iStoryTime Releases App for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children

iStoryTime, the app developer for DreamWorks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon,” among other audio-visual children’s stories, now will offer the option to view it in oral, manual, or sign-language.

"iStoryTime brings the joy of a children's book to the convenience of your iPhone, iPod® touch, or iPad. Our books are illustrated and narrated, so your child can enjoy them even when you’re busy. Best of all, the app is drop-dead simple to use because it’s actually designed for a 2-year old."

"Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy." is the first story to offer these new options and can be downloaded for $2.99 on iPad or $.99 on iPhone.

This is only the beginning, with more such stories to come...

"iStoryTime cofounder Woody Sears said that his company is busy trying to “spread the word about our new product.” Deaf people are still underprovided for by media, he said, but new technology, including user-generated apps, is facilitating the development of content for this niche market."

I do not own an iPhone or iPad, but can anyone try it out and tell me how it went? I would love to know?

Links:
News Article
istorytimeapp

DEAFNATION WORLD EXPO IN LAS VEGAS A SMASHING SUCCESS

The Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas was buzzing with activity and hands were flying everywhere you turned during the week of July 18-23, 2010. More than 23,400 unique visitors from 73 different countries came to Las Vegas for the DeafNation World Conference and Expo (DNWE). With special thanks to the Platinum sponsors, Sorenson Communications and Purple, DNWE was a smashing success.

DNWE welcomed signing crowds from every corner of the world, communicating in a blend of native sign languages and International Sign Language. The week saw over 300 booths ranging from fashion to sign language dictionaries to Video Relay Services to deaf films, and over 70 workshops including topics like the future of deaf telephony, environmentally-conscious living, and cultural exchanges.

The week-long celebration of Deaf culture kicked off on Sunday, July 18 at the Fremont Street Experience with a canopy video created by DeafNation. Live entertainment previews included the Finnish band Signmark and contestants in the Miss Deaf International pageant, which had its finale on Friday, July 22 crowning Miss Deaf France as the new Miss Deaf International.

During the week at Sands Center, special appearances were made by deaf Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin, and deaf UFC fighter and the person the movie “Hamill” is based on, Matt Hamill. Thousands upon thousands lined up to buy books, T-shirts, pictures, and to have them signed by Marlee and Matt, before taking a picture with the stars.

The main stage was the center of all the activity. Three distinguished keynote speakers were invited to DNWE to present in front of thousands. The first speaker, Mark Wheatley, is the current Executive Director of the European Union of the Deaf, and he presented “The European Perspective of the Deaf Community in EU Member States.”

Donalda Ammons, an international sports leader and former president of Deaflympics, discussed “Deaf World Sports: The Power of Internet-based Media.” Bernard Bragg, an international deaf entertainer and the founder of the National Theatre of the Deaf, presented “We’re the World.”

Also on the main stage was the wedding of Robert McClay and Katrina Green, both Americans, who wished to hold their wedding ceremony on Wednesday, July 21. Deaf rapper Sean Forbes from D-PAN performed to cheering crowds, and Signmark gave a preview of what they would play on Monday and Tuesday nights at the Treasure Island pool party. For cinema-goers, DNWE had two surprises for them: screenings of films from two different deaf production companies, ASL Films from the United States, and Awi Film from the Czech Republic.

During the week, DeafNation received honors from two different organizations – the International Service Award from the Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf, and an award in honor of DeafNation’s 10-year-long partnership with Deaflympics, Inc. as its media partner. Many other countries honored DeafNation with various paintings, fabrics, and trinkets that are culturally priceless.

The World Deaf Art Gallery had over 20 pieces from international deaf artists, including the famous Chuck Baird, and a series of beautiful batiks created by deaf students from Ghana. Mannequins were donned with pieces by deaf fashion designers. Next to the art gallery was one of the main attractions at Sands that drew crowds – the Deaf Wax Museum.

Deaf wax sculptor Don Baer is well known for his series of historical deaf figures, and it was a honor for DeafNation to have his latest piece unveiled at DNWE – a sculpture of Bernard Bragg in his heydays, as a mime. Bragg was extremely touched, and the first words he said were, “That’s me!” amid flashes from the crowd.

DNWE had something for everyone. For those who were itching for some sports action, a corner of Sands Expo Center was reserved for the World Deaf Darts Tournament. Teams and singles participated in the tournament, with Curtis Cote coming out on top in the 301 singles, and Curtis Cote and Mike Cope winning the 501 double slot. Sean Byrum and Gary Burke won the cricket double, while Mike Cope, Curtis Cote and Jason Hurt sweeped the team-of-3 slot.

DeafNation partnered with Deaf Sports Academy to provide flag football and basketball games for children and teenagers, and the Las Vegas Charter School of the Deaf had childcare activities that included the popular moon bounce.

After the week at Sands Expo Center and DNWE wrapped up, DeafNation hosted a World Deaf Golf Classic at three different courses over three days, for $15,000 total prizes. After playing at the Arroyo Golf Club, the Siena Golf Club, and the Red Rock Golf Club, John Ramirez III came out as the winner of the 2010 DeafNation Golf Classic.

