The problem?

My current teacher, also the only one that teaches this specific class, has a heavy accent. The poor captioner has a lot of difficulty understanding him, and so do other students because I got a couple e-mails from other students who knew me from past classes, if I caught what he said in this or that particular part of the lecture.

I have spoken to my student advisor about this and we’re trying to figure out how to solve this issue. Have you had this issue where you have someone speaking in a heavy accent and your interpreter or real-time captioner is struggling? What do you do? Just read the text and ask the teacher to clarify at points?

Update September 25, 2009. Turns out to be a microphone issue. The department chair got wind of this and investigated. Now the captioner is able to hear better and caption. But what I find funny is that my hearing counterparts in the class, are also using the captioning services to understand the lectures done online.

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And he’s talking to me. I know he’s talking to me because we have eye contact and he’s moving his eyebrows up as if he is asking a question. But I have no idea what he said, because I can’t see his lips to read. What came out of my mouth next what was completely natural to me: “I don’t understand you, I can’t see your mouth.”

As soon as I said it, I realized how strange it must sound and apparently, so did he because his eyes widened as if in surprise. But thankfully, he did step away from the half-wall to the front of my desk where I could see him better. By then, an associate had overheard us and came over to deal with the delivery guy. My boss saw and overheard the whole thing and thought it was pretty silly. We were laughing about it afterwards … But really, why would you stand behind a half-wall and talk to someone?

I think this would be great as a cartoon too.

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When the classes started moving into the design and coding aspect, and that’s when it got tricky for the professors to type while they were demonstrating techniques. So the Student Services and I had some discussions about that and came up with Real-Time captioning and had it added to the classes. Now the professor can continue lecturing while doing demonstrations on their computers. Here’s an example of what one lecture online looks like.

The area marked in red outline, is the Caption Pod and functions as a .swf file that is fed into the lecture simultaneously. The main area at top, is the lecturing/demo area where the professor has a powerpoint presentation. The smaller pods are student roster, the text chatting area, and the professor’s microphone status. There is almost no time lapse in the captioning. My classmates are often intrigued by the captioning although they don’t know there is a deaf person in the class. It has also provided an unexpected bonus: students reviewing the Live Chats later, can open and read the captioning by clicking on the CC symbol if they can’t hear the audio because sometimes the audio cuts out. I think it’s pretty neat. The captioning service is provided by one of IADT’s sister colleges in Colorado, and has a separate window for the client (me) who can customize the text in something like a black background and white text, any font or size. Additionally, it provides a transcript in plain text or HTML at completion.

Although not perfect when it comes to simliar sounding words, it has functioned well and I’m happy about being able to participate in the online lectures. This is something for others to consider when taking online classes and don’t know what to expect.

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Full story is under this jump.

I became deaf at 14 months old from spinal meningitis. I am profoundly deaf with nerve deafness. My family chose to use sign language with me to communicate and put in me a fledging program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at Lincrest Elementary School. I had my first mainstreamed class experience at third grade with an interpreter who knew ASL from America River Community College’s new interpreting program back then (I’m in my early 30s). I became fully mainstreamed at 7th grade and went through junior high at Gray Avenue (before it became Intermediate School) and graduated from Yuba City High School in 1993.

I’m the eldest of three girls. I don’t have brothers. My entire family signs, although my younger sisters sign fairly. My mother is the most skilled at ASL — she used to be an education interpreter.

I told the ASL I class about my experience in mainstreamed school as “a not nice experience” because kids teased me for being deaf. However, on Facebook recently, old classmates found me and told me that they remembered me and were inspired to learn ASL because of their experiences with me. I was surprised and touched that some of my former classmates remembered me after all those years, and humbled by my small influence on them as a deaf kid teaching a few signs.

College life was when my world opened up through meeting and socializing with many other Deaf people and learning about my identity as an Deaf person in a hearing world. I took a break from college and went to live in New York, where my husband’s family is, and had my first real job experience there. After September 11 happened, we moved back here and I applied for my job here at the Appeal-Democrat shortly afterwards, and have been here since December 13, 2001.

