O N L I N E

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• O N L I
  N E
• Using Wimba to Provide Equal Access of
  Information to Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students
  in On-line courses
• Dr. Sam Slike Ms. Pam Berman
• SDP 2008 Online Conference
• February 8, 2008

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Some preparation items

• To use Closed Captioning (which is provided by
  Archive Recording and Caption Service,
  Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) place your cursor in
  the text chat window at the bottom left of your
  screen and type /cc and hit Enter.
• Our Interpreter today (in the box on the screen)
  is Kristen Fitzgerald-Eggleton, an Interpreter
  for Bloomsburg University.
• If you have questions, you can type your
  questions into the text chat window. If you
  choose to speak your questions into a microphone,
  please let me know that you have a question by
  clicking on the hand in the participant box
  (right bottom of the computer screen).
• Netiquette dictates that participants take turns!

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Overview of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Population (Note "Hearing Impaired" is not
considered PC by Deaf people)

• Approximately 30 million people in the U.S. have
  a hearing loss.
• Approximately 1 million of them are Culturally
  Deaf and use American Sign Language (ASL).
• Others are known as Hard of Hearing, use hearing
  aids, cochlear implants or no hearing devices.
  These individuals may use sign language to
  communicate, may just use their voices, or both.

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Image found at http//www.gohear.org/image/grap
h.gifAudiogram A Graph of HearingDegrees and
types of Hearing Loss

• Mild, Moderate, Severe, Profound
• Sensorineural, Conductive

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Challenges Encountered in Providing Equal Access
of Information for Individuals with a Hearing
Loss

• These individuals benefit from presentation of
  visual information including
• Sign Language (This could be American Sign
  Language (ASL) or a Signed form of English (known
  as Contact Signing)
• Closed Captioning
• Speechreading (the old term is Lipreading)
• A combination of all of the above

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Areas of Need for creating a real-time live
online course for students with a hearing loss so
that they have the same access to information as
hearing students

• The class must be visual.
• Providing PowerPoint slides of lecture material
  online and on Blackboard is a must!
• It must take into consideration all members of
  this populationSigning Deaf Oral Deaf Hard of
  Hearing.
• It must be interpreted (using a certified
  interpreter for the Deaf is a must!).
• It must be Closed Captioned for those students
  who have a hearing loss, but dont understand
  sign language.
• It must have volume loud enough for hard of
  hearing people to hear.

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When setting up for the interpreter, be sure to

• use a backdrop which is in contrast to the
  interpreters skin color and one which doesnt
  cause a glare on the computer screen. (A white
  background does not work!) Note Interpreters
  choose their wardrobe using this guideline.

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The interpreter window can be moved to a

• variety of locations on the computer screen to be
  able to see the PowerPoint slides. Also, this
  window can be minimized or cancelled if necessary
  by the participant (not the instructor).

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Closed captioning and text comments from the

• students and the professor appear in the lower
  left hand corner. Captioning and comments scroll
  as the lecture proceeds. To review student
  questions, by scrolling, you must stop talking
  so that the captioning stops .

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Two cameras are pointed at the interpreter

• one for the video through Wimba (on the desk) and
  one for the Sorenson videophone (on the red
  book).

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The videophone provides instant access of

• information between the Deaf student , the
  interpreter and ultimately the professor. This
  avoids the lag time of the Deaf student typing
  text. This technique also ensures that the Deaf
  participant does not miss lecture material.

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Additional finding

• When hard of hearing students are taking the
  class it was determined that one interpreter must
  "mirror" what the Deaf student is signing while
  another interpreter "voices' for the Deaf
  student. This provides total access of
  information for hard of hearing students who
  don't know sign language.

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Lessons Learned

• Ability to multitask is required of the lecturer!
• Lag time of the lecture material, text chat, and
  interpreter video caused a delay in access of
  information for our Deaf student. Much time was
  used in waiting for her response to a question or
  for her to ask a question or make a comment.
• The Sorenson videophone was found to be a
  solution to the lag time problem. Using the
  videophone the Deaf student had immediate access
  to the interpreter and could send and receive
  information immediately.
• We are unable to archive videophone
  communication. The video webcam capture of the
  interpreted lecture is needed so that an
  interpreted version of the lecture is archived.

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Lessons Learned (Continued)

• Lag time is always a factor in sign language
  interpretation of lecture material. Lecturers
  must be aware of pacing their spoken language so
  that the interpreted message is clear to the deaf
  participant(s). Speaking too fast may mean that
  the interpreter is unable to provide a
  comprehensible message and on top of the
  technology lag time (mentioned previously) and
  impact on the message being communicated. When
  working with an interpreter, ask them to give you
  feedback on this.
• Closed captioning is not error free. The lecturer
  must be cognizant of this and read the captioning
  as it is being typed to ensure the clarity of the
  message. Words are sometimes misspelled which
  also cause a breakdown in communication to occur.

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Lessons Learned (Continued)

• Being sensitive to the needs of both Deaf and
  Hard of Hearing students is important. Regular
  requests for feedback from members of both
  populations is a must.
• The number of participants in an online class
  will impact on the clarity of video and flow of
  the lecture.
• Weather can cause a problem especially for the
  video of the interpreter. Poor weather conditions
  tend to have an effect on the smooth streaming of
  video.
• Suggestion a support team made up of a tech
  person and a graduate assistant can help with the
  multitasking involved!