The success of DNWE would not have been made possible without the hard work of our committee, volunteers, and the sponsorship of our Platinum-level sponsors: Sorenson Communications and Purple. Special thanks also go to our Bronze-level sponsors: Deaf Missions, Sprint Relay, The Z, Gracias VRS, ASL Pre-Paid Legal, and ASL Dream Team.

DeafNation’s philosophy is that free admission brings a diversity of attendees who can share our culture, needs, language, and information. Overall, our goal is to give everyone the chance to meet new people from all the corners of the world, ranging anywhere from historical regions like Europe, the Americas and Africa to exotic regions like Asia and Australia, and learn new languages, new cultures and new traditions, which was all done under one great roof!

VIDEOS AND PHOTOS WILL BE AVAILABLE IN SEPTEMBER ON WWW.DEAFNATION.COM
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Do we want another DeafNation World Expo? If yes, then when and where??? Any suggestions?

(courtesy of DeafNation through email subscription)

Sign Language in Space!!!!!

That's right! We have an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and she is sending us a video message in sign language! Pretty nifty huh!?

"Ultimately, this isn't really about me learning or knowing ASL," stated Caldwell Dyson. "This story should be an avenue for deaf students -- from children in kindergarten to college undergraduates to doctoral candidates -- to see themselves belonging to this amazing thing called NASA and participating in scientific research and space exploration."

What's next now??? How about Mars??? (smile)

A series of children books translated into American Sign Language (ASL)

While hearing children and adults are being exposed to ASL in ever increasing numbers, an ever decreasing number of Deaf children are given that same opportunity. What a powerful, yet scary statement! Unfortunately, it’s true. As much as statistics have proven that American Sign Language does indeed help children develop better, their exposure has been decreasing. (Babies)
I stumbled onto this website; http://www.asltales.net. I am impressed with what they are doing. I watched a few of their video clips and enjoyed watching  them.

They designed a series of children books and translated them into ASL. 

“We aspire to get your child excited about seeing and describing things visually - the foundation upon which all sign languages are formed. We have provided tools to send the motivated ASL learner on the path to understand and use the nuances of this beautiful language. And future signer or not, all readers will delight in the whimsy available in ASL and be exposed to why the American Deaf Community is so proud of its language.”

Check out one of their clips and see if you find them as interesting as I did.

Oh I See! News in ASL !!! www.oicmovies.com

Don't you hate it when you're watching the news and the Closed Captioning (CC) is behind, incorrect, or even doesn't show up??? I hate it too! I finally found a good website where I can watch everyday news in American Sign Language (ASL). www.oicmovies.com. 

www.oicmovies.com. 

"Our vision is to provide the best available resource for news, information and entertainment in American Sign Language. We do this by producing original programming in ASL and organizing available ASL content from the web."

Lastly, I got the opportunity to interview with the founder of www.oicmovies.com. See below for the script. 


------------------------


1) Is www.oicmovies.com Deaf owned?

     Yes. My name is Mary Luczki, I'm deaf, and run the company with two hearing partners, Carrie Lezotte, and Diane Cheklich.  Carrie and Diane have business and production experience (they own oneofusfilms), and used their money to get us going.  I manage all the content, what stories are important to the Deaf, what videos are good enough ASL for the site, and I make sure we are Deaf and ASL in our overall viewpoint, focus and vision.  I also want to make sure there is a variety of ASL signing styles for everyone.  Even though it is my partners who have provided the money for this, they have made it clear that this is for the Deaf, it's our community, and they never even think about telling me what to say or do on the site. 

2) Tell me a bit about yourself and how you came up with this idea?
     I have an interesting story for that. Everyone in my family is Deaf and I was born hard of hearing. My family always asks me questions; "What's going on? What are they saying? What are they doing?" and so forth. I was almost like an interpreter or perhaps a reporter, always explaining everything to them. Eventually, I became fully Deaf when I was around 13 years old. If you don't mind me saying, that's when I became "normal" with the rest of my family.  Yet I still enjoyed gathering news and explaining it to my family and friends. That led me to the idea of signing out the news.  Another hearing friend came up with the idea of putting it on VHS tapes, and distributing it via a subscription system. We tried it out, but it was difficult to do that because we didn't have enough technology back at that time time around the 1990s. Fortunately, technology is now easy for all of us. We also have the Internet. Anyone all over the world can access it. So I decided to give it another try! My friend, Fawn Alleyne, who happened to work for oneofusfilms.org, contacted me and suggested setting it up for the internet. She was kind enough to set up a meeting with Carrie and Diane where I could pitch my idea to them. They loved it and here we are as a result.

3) How long have www.oicmovies.com been up and running?

     Just a bit more than a year now.  I met Carrie and Diane about two years ago through Fawn, and we met and worked on the site, shooting videos and talking about it, for about a year before we launched, in April of 2009. 

4) May I ask, in what ways are the sponsors helping you?
     They gave me all the equipment needed to do this. They literally are paying for everything including the website.  We actually are earning nothing from this. This is all volunteer-based.  They have even provided a mini-studio in my home to make it easier for me to generate the news videos at home, then upload to be edited and put on the site.

5) That is very generous of them! Do you have any plans to bring in any revenues to help reduce the financial burden from your sponsors?