I married my high school sweetheart whom I met in drawing class at Yuba City High, in Lake Tahoe. He is fluent in ASL. We don’t have children but five cats — Molly, Happy, Jack Tunney, Houdini, and Sammy. The class seemed taken back by the names Jack Tunney except for some of the men who immediately recognized the name. Others drew a blank on the name Houdini. I named one of my cats Houdini, after the famous magician and escapist artist Houdini, because he kept disappearing from the large box I was keeping him in with his brother Jack Tunney to help them become used to us! I’d go away, come back and find Jack Tunney dozing in the box minus his brother Houdini.

In 2007, Appeal-Democrat formed the Internet Department. As the webmaster, I am responsible for implementing the directives Courtney Lopez, the Internet Operations Director gives me. I work with Steve Nelson and Robert LaHue with related Internet content along with other department managers, the Publisher, and our Freedom Communications Corporation which we are under. Courtney is the primary person in charge of the web sites we operate. I am the one who codes the web pages and makes it all work  with Freedom Interactive’s policies/procedures on webmastering. Steve Nelson oversees the content posted online — articles, photos, slideshows, videos submitted by staff and users, forums and comments on articles. We communicate in the office primarily through Instant Messaging (Bonjour).

Someone asked about why I am in this particular industry. I answered that I love computers and technology is moving rapidly towards a virtual New Media, where a printed newspaper may be a bygone product or a rare product. I believe it is the newspaper industry’s responsibility to keep up with the technology and learn how it can evolve with new trends and expectations. It will not be 20 years later, but actually sooner. Europe already uses electronic editions with special readers similar to Amazon’s Kindle. Cari Carter had her Kindle, and showed it to the class. I do a similar thing with my 2nd Generation iPod Touch — I buy and download some books to my iPod for reading in the bed.

The technology to create virtual newspapers is already in process of being refined for mass production. Right now we are taking advantage of the social network medias and feeding short blurbs of our news to those sites for those who practically live on social networks like Facebook.

Discussing Facebook and MySpace brought up another topic: these two sites are Deaf-Friendly sites. Many, many Deaf people are on Facebook or MySpace. Deaf people can message, chat, post videos, join groups with other like-minded Deaf people and friends and carry on lively discussions.

With that note on social media, there is a link in my sidebar for quick access to join Deaf Californians on Facebook. Also, there’s an excellent video on “Trouble with Twitter” that Bill Creswell captioned. Robert LaHue shared the non-captioned version the other day, I’m sharing the captioned version here.

Enjoy!

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Susan Stacy bought those special soft-close hinges for her new cabinets from Ikea and installed them herself. They “catch” the doors/drawers of the cabinets just about an inch from the frame and gently closes, thus eliminating the unintentional slamming of cabinet doors/drawers. Her eldest daughter, Carita was also in the kitchen with us. She and my husband (both are hearing), exchanged stories about their Deaf family members slamming cabinets when they were trying to sleep in, while Susan and I laughed about how we would do things extra-extra carefully to avoid making noises but because we are deaf, we couldn’t tell what worked or didn’t work.

Susan told about how she would very gingerly close doors to try and avoid making noise and waking up her three children. I told about how I would stand by the door I wanted to close, and move it very slowly to close, to avoid slamming it. I would be standing there for almost a full minute, fighting my urge to just close the freaking door in the first 3 seconds!!!

That got me thinking about the perfect home. My husband and I want our home to be deaf-friendly and hearing-friendly. That means eliminating slamming of doors/drawers/cabinets/lids, and having the standard lights-flashing alert system. We also like having an open floor plan that allows us to sign at each other from across the house and see all of the equipment for the deaf alerters. No walls in the middle of the family room or a walled-in kitchen. Susan’s house initially had a wall dividing the kitchen/dining area and the living room until she had it removed to allow free communication.

