficult to hear in the “without hearing loss” mode if the audio speakers have a limited high-frequency bandwidth. In this case, there may not be any sound at all or it will be extremely faint. If this happens, just skip this sound and move on to the next sound. Your own hearing ability will also influence how well you can hear the sounds.