     Oh yes. We truly appreciate everything they have done for us. In fact, we are thinking of ways to pay them back as our token of appreciation. We have some ads on our website, but that doesn't pay much yet because we haven't reached the #s of members needed to make a significant difference. As we continue to build our membership by providing the best ASL resource on the web, our ad sales will help generate the money we need.  We've been steadily growing for a year, and we've found out about half our audience are people learning ASL, so we're going to offer a reasonably priced captioning option that those learning ASL can pay for monthly. OICmovies has just been spending money to get to where we are, and so this service will turn us into a real business that can create jobs for more people. We really want to publish new stories every day and have a variety of reporters, but it will take a bit of regular money to do that. Additionally, we just released our first dvd, "Best of OIC Movies 2009: ASL only edition" for $19.95. Also, people can support us by purchasing shirts, hats & caps, bags, cups, buttons, magnets, and mouse pads on http://www.cafepress.com/oicmovies.  we plan to have a Best of Cassie DVD available soon as well.  Cassie is our star Deaf comedian. 

6) I noticed you did say you need #s of members needed to make a significant difference, what kind of #s are you talking about? 
     Well, we now have about over 10,000 members and and that was one of the milestones we needed to hit, then revenues generated from the ads will increase. So the # of hits which means the # of people that visit www.oicmovies.com can be used to attract sponsors and advertisers. Think what it would be if we could have 100,000 members!

7) As you may or not know, there are other websites such as DeafNewspaper., iDeafnews and etc, how are you different?
     I prefer to focus on the news happening around us. Often enough, Deaf people would watch the news, but they don't understand it quite well. Sometimes the Closed Captioning (CC) are out of sync, far behind, or doesn't even appear or is just plain inaccurate. That really hurt the Deaf population. Also, in Deaf culture, we do not only want to know the story, but we want to know why and how. For example, the earthquake in Haiti; the news about people getting hurt and millions of dollars in damage is not enough for Deaf people. Deaf people want to know how did it happen? What caused it?  Also, sometimes Deaf people are not familiar with their terminology such as Richter magnitude scale, aftershock, and etc. In my videos, I make sure to explain the terminology, "why" and "how".  I think Deaf people really benefit from it.
     Also I would like to add one more thing. iDeafNews seems to focus on the Deaf-related events. DeafNewspaper like to talk about Deaf personal stories. Finally, OIC Movies are about the daily news that you see on television. So I think with three of us, we complete the world of news. That's a good thing in my opinion. 

8) What's the biggest opportunity you predict for your business?

     Well, the beauty of news is that we'll never run out of news. There'll always be something going on in USA and in the world. As I said before, if we can figure out how to generate revenues, I think we can finally start paying people for reports than asking them to volunteer. That'll help us to increase the amount of news and even broadcast it 24/7. 

9) What's the biggest challenge OIC Moviesis currently facing? 

     Probably generating revenue so we can accomplish more. We've been able to get a lot accomplished without a lot of resources, so, like any new small business, managing our growth is a challenge. There's so much we want to do, so many stories to tell, and probably the hardest thing is to stay focused on one thing, delivering the news once a week, when there are so many things that need to get done. We want to be neutral and unbiased and factual. We just want to deliver the news and let the Deaf think for themselves. We have a small staff, the three of us and a few other volunteers, so we can't make big things happen quickly, but we are thinking big!
     In addition, we are working on being family friendly, so that any one of any age can watch us.  I have had schools who contacted me and told me how much they enjoyed showing OIC Movies to their children. The children really benefit from it. However, I did have one school who contacted  me and told me they couldn?t show my website because unknown to me, one of the google ads was showing a dating website and it was not allowed in their school. I had to contact the website host and ask them to block those kind of ads. Go figure. Those kind of things are sometimes unexpected obstacles that we face, but that?s part of business. We can't always react as fast as we want to, but we were able to make the chance.

Snappy Interview with SnapVRS

Interview with Allison Polk, Marketing Communications Manager of Snap Telecommunications, Inc. 

1) How did Snap!VRS get started?
Snap Telecommunications, Inc. is a CLEC (Competitive Local Exchange Carrier) that was acquired by a privately-held technology company whose mission is to improve the lives of people with disabilities through new technologies and services.  Snap!VRS received FCC certification for VRS in 2006 and launched the VRS offering in 2007.

2) Does Snap!VRS own Viable?
No. Viable is still up and running. Snap!VRS basically provides operational support for Viable. Snap!VRS wants to ensure that Viable customers can continue using VRS with their VPAD's with confidence.

3) Is Snap!VRS Deaf-owned? How many Deaf employees are working for the company and what percentage do they make up of your workforce?
(See above answer – Snap!VRS was begun by a technology company.)  We have a good number of deaf employees working in strategic positions.

4) Is Viable Deaf-owned? How many Deaf employees are working for the company and what percentage do they make up of your workforce?
Viable was founded by a deaf man, John Yeh, and for the first several years of its existence, the majority of its leadership was also deaf. Now it is run operated by Snap!VRS. Of the current employees working for Viable, excluding the Video interpreters, more than half of the staff is deaf.

5) What are the products you currently provide for free?
Snap!VRS provides both OJO models (PVP-900 and PVP-1000) for free to Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals. The biggest difference between both models is with PVP-1000, you can pick the remote control off the videophone and talk on it. The benefit of the two models is that it provides options, especially for those who want to make VCO calls.