Ever since that visit, I’ve been thinking about everything that my husband complains I make noises about — and it’s not just me. It happens in every Deaf/Hearing relationship. Banging doors, drawers, cabinets, pots and pans, etc. I went on a Googling Quest to find all of the Soft-Close hinges for my home and thinking about everything that could be used to prevent loud noises especially the toilet lid slamming in the middle of the night. I tallied up the cost: at $5 for a soft-close hinge for cabinetry times 11 cabinet doors equals $55 not including taxes. Special soft-close hinges for doors run around $20 each and work on only certain doors, times 3 or 5 doors in the house. Then I wondered why homes don’t come already equipped with those soft close features. Why not? I’m positive we are not the only people in the world that would like a slam-less home. It’s not a Deaf/Hearing problem. It’s an universal problem. Why spend over $100 soundproofing your home? Especially in these financially tight times.

Your thoughts?

Edit: The soft-close hinges were purchased at Ikea, not Home Depot as I had thought. Thanks for the correction, Susan.

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I smiled. I thought that was funny. I usually don’t have people recognizing me outside the office other than speaker situations. “Oh! You’re that girl at the newspaper!”

Speaking of that, I need to mention a speaker event I attended, while I have this spare time in between web projects and other web-related activities.

Last October 30, I went over to Yuba College to visit the ASL 1 classes. Cari Brooks, the instructor for the two afternoon classes, invited me to speak (actually, sign) to her class and tell about my life experiences as a Deaf person. I found out that they had two other speakers before me — an ASL interpreter and a hard of hearing man.

I basically told my life story in ASL, compressed in about 30 minutes or so, detailing how I became deaf, my experiences growing up in a mainstreamed school, my identity as a Deaf person, and where I am now. I don’t tell my life story often but it was fun although I was really nervous. After that, was Q & A time in which students asked me questions related to deafness; ASL, cochlear implants, sign language in the family, Baby Signs, speech therapy, dating, education for the deaf, job hunting, and experiences with hearing counterparts.

There was an interpreter on stand-by for any communication clarifications but we didn’t need to use her services except later, during Q & A when I was asked to share my Japanese-American background in which my great-grandparents met through picture exchanges, and family members that were sent to internment camp during World War II at Amache, Colorado. The interpreter was also a friend of mine that had spoken with the class prior, and we related a story together in which she discovered after 10+ years of friendship, that I liked heavy metal music and was expecting her to accompany me to an Ozzfest concert. Needless to say, plans fell apart and nobody went to the Ozzfest concert, but the incident marked her memory as one of those palm-in-face moments when she realized that being deaf didn’t mean you couldn’t enjoy music. You just experienced it differently.

She and I talked to the last class about equal access in music in addition to equal access in communications, how ASL music differs from ASL translated music, and how Deaf people can enjoy music despite being profoundly deaf. We used a music video on YouTube created by a videographer that goes by st0rmfx, as an illustration of ASL translated music. Interestingly, while I was in Orange County, my interpreters for the first 2-3 days were discussing this same interpreter and his video works!

Life stories are great to share; not just because you’re Deaf but also because of the many facets that make up who you are. Everywhere I go, I like to meet new people and try to ask what their life story is. It’s another reason why I like to socialnetwork online and read other people’s blogs.

I’m looking forward to returning to ASL 1 classes next semester — seems I’ve been asked to come back. 

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My time in Orange County was very intense and enjoyable. I went through a fast paced training session that got me familiar with the procedures and the web development environments used for our sites through corporate. I had four great certified interpreters sent to interpret for me and learned tons so I feel comfortable continuing our development processes here at the Appeal-Democrat and our connected web sites. I didn’t have any problems getting around. Everything was quite easy. I was badly tempted to stay in southern California for the warm weather and friendly colleagues.

The fact my two-year old nephew was having a birthday on Saturday, December 6, got me home. He had a great birthday and lots of car toys related to the Disney Pixar movie ‘Cars.’ Later, when we were kicking back at his house, I told him that he was a cool friend to have eating grilled cheese sandwich with at dinner. He said, “Yes, we are good friends.” Awww!

