Contributed by Christopher Sherman Read, Accessible Technology Specialist, University of Virginia<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Q & A with faculty is critical and we continue to conduct interactive sessions with each new group of system leaders<\/b> every 6 weeks or so. It helps allay fears: Fear the instructor won\u2019t be able to give<\/b> everything the student needs; Fear of entering uncharted territory; Fear the instructor will have a lot more work to do.<\/p>\n (Aside: We\u2019re fortunate to find a true champion in the curriculum director at the medical school who has been tremendous in supporting and promoting our efforts. His conviction and positive attitude has provided a leverage to inspire his instructional colleagues beyond what we could ever dream of doing.)<\/p>\n 1. You have to instill confidence that you\u2019ve got this handled. It\u2019s your expertise. It\u2019s what you do.<\/p>\n 2. You have to impart that the goal is equal access<\/b>, not extra privilege. It may require a little extra work, but Disability Services will be doing all the heavy lifting and provide support.<\/p>\n 3. You have to encourage and appreciate the communication and cooperation. The experience is new to everybody, so the challenges are unique and the solutions will likely require group effort.<\/p>\n Biggest Service Challenge: Audio difficulties<\/b> persistently challenge uninterrupted service. Sometimes instructors <\/b>don\u2019t position the microphone properly (or use the microphone at all). Sometimes table microphones are open and student <\/b>laptops interfere, causing reverberation or tinny noise. Consequently the audio can be irritating to the captionist over long periods of time.<\/p>\n Solutions: One solution to the audio challenge is providing an interpreter who is able to provide breaks for the transcriber when needed. The interpreter is present anyway for small group discussions and labs which are not as amenable to remote captioning. Alerting the System Leaders and Classroom Techs on-site is helpful too.<\/p>\n Recently, we had what I call the Perfect Storm \u2013 everything that could go wrong went wrong. Normally, the student reads live captions on an iPad. The captionist works remotely (from Vermont) and gets an audio feed from the hard-wired classroom\u2019s livestream on the Web. If audio troubles arise, the interpreter with medical training steps up and signs.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how it went down:<\/p>\n Hiccup<\/b>: During the first month of school, last minute videos<\/b> were assigned and students were being tested on the material the following day, despite being told earlier that this would be unacceptable practice. It turned out to be an oversight.<\/p>\n Solution<\/b>: Since Closed-Captioning vendors do not offer same-day service, I recruited all available staff transcribe a portion of video. The University Interpreter offered to sign the content while the material was projected on a screen behind her. Fortunately, this occurred in August before the regular University students returned to school. Therefore, others in the office had some downtime to pitch in.<\/p>\n After we seamlessly pulled off that fire drill, we sent out stern messages to the medical school faculty and administrators reiterating how that exercise was a prime example of what not to do. We couldn\u2019t guarantee that we\u2019d have the resources to respond that way in the future. We disseminated further detailed guidelines of our expectations.<\/p>\n Hiccup<\/b>: When Professors learned that they could correct the closed captions <\/b>on their pre-recorded videos, they took the opportunity to revise \u2013 adding and deleting sentences \u2013 without considering how that would affect the synchronization process.<\/p>\n Solution<\/b>: We drew up guidelines for the System Leaders and Support Coordinators emphasizing the goal of corrections was to edit not revise, and further explained the synchronization impact in future System Leader meetings.<\/p>\n Other potential barriers <\/b>that ultimately have not affected service include negative attitudes<\/b>. Occasionally we encounter someone who believes that all the ambition and accommodation is just not feasible or justified. Listening, not arguing but thoughtfully disagreeing and turning the focus back on the student and what truly can be achieved has been helpful. Regardless of discrimination laws, who are we to deny a student the education? For all we know, he could be a future Nobel laureate.<\/p>\n Some worried about video copyright permissions<\/b>, while others wondered how the student was going to use a stethoscope<\/b>. A conversation with General Counsel, and steering the student to other Deaf doctors was an easy fix. If you can isolate concerns and address them one at a time, it completely takes the wind out of overwhelming anxiety.<\/p>\n When I showed this report to the student for feedback, he responded with appreciation and said, \u201cBy the way\u2026You and everyone else make it easy for me to just focus on studying<\/b>.\u201d<\/p>\n Doctor, what is that? I just got a chill down my spine.<\/p>\nWhat Has Worked Well<\/h2>\n
Key points<\/h3>\n
What Has Worked Less Well<\/h2>\n
The Perfect Storm<\/h2>\n
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Other Hiccups<\/h2>\n
Non-Issues<\/h2>\n