Additionally, we have the VPAD and VPAD+.  VPAD's have a large touch screen built-in, which means there is no need for a TV. I’ve always thought that was pretty cool. There are a bunch of other neat features, like the built-in flasher and Video Mail.  Furthermore, the difference between VPAD and VPAD+ is VPAD+ has wireless capabilities. That means you can access  our VRS services at a coffee shop, hotel, or any other place that offers wifi.

We do give deaf customers a VPAD at no cost.  If any deaf customers read your blog and are interested in the VPAD, please contact Customer Service (e-mail help@viable.net or call help.viablevrs.tv from any videophone).  With the support of Snap’s nationwide field service team, we’ll be able to set you up.

6) Can a Hearing customer purchase VPAD and the VPAD+?
No.  Our priority right now is to our deaf customers.  Because the VPADs are in such high demand, we want to make sure our customers have the VRS access they need.

7) May I ask why is there a subscription fee for Hearing people?
This is no longer true. Feel free to refer to the comment (Snap OJO) I left on your Snap blog for an answer to this one.

8) If a Deaf customer wants to make any kind of feedback including comments about your interpreters, how can they contact you?
Each interpreter discloses their ID # at the beginning and the end of every VRS call. If you want to provide any kind of feedback, about an interpreter or any other part of your call, you can contact our Customer Service through either the website (http://snapvrs.com/contact/information/) or videophone (from an Ojo, dial 711-SNAP (7627) or from any other phone: 866-WHY-SNAP (866-949-7627 or ask.snapvrs.com.) Customer Service can also be reached by e-mailing: info@snapvrs.com or Instant Message: AskSnap (AIM, Yahoo!, MSN).
We do take customer feedback seriously.  The specificity of the information determines our approach.  We always coach our employees when we have the opportunity.

9) For the Deaf community's peace of mind, are the interpreters certified? Are they pre-screened?
We have a  very specific and thorough hiring process that helps us establish a specific level of quality in skill before we train.  Our training is very thorough and entails a number of classroom and hands-on time with support from seasoned Snap!VRS Video Interpreters.  We do conduct a Quality Assurance program regularly. Currently, all interpreters are certified and SNAP!VRS are always constantly reviewing the interpreters' performance. Training and workshops are provided on a constant basis. We have a mentorship program where interpreters mentor other interpreters. Also we have call managers that provide on site support for interpreters.

10) What are the biggest challenges facing your company and also for the VRS industry?
The biggest challenges facing the VRS industry is to receive the capacity and support from the FCC to continue to grow to provide relay customers with better technologies and VRS to bring us closer to the ADA's mandate for functional equivalency in telecommunications, and at same time, allow us to reach out and provide services to those who are not yet fully experience their right to relay services - for example, those who are deaf blind, those who live in rural areas, those who are low income and cannot afford internet, those with limited English proficiency and require deaf interpreters, and those who have minimal signing skills and need simultaneous captions for their video interpreting - which they are entitled to under the ADA. Unfortunately the bad acts of a few in our industry has shifted the focus from the ADA to decreasing the amount paid out from the TRS Fund. As a result, millions of dollars have been withheld and still have not been paid for VRS calls while they are being reviewed in some unknown process with unknown timelines. The lack of a stable and predictable compensation process has caused a chilling effect in the industry, and in some cases, customers who would like to make calls are being declined service based on the fear that the provider will not be compensated for the call. Recent FCC decisions - such as their Order that VRS employees' VRS calls are not compensable - seem more focused on the issue of the TRS Fund rather than individuals' ADA rights. We must get back on track in the ADA being our guiding principle.

11) Who do you wish knew about your services that currently are not aware of what you provide?
I wish people would try and see how cool the VPADs are. You can receive video mails on your VPAD / VPAD+ anywhere and anytime. Also, I wish everyone would take advantage of all the different choices that we offer. We have our field help representatives all over the country and they are ready to help customers anytime.

I want to thank Ms. Polk for taking the time to do the interview with me. It certainly has been an enlightening experience. It is nice to know Deaf people still have jobs working for Viable or Snap!VRS. Thank you again.

Updated: A new video is made. Check it out on http://www.snapvrs.com/

American Sign Language (ASL) movies in 3-d !!!!!

This is a neat movie made by Vcom3d and Gallaudet University.

(The Forest)

(made by http://www.vcom3d.com/vault_files/forest_asl/)

 (First Finnish virtual sign language)

(made by http://www.visualife.eu/)

Pretty neat!!!!!!

I do wonder.....

Does that mean that human interpreters could be eventually replaced with technology? Think about it. If technology can translate voice into words, then does that mean that  technology will eventually be able to translate voice into any form of sign language such as Signed Exact English (SEE), Pidgin Sign(ed) English (PSE), American Sign Language (ASL), or any others?

What do you think?

Why is it so difficult to accept American Sign Language (ASL) as a Foreign Language?

"One of the worst things you can do to a human being is to say, ‘Your language doesn't count...." That's a powerful statement. Anyhow, some educators argue an indigenous language by definition can't be considered foreign. Indigenous means originating in and characteristic of a particular region or country (dictionary). For example, if you live in Spain and its native language is Spanish, then you cannot consider Spanish as a foreign language. Only non-Spaniards (like Americans or the  French) who do not live in Spain may refer it as a foreign language.