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Orange County

I’m down in Orange County being trained. It’s cool and foggy, but I like it just fine. I had my first day of training today and it went real well. The morning and afternoon was spent reviewing the interactive systems I will be working in to develop Appeal-Democrat’s content and sites that we operate.

Yesterday was pretty rough for me. It was a day spent traveling to Sacramento, getting on a flight and changing over in Phoenix before finally landing in O.C., finding a shuttle bus to take me to the hotel which is about just across from the Freedom Interactive office. I checked in late, about close to 6 p.m., hot and sweaty from the airports. I think the airports had the heat on and it was about 80 degrees inside and I was dressed in comfortable velour pants and jacket with long sleeved shirt. I guess I should have worn shorts and a t-shirt. I used Facebook to post updates and highlights of my trip as I flew on US Airways. FYI, drink is $2 and above, so if you’re inclined to get thirsty, you might want to bring your own bottle. While I was in Phoenix for a 30 minute layover, I ran into a store and bought my nephew a yellow Phoenix teddy bear (he will turn 2 years old this coming Saturday) and a Phoenix coffee mug for myself. My luck, I might not be in Phoenix for a long time so wanted something to mark my time there. Phoenix has beautiful buttes scattered around the city.

The hotel I’m staying in is Residence Inn by Marriott. I highly recommend this for extended business stays. Internet, breakfast, light dinner, great rooms. The room I am in, has a kitchen so I could cook if I wanted. Well, if you know me and my husband, you will know who the real cooker is.

I’ll get to the point of why this is even on here other than the Webmaster being trained on Unity Project … My interpreters. Interpreters are such cool people and I think I’ve got the coolest pair. My boss and I found them online, using Google to locate an interpreting agency that is in or serves Orange County: Network Interpreting Service. It’s not a new thing to find my interpreters online when I travel; it’s the best way. It’s kind of funny having an entourage of two people follow you around, but it’s really helpful to have interpreters fluent in ASL for me to understand what is being spoken, and easier on everyone to just speak normally and I just keep up.

Naturally, everywhere I go with the interpreters, people are curious about ASL interpreters so there were some questions from my Freedom Interactive counterparts about sign language, ASL, interpreting, why two interpreters, etc. One Freedom Interactive (FI) member knew fingerspelling and some signs and that was really handy when we were chatting without the interpreters around. I currently have two male interpreters, named Dana and Joe. I think I heard Joe say he was with us for one more day, and I have Dana till Thursday, and some other interpreters will be joining.

Oh before I forget, I need to mention what happened when I was booking my trip. I have a confession: I have never booked a trip and hotel together. I usually book only the flight. In the past, if I was traveling on business, someone else did the arranging. This time, I had to do it all myself. I booked through Orbitz online and when it was completed, there was a note saying to check on my hotel reservation. I thought, good idea and dialed up the hotel on IP Relay while I finished up some things at the Appeal-Democrat office. I spoke to a lady at the Reservations desk and she verified my room. Then I asked her if the room had accommodations for the Deaf. She proceeded to list the features of the room but did not answer my question. I repeated my question, asking if there was at least an alarm clock that flashed or shakes the bed.

“Let me look at your room … (breathing and typing) … Your room has a clock … an ironing board … and some lights.”

I start wondering how an ironing board figures into my alarm clock question. Then she says brightly, “Would you like a hearing assistance kit?”

I have never heard of a hearing assistance kit and thought it meant hearing aids. I was prepared to tell her that it would not work for me when she suggested transferring me over to a specialist who could explain what the hearing assistance kit was.

I thought to myself, “A specialist? This I gotta hear.”

The specialist turns out to be a man named Dick at the Americans Disability Desk with the lovely Residence Inn by Marriott. He explained to me what a hearing assistance kit was — a tty, door bell alerter, alarm clock that vibrates, and other things. I was just relieved as soon as I heard that there was an alarm clock that would wake me up, that I didn’t care if Dick could get the Moon to flash in the event of an Earth catastrophe (which would be cool, btw). Hotels are required to provide accomodates for their “disabled” guests to make their stay comfortable and accessible. It also makes me feel more comfortable that I have access and can be on my own.

