Southern Higher Education Consortium (SHEC)

Investigating and Developing Specific Innovative ICT Facilities

Strategy/Objective

5. To investigate and develop specific innovative ICT facilities and applications to widen access and assist teaching and learning for students with disabilities in their institutions. (Investigate, trial and develop remote speech to text transcription, remote sign language interpreting over videoconferencing,  remote access and flexible learning over videoconferencing)
 

Investigate, trial and develop remote speech to text transcription

Technical trials of remote Palantype speech to text transcription have been successful using a mobile phone to transmit the speaker's voice to the remote Palantype operator and a Nockia Communicator 9000i to receive and display the transcribed text data. These trials and extensive discussions with the owners/suppliers of Palantype also identified the value of the Palantype system being modified to allow 2 way text communication.

Further trials await the  identification and selection of appropriate students.

Dr Mike Wald is a member of the steering committee of the 'Nuffield Text Transcription Project' based at Manchester City College that is comparing Palantype, electronic and paper based note taking through trials with deaf students.

Technologies and issues of using speech to text transcription using speech recognition software have been investigated and published in Developments In Technology To Increase Access To Education For Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Students Dr Mike Wald (Conference Proceedings "Technology and Persons with Disabilities" Conference, March 20-25, 2000 )

Technical trials of remote speech to text transcription using speech recognition software have been successful using a mobile phone to transmit the speaker's voice to the remote speech to text 'summariser/notetaker' and a Nockia Communicator 9000i to receive and display the transcribed text data as described in Developments in mobile telecommunications technology to increase access to education for deaf and hard of hearing students Dr Mike Wald (Conference Proceedings "International Mobile Telecommunications Seminar", Potsdam Germany, June 6 -7, 2000). Further trials await the  identification of appropriate students.

Dr Mike Wald is a member of the Executive Advisory Committee of the international collaborative Liberated Learning Project  that is investigating the use of
speech recognition to provide real time captioning directly from lecturers in university classes. Trials in SHEC institutions await the  identification of appropriate students and staff.
 

Remote sign language interpreting over videoconferencing

Technologies and issues have been investigated.

Technical trials of remote sign language interpreting over videoconferencing have been successful using ISDN2 based systems (although clearly the higher bandwidth ISDN6 systems can provide a better quality image for lip-reading). Computer networks can also be used successfully for sign language interpreting over videoconferencing.

Further trials await the  identification and selection of appropriate students and the installation of videoconferencing capability in lecture/teaching rooms.

Advice has been provided to other HE institutions.
 

Remote access and flexible learning over videoconferencing

Technologies and issues have been investigated.

Trials await the  identification and selection of appropriate students and the installation of  videoconferencing capability in lecture/teaching rooms.
 

SHEC Report on Collaboration