Is American Sign Language (ASL) an indigenous language?

Others say a language must have literature for proper study. That means in order to be a true language, it must have some kind of written form. We have ABC's. Egyptians have hieroglyphics. Chinese have logograms. What about ASL? There are many ASL gloss, SignWriting, for example.

Does American Sign Language lack a true writing system?

The reality is the definition of the word, "foreign" is changing slowly. In fact, many foreign language departments all over schools in the USA were renamed or in the process of renaming the departments to "world languages" or "classical and modern languages." The reason they are doing this is because they realize how there are countless numbers of languages that are indigenous or may not have a written system, but at same time they are still being accepted as a true language. Did you know that most languages around the world, including many African languages, do not have a written system?

So let me ask you again.

Why is it so difficult to accept ASL as a foreign language?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/education/ct-met-sign-language-20100416,0,2337497.story

One on One Exclusive Interview with PAH Relay (VRS)

This week, I had the opportunity to chat with the CEO of PAH Relay, Brian Collins.

http://pahrelay.com/

1. Is the company Deaf-owned (meaning is the CEO, founder, or such Deaf)?
To answer this first question, I the CEO, am not Deaf. However, I would like to also share that I am very much a stakeholder in the Deaf community, as is our COO, due to the fact that we are both CODA’s who have grown up and continue to be active in the Deaf community.
Additionally, our Board of Managers consists of six individuals, the CEO, CFO, COO and three of our largest investors who are Deaf. More specifically the Board of Managers is made up of three Deaf individuals, two CODA’s and one hearing individual. With that said, I would consider PAH Relay Deaf owned/managed.

2. How many Deaf employees are working for the company and what percentage do they make up of your work force?
At this point in time we have only three employees on the Operations side of our organization, the CEO, CFO and COO. Although it is our intention to employ Deaf individuals when the opportunity presents itself, we simply are still in the start up phases of our organization. We want to ensure that once we do expand our team that we are doing so for the right reasons and are able to sustain those positions for the long term.

3. Why did you come up with the idea to set up your own VRS?
I think it'll help both of us if I give you a quick background about myself. First of all, both of my parents are Deaf, so I am a CODA. I grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana and have always been involved in the Deaf world including Deaf organizations and Deaf clubs. In fact, I was the first Hearing student to attend Indianapolis School for the Deaf (ISD) in 1987. I loved the Deaf world so much that I convinced the superintendant of the Indiana School for the Deaf to allow me to attend ISD for one semester of my senior year. I completely immersed myself and chose to also stay in the dorm. After attending College for a few years I began working as a freelance interpreter and continued doing that for about 15 years. In addition to community work I also did some VRS work as well.

In my VRS work, I noticed that there was too much focus being placed on the technology side of the VRS industry and far too little focus on the consumers and interpreters that serve them. So I decided to do something about that and this led to the creation of PAH Relay.

4. When was PAH Relay established?
We started in February of 2008 and we processed our first call on October 31st, 2009. Trick or Treat!

5. What other services do PAH Relay offer?
We offer VCO, IP-relay (AIM or iChat), 10-digit number and 911, and of course VRS. We also recently released a new video softphone (video software) we call PAH MAX, you can download it for free through our website.

6. What about VRI?
At this time we do not provide VRI services. We want to ensure our energy is focused on providing the best Services possible and we will accomplish that by focusing on one thing at a time. We want to ensure we provide our consumers the best interpreters available all the while ensuring all of our Deaf consumers including you are happy with our interpreters before anything else. VRI may come later, we will have to wait and see for now.

7. Is PAH Relay certified by FCC?
Currently we are not, although we submitted our application to the FCC back in November of 2008. As most of us are aware the FCC has been extremely busy with investigations and reviewing petitions and the like, but they have shared with us that they do not have any further questions regarding our application. So that's good, at this point we will continue to be patient, while the FCC works through the other tasks on their plate. I'm not worried and believe it is just a matter of a little more time before we become an approved provider.

8. You did mention about wanting to focus on the Service instead of the technology. How are you doing that? Could you expand on that a little more please?
Absolutely! First of all, my philosophy is that a good rapport must be established between the interpreter and the consumer, this is the key to success. If the Deaf consumer and the Interpreter have established a rapport, the interpreter is better able to match terminology, register and personality while processing calls, which results in a much more effective call and in a much happier Deaf consumer.  It doesn't matter if it is a VRS call, an assignment at a doctor's office, or interpreting at a wedding. As long as a rapport between the interpreter and the Deaf consumer can be established, everything else falls in to place. Let's use my mother as an example. When my mother makes a VRS call and is put on hold, typically the interpreter will let her know they need to put up the privacy screen. As result, my mother feels disconnected from the interpreter and is unable to establish a rapport with them. This leads to her being unsure of whether or not her call is being processed well and she is ultimately left not knowing. To her this also feels cold and not Deaf friendly, it is as if she is once again talking through a machine, and who likes that? From the feedback we have, the Deaf community does not like this and I can tell you that interpreters do not like it either. That's not how interpreting has been or should be done. Instead, the Deaf consumer and interpreter should be able to take the time to acknowledge each other and build up a rapport. This ultimately makes interpreting and processing calls so much easier and much quicker resulting in a cost savings to the TRS Fund. All in all, it’s what the Deaf community and interpreters are already accustomed to and therefore a more natural process for everyone involved. So again, in my example with the video privacy screens being over used, if the Deaf consumer is put on hold by the interpreter, who is in control of the call? Shouldn’t it be the Deaf consumer who decides whether or not the interpreter uses the "Video Privacy" screen? It is also the Deaf consumer who can initiate small talk, within reason, and establish a rapport with the interpreter. Again our focus is on giving that control to our Deaf consumers, thereby making our Deaf consumers feel more comfortable while placing their calls. Rapport is the key; after all, we need to remember that VRS stands for Video Relay SERVICES. PAH Relay is providing those Services today, if the sole focus is Technology then we need to refer to this industry as the Video Relay Technology (VRT) industry... make sense? For PAH Relay, Customer Service is a high priority focus and will not be over-shadowed by technology.