Okay I need to go and lay my heavy head down and prepare for more information tomorrow. I told one FI employee named Amishi, that I think my brain gained 3 lbs. She said it might be 15 lbs heavier by the end of the week!

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Relay Service Using VideoPhone

I’ve been wondering lately what it’s like for the hearing person on their side when they communicate with someone who is deaf. What is it like for you to be on the phone with a relay operator?

For example, my husband doesn’t like using the relay to communicate with me because no matter what, there’s still a third person. There’s a third person listening and speaking, and for some people that is just hard to take. “You don’t have a male voice.” “My wife doesn’t sound like that lady relay operator.”

Some friends don’t like hearing a stranger speak so familiarly with them on the phone, but understand that it may be the only way to communicate with me on the phone. Most of my friends actually text or Instant Message me instead, bypassing the third person and communicating directly with me. We haven’t really discussed feelings of the relay service because to me, it’s part of life for now until something changes down the road.

Mind sharing?

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This half of the quarter, one class is done entirely in live chat with the professor and classmates, discussing psychology topics presented by the professor and using our life experiences to understand those topics.

The other class is a digital art class that involves the teacher broadcasting his computer’s desktop to us as he demonstrates techniques in the digital art software (this one is Photoshop CS3).  A student or two, volunteers each class, to type what the teacher said during the demonstration. When he stops demonstrating to lecture, discuss and answer questions with students, he switches to a dictation program, which surprisingly works very well 99% of the time.  If the program screws up a sentence or a vital word, the he types it over or the volunteer student supplies the correction.

The Learning Modules are still in video with subtitling and text transcriptions for those who prefer to read instead of watching the subtitled videos.  Tests are done online via a self-conducted test that is actually timed by the program itself. The test’s clock begins ticking the second you click on “Begin Test” and you have a certain amount of time to take it.  If you run out of time, the test closes itself and posts your score.

Three classes, three different teaching styles, but all have the lectures recorded in text one way or another.  The audio part is for listening students’ benefit if they choose to, but sometimes it drops out due to the connection for some reason.  I learned from my ADA counselor that some classes have the entire lecture transcribed by a staff and posted in the lecture archives. The classes are always recorded and stored in each student’s Virtual Classroom Archives for latter peruse.

My online school (International Academy of Design and Technology, Tampa) uses a strict rule of 3-5-7, which means by the third day of the week course, your original posts should be made to the classroom discussion board. On the fifth day, your first 2 comments to your fellow classmates’ posts should be made.  On the seventh day, all assignments are due and your final comments to your fellow classmates’ posts should be made, before the next course begins.  This 3-5-7 method ensures that all students participate and have full discussion on each week’s unit topics.

I learned quickly that you do get marked down if you don’t use the MLA format on the discussion boards where you are supposed to post your “papers” on a topic the teacher has assigned your class.  MLA format is required for our posts, whether it’s posted on the class’ discussion board or submitted to the teacher.

Just because the school is on an online environment doesn’t mean that you don’t have to follow the rules that you would use in an actual mortar-and-brick school environment, or treat it like a chat room or forum.  There is also a strict rule on plagiarism, and the virtual classroom environment actually has software that automatically looks over your submitted assignments and posts for similarities across the Internet.  Every time I submit my assignments, I’m interested in the similarity score the program posts for me.  If the program finds something similar in your writing to another source elsewhere on the Internet, be it Wiki, blog, forum, some web site, it will show the links to those in a special column next to your writing.  This helps to ensure that plagiarism doesn’t happen and the student demonstrates an understanding of the topic.  If a similarity score of less than 20% appears on your posted writing, and you have cited those sources, you won’t get marked for plagiarism.

Even though the first quarter is about to finish, I’m still excited and enjoying school even though the homework load has been insane this second half.  Brings me back to the college nights of reading textbooks, typing up papers, finishing artworks and crawling into bed at 1 or 2 in the morning.

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