Classroom Audio-Assistive Equipment (i.e. for the deaf)

[ChrisLs]

My department is interested in equipment/software that can be purchased for repeated use in a classroom to assist individuals with auditory problems, such as an hearing impaired or deaf person, to ensure they get the most out of the training as possible. Yes, we are aware of interpreting services, have already checked into the costs, and are seeking better and more cost-efficient alternatives.

Example of equipment being considered: Laptop with separate microphone for the instructor and software configured to the instructor's voice. Spoken dialogue from instructor is typed out on-screen for the laptop user.

Guidance much appreciated!

[fire49]

Have you checked high school or college sign language classes , that students would volunteer or get extra credit for helping??? In exchange for real life experience



And also may check with the schools to see what they use

[ChrisLs]

There are no highschools who offer sign language classes. I am not sure the department would be interested in volunteered students from the local college, but that's an excellent idea to suggest. I certainly will pass it along and see what they say to it.

Secondary schools rely heavily on hired interpreting services, although special hearing aids are also available. That might be handy for outside-the-classroom hands-on training, with a microphone.

There is also "the Notetaker", which is basically carbon-papered copies of someone's handwritten notes, such as off the chalkboard, but notetaking is not the concern - unless the notetaker is willing to jot down every word uttered by the instructor, which I seriously doubt, and is a slow & tiring effort.

The concern is more of how we can make it more of a visual learning process for the individual, rather than just being dependent on the auditory and lip-reading, that still allows for maximum participation.

I am not clueless regarding this topic, but am putting it out there to see if anyone has had any experiences with such, like a deaf firefighter or an instructor who has been in a similiar situation, as an adult, and hoping for more options/alternatives.

[fire49]

I gues the question is how many people do you think would need the service and how often, and what type of training are you trying to porvide

[NeilMcD]

Based on personal experience as a deaf person who used to be a volunteer FF and now focuses on providing accessible training via www.cepintdi.org I want to thank you for considering making your trainings more accessible.

The cost issue is always going to be an issue and there's rarely any way around it. Most states require that interpreters are certified by the state and that essentially means you can't simply ask the local HS for ASL students especially for events geared to the public.

But more importantly: the skills of simply knowing ASL and being an interpreter are very different skills. ASL does not mean simply parroting english words into signs. Signed languages have their own grammatical structure and rules.

Likewise, a notetaker (sometimes called CPrint) is rarely a good option because they only provide broader overviews of the content, and often skip out on vitally important details.

Feel free to PM me if you have questions about specific accommodation issues and I can try and help further.