9. Would there be any concerns among the interpreters working for PAH Relay and possible breaches with the Code of Ethics after establishing a rapport with a Deaf consumer?
Our interpreters are professionals who work in the Deaf community as interpreters as well as in VRS. All abide by a strict Code of Ethics and regard those with the highest of integrity. Interaction prior to, or after interpreting a VRS call is no different than what you would experience while in the community. For example, when you go to a doctor for an appointment you may find yourself asking the interpreter things like “Where are you from?” or “How did you learn ASL?” These are things that help to begin establishing a rapport between the Deaf consumer and the interpreter. You’ll notice answers are not as specific as giving an exact home address, rather the answers may be something like “I’m from Indiana”. General answers such as these are sufficient and go a long way in establishing a rapport between the Deaf consumer and interpreter. It is very easy to be friendly with each other while maintaining a sense of professionalism, all the while providing the best Service you can.

10. Can you explain the process of hiring interpreters to work for PAH Relay?
We pre-screen every interpreter by looking at resumes, credentials, experience and conducting background checks. We are looking for interpreters who are not only highly qualified to interpret, but also interpreters who are and continue to be involved within the Deaf community. We are not interested in interpreters who look at this as just a job or are only in it for the money. PAH Relay encourages all of our interpreters to remain involved with the Deaf communities whether that is in interpreting outside of VRS or participating in various Deaf organizations. Since there is always room for improvement, we also expect our interpreters to participate in interpreting workshops annually. The interpreting industry is always changing and we want our interpreters to be at the top of their game regardless of those changes.

Lastly, we encourage as much Deaf community feedback as possible. At the top of every page on our website you will find a button called “Meet your Interpreters!” If you click that button you will see we have a picture and a profile for nearly all of our interpreters. On each interpreter's profile, you can submit your feedback. This feedback may focus on strengths or weaknesses, yet we view it as constructive, and a way for us to improve the Service we provide to our Deaf consumers. All feedback comes to me and I will personally see to it that every interpreter gets their feedback, and together we will do whatever is necessary and appropriate to continue providing the very best VRS services possible.

11. Providing feedback and Posting the interpreter's bio and picture, aren't there any privacy or legal issues relating to that?
The way we see it is, if an interpreter is not comfortable, then why is he/she an interpreter in the first place? Being an interpreter requires not only great communications skills, but skills in interacting among people. When an interpreter meets you for the first time they understand you will want to know more about them, this comes natural to them, since they already do this when interpreting in the community. Human interaction greatly improves the rapport between a Deaf consumer and the interpreter and is something we strive for. Additionally, this is how feedback is more openly shared among each other. Constructive feedback is how all interpreters understand what improvements or adjustments need to be made, and is very important to every PAH Relay video interpreter.

To date not one of our interpreters has had an issue with this, in fact they are excited to share who they are and what they are about and that is Serving the Deaf community well!

12. What do you want the Deaf community to know about VRS that they do not already?

It is vitally important that all Deaf consumers know that they own their calls. Their calls are not ours; the interpreter's job is to simply interpret your message to the Hearing caller with expertise. Being satisfied your call was interpreted well is no longer enough, confidence knowing your call was handled professionally and knowing you were represented well is what you should come to expect. It all comes down to being Served well and this is the ultimate goal at PAH Relay.

13. What is the biggest challenge for PAH Relay?
Probably, the competition, there are so many providers focusing on technology that it has become a challenge getting the SERVICE message out there. It seems we have been conditioned that in order to use a particular provider that you must first have their technology. At PAH Relay we do not see it that way, in fact we believe Technology and Service provision are two very different things and should be handled as such. We have chosen to focus on the Service aspect of this industry because interpreting and highly qualified interpreters are what we know best! PAH Relay is in the Video Relay SERVICES business.

14. What is the biggest challenge you foresee between the VRS industry and the FCC?
I believe that we, the Deaf community and providers, need quicker responses from the FCC on regulation and rule making. It can be very difficult to try and provide unique services that go above and beyond current expectations while waiting for the FCC to make decisions on various petitions.

Additionally, it would seem that separating what we currently call “VRS” in to two categories namely; VRS (Video Relay Service) and VRT (Video Relay Technology) would make sense. By separating VRS from VRT, the interoperability of all technology with all Service providers could be established. A great example of how this is already being done is with mobile phone devices and services. If you decided to buy a new phone (i.e. Blackberry, Samsung or Nokia), you can buy it and choose which service provider (i.e. AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile or Sprint) you want to use with that phone. It should be the same with the Video Relay industry. You should not lose basic service needs such as your contacts or missed calls when you decide to change technology. Again, VRS is Video Relay SERVICES... Not Technology. I don't know about you, but I believe the “S” in VRS revolves more around the interpreting services provided and not so much the technology that we use to provide those interpreting services.

15. Do you have any plans to expand PAH Relay even more?
Well, I think we are doing very well actually. It's been only a year and a half and we already have 12 call centers in 8 states. There is at least one in Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Illinois, California, Oregon, Indiana, and Georgia. We want to grow organically and that is done through Deaf customers placing their calls using our services. The only way we can expand is for our Deaf consumers to be so happy with our interpreters, and they way they are served, that they spread the good news of PAH Relay!

On behalf of the Deaf communities and myself, we would like to thank you for taking the time to explain your business and your philosophy. We truly appreciate it.

The Mystery of the X in X Video Relay Services...

Tonight's interpreter was very interesting, She was friendly and very competent. She worked for XVRS. 

I googled XVRS and the first result was www.cacvrs.org/CAC_Relay/Home.html ??? That really threw me off. The website is still down. I even wrote a blog about CACVRS a while ago. http://www.cacvrs.org/ did not work and according to myvrs.org, CACVRS filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. So I did some more googling and I found this http://cacrelay.com/xvrs/.

http://cacrelay.com/

I noticed the main domain is http://cacrelay.com/ I clicked on it and what do you know!?
"CAC Relay Services provide you choices in how to communicate. Whether you do it through Video Relay Service (XVRS.TV)..."

I am utterly baffled. Why does CAC Relay call their Video Relay Services XVRS ??? What does X stand for?  Nevertheless, CAC Relay (or XVRS) provides the following:

• 24 / 7 VRS
• VP: XVRS.TV
• Hearing can call @ (866) 500-9662
• 10 digit number and 911
• Text Relay through AIM (XVRSRelay)
• VRI (competitive rates)
• Spanish VRS 24 / 7
• VP: SpanishVRS.TV
• Hearing can call @ V: (866) 448-8398

There is one particular thing I did like about their website, they list their public booths. A public booth is where you can go and make a VRS call without having to pay for anything. http://173.201.120.209/cacrelay/CAC_Relay/Booth_Locations.html. That is nice to know.

So can anyone clarify what's the relationship between XVRS and CACRelay? Thank you in ahead.

Has Viable Returned from the Dead?

Well, what do you know??? Viable is still up and running. I thought it was either taken over and replaced by another VRS company or had filed for bankruptcy and was shut down. Neither seems to be the case. Sometime last year, Viable was on its last breath and the doctors were ready to call it quits, but Snap!VRS came in and rescued Viable.

So the question is did Snap!VRS acquire Viable?
From a legal standpoint, no, Snap!VRS has not acquired Viable. However, that technicality does not affect your user experience. Snap!VRS is operating Viable and providing all the service support you need for your VRS calls.

http://www.viable.net/

Viable is still offering 24/7 VRS, VCO, 911, 10-digit number, VideoMail, and Viable Vision.

• VideoMail will allow you to personalize your video answer message, receive notifications through your pager and/or email, and finally you can view your video messages on your pager,  Mac / PC, VPAD, or on Viable Vision.
• Viable Vision is a software you can download for free onto your PC (not Mac). It'll allow you to record yourself or save conversations. Another cool thing about it is you can do text chat which means you can type down anything you want such as your SSN or phone numbers without having to sign it to the interpreter or another customer. That's neat.
• Also it looks like they are in the process of adding VRI services. That would be great; being able to go into a hospital and talk to your doctor with an interpreter all ready to go on your VPAD.

However, bad news... According to the website, the VPAD+ is currently unavailable. What a shame! Additionally, the website also says
'There's no reason to leave your friends and family in the dark when you upgrade to Viable Vision! The software operates on standard technologies that are compatible with most videophones, so you can continue to call the same people you love talking with.' (https://www.viable.net/product/vv)  I wonder which videophone in particular does not work with VPAD?

I made a test call and got an interpreter with an androgynous look, but nevertheless, the interpreter was great. The interpreter was a master with body language. I would recommend the interpreter to anyone. My hearing friend could tell it was a female based on the voice, but also did onfirmed that the interpreter did an excellent job with the call.

I'm in the process of contacting Snap!VRS / Viable to ask them some questions. Do you have any particular questions you would like me to ask? Thanks!

Next VRS Provider : XVRS

SnapVRS, the Eye or Ojo, as we say in Spanish, of VRS

Finally, I found another Video Relay Provider (VRS) that will provide a free videophone to Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals. The name of the videophone is called "PVP-900 Ojo" The Ojo is a stand-alone desktop appliance that affords the highest quality video transmission and blends industry-standard technology with unique patented enhancements to achieve jitter-free two-way video calls. A fun fact is the word, "Ojo" is a Spanish word that translates to "Eye". It is distributed by Snap!VRS. Snap!VRS is owned by Snap Telecommunications, Inc and is certified by the FCC.

Naturally, I was curious to find out more information! I went to their website (http://snapvrs.com/) and their facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/snapvrs). I see they do offer 24/7 interpreters, VCO, 10-digit number, and VRI. Although, it is not handled by Snap!VRS. Instead, "Snap!VRS has partnered with Communication Access Network of America, Inc...Please visit www.caninterpreting.com to find out more about rates and reservations for VRI services." Anyhow, they also do two things that I think are cool. 1) You do not need to sign out your SSN, your credit card #s, or anything like that to the VR interpreter. Instead, you can type it in using your free Ojo. That's nice. It'll give some people a better sense of security. 2) You can make your own video greetings for other people to view. I do wonder if the interpreters can view this also during any calls made by Hearing callers?

Deaf can call @ "call.snapvrs.com"
Hearing can call @ 888-711-SNAP (7627).
(A bonus for the Hearing callers, the Ojo can be purchased for $299.99 with a monthly subscription fee.)

**FYI, it seems there is another OJO model called "Ojo PVP-1000". I'll have to contact Snap!VRS and check on that a bit more.**

Lastly, I made a call to my mother to say hello. The conversation went very smoothly. There were no video delays. The interpreter did a great job translating my American Sign Language into English. My mother agrees. The only suggestion I have is if I sign out something in the middle of a conversation, I would like the interpreter to either appropriately interrupt my mother or add my question or comment to the end of the conversation rather than make me sign things twice. Again, it's not a big deal. I'm just thinking about a perfect world with 100% equal and fair communication.

I'm looking forward to the next VRS blog. Apparently Snap!VRS also bought or took over ViableVRS? I'll have to investigate  that too. Will follow up soon.

Next VRS Provider : ViableVRS

Why is Federal Video Relay Service (VRS) closed on the weekends???

Interestingly enough, I tried to make a call using myfedvrs.tv yesterday (on Sunday). Much to my surprise, it was closed! I am a little bit confused. If the government is supposed to be accessible 24/7, then why is their Video Relay Services only open from 7am to 11pm ET M-F (excluding Federal holidays)? Isn't that sending a misleading message to America?

http://www.fedvrs.us/session/new

Nevertheless, I tried again today (Monday) and made the call to myfedvrs.tv. I got a middle aged female who looked quite professional. She gave me the impression that she was a high-caliber interpreter. As the conversation began, she had her mouth closed and signed pure ASL. Now that was a first!  Very few people can sign pure ASL with their mouth closed. That was neat to see. However, I cannot say the same about her voicing skills. She kept missing my fingerspelling and  also a few of my signs. She never bothered to double check with me. Instead, she just apologized to the friend that I called, and said "Interpreter error" and continued interpreting. Now I thought that was unprofessional. I think every interpreter should ALWAYS double check with the clients regardless. My hearing friend agreed, the conversation was confusing at times.

Anyhow, they have a clean and simple website. Easy to navigate.  They offer a 10-digit number, Spanish VRS, a  software you can download to your PC or MAC, and VCO. They do not do VRI, IP-relay, or captel.

• ASL Video users : myfedvrs.tv
• Spanish Videophone users: espanol.myfedvrs.tv
• Videophone users : vco.myfedvrs.tv

Additionally, they do offer something special that I do not know any other VRS  provider has and that is ISDN. You can use your ISDN to call their VRS.

• Non-emergency: 877.709.5798
• 911/Emergency: 877.646.7441
• (NEW) Hearing Callers: 877.709.5801

Lastly, it seems myFedVRS is owned by Sprint??? In fact, when I called yesterday, a message appeared, "Sorry, we are closed. Please call Sprint"... Isn't that misleading? I emailed them a few times and never got a response.

Next VRS Provider: Snap!VRS

Google will soon be able to translate Sign Language

Google can already translate over 50 languages. What about Sign Language??? Sooner than you think!

Here's a list of the languages they currently can translate:

Afrikaans	Danish	Greek	Japanese	Polish	Swedish
Albanian	Dutch	Haitian Creole	Korean	Portuguese	Thai
Arabic	English	Hebrew	Latvian	Romanian	Turkish
Belarusian	Estonian	Hindi	Lithuanian	Russian	Ukrainian
Bulgarian	Filipino	Hungarian	Macedonian	Serbian	Vietnamese
Catalan	Finnish	Icelandic	Malay	Slovak	Welsh
Chinese	French	Indonesian	Maltese	Slovenian	Yiddish
Croatian	Galician	Irish	Norwegian	Spanish
Czech	German	Italian	Persian	Swahili

Google has a prototype app where you can take a picture with your Android phone. It will digitize the picture into text. Then the text will be translated into any language of your choice. Cool huh?
"Right now this technology only works for German-to-English translations and it's not yet ready for prime time. However, it shows a lot of promise for what the future might hold. Soon your phone will be able to translate signs, posters and other foreign text instantly into your language. Eventually, we're hoping to build a version of Google Goggles that can translate between all of the 52 languages currently supported by Google Translate — bringing even more information to you on the go."

One day, we willl be able to carry a device that will allow us to communicate with anyone in the world.