I have heard your responses. Ok, if it is too much to expect captions on a signed vlog, and too much to expect a transcript, I will gladly settle for a summary. Even just a summary is helpful when I do not understand the signing.
Does the deafvillage policy include summaries in addition to captions and transcripts?
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Deaf Village's Captioning Requirement
I like it.
It acknowledges what I have repeatedly said for a long time... that there are many deaf and hearing people who do not understand sign language vlogs.
It is silly to insist on an ASL translation of a spoken (or cued) captioned vlog because anyone who knows ASL should also know how to read English! Captions make a vlog accessible to everyone regardless of their communication preference.
When I watch a signed, captioned vlog, I can alternate between the signs and captions as needed. First I try to understand the sign, but if I can not, I can read the captions. If I am very tired when watching the vlog, a captioned vlog is much easier for me to follow than a signed vlog as a signed vlog requires more of my mental energy to understand.
Furthermore, when I compile my weekly "Blogs of Interest" post, I tend to favor vlogs that are captioned or have a transcript. If I can't understand the vlog, I figure that most of my readers won't understand it either because, judging from my e-mail, most people who find my About.com site via internet search, are hearing.
It acknowledges what I have repeatedly said for a long time... that there are many deaf and hearing people who do not understand sign language vlogs.
It is silly to insist on an ASL translation of a spoken (or cued) captioned vlog because anyone who knows ASL should also know how to read English! Captions make a vlog accessible to everyone regardless of their communication preference.
When I watch a signed, captioned vlog, I can alternate between the signs and captions as needed. First I try to understand the sign, but if I can not, I can read the captions. If I am very tired when watching the vlog, a captioned vlog is much easier for me to follow than a signed vlog as a signed vlog requires more of my mental energy to understand.
Furthermore, when I compile my weekly "Blogs of Interest" post, I tend to favor vlogs that are captioned or have a transcript. If I can't understand the vlog, I figure that most of my readers won't understand it either because, judging from my e-mail, most people who find my About.com site via internet search, are hearing.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Does Gallaudet Need a Buffer Zone?
Today's Washington Examiner (and Post and others) are reporting about a police effort to control crime in Trinidad, the neighborhood bordering Gallaudet. The maps being published show Gallaudet University as being next to Trinidad. When I looked at the map on page 5 of today's Examiner (link to web version), I saw that one of the murders had taken place practically next door to Gallaudet, on West Virginia Avenue and another had taken place just a block or two away, on Montello Avenue.
This got me to wondering if Gallaudet needs a buffer zone of "deaf property" in Trinidad. Here is some far-fetched thinking - if the problem gets bad enough, should the Gallaudet community form investment organizations to buy up property in Trinidad to create this needed buffer zone? One blogger I chatted with on this issue agreed that Gallaudet needs a buffer zone.
This got me to wondering if Gallaudet needs a buffer zone of "deaf property" in Trinidad. Here is some far-fetched thinking - if the problem gets bad enough, should the Gallaudet community form investment organizations to buy up property in Trinidad to create this needed buffer zone? One blogger I chatted with on this issue agreed that Gallaudet needs a buffer zone.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Update to "How to Stop Spread of Fourth Grade Myth"
This is the language in the article that concerned me:
"Most deaf adults read at no better than a fourth-grade level, he said, and it is directly related to the education they have received. Without early detection of an impairment and early education, deaf children are doomed to fall way behind."
Note that it says MOST when it is supposed to be a median. That term "median" comes from this OUTDATED page at Gallaudet University: http://gri.gallaudet.edu/Literacy , as pointed out by Mike McConnell. I have e-mailed the Gallaudet Research Institute asking about more up to date statistics because if you read that page, you will see that the citations are from 1996 and 1997! More than a DECADE ago.
Some commenters have claimed it is not a myth. In my opinion, if a fact from over a decade ago keeps getting repeated (as well as stated incorrectly, as pointed out by commenter guy in midwest) without being updated with newer statistics that reflects the current achievement level of deaf students (in schools for deaf and mainstream/center programs), it has morphed into a myth. Don't forget we now have the majority of deaf students receiving cochlear implants - that may have boosted the achievement levels of at least some deaf students. I want up to date statistics from the Gallaudet Research Institute or another source, so we can start to debunk this myth.
And, if newer, up to date statistics indicate that we still have a fourth grade median, then obviously more work needs to be done in deaf education.
"Most deaf adults read at no better than a fourth-grade level, he said, and it is directly related to the education they have received. Without early detection of an impairment and early education, deaf children are doomed to fall way behind."
Note that it says MOST when it is supposed to be a median. That term "median" comes from this OUTDATED page at Gallaudet University: http://gri.gallaudet.edu/Literacy , as pointed out by Mike McConnell. I have e-mailed the Gallaudet Research Institute asking about more up to date statistics because if you read that page, you will see that the citations are from 1996 and 1997! More than a DECADE ago.
Some commenters have claimed it is not a myth. In my opinion, if a fact from over a decade ago keeps getting repeated (as well as stated incorrectly, as pointed out by commenter guy in midwest) without being updated with newer statistics that reflects the current achievement level of deaf students (in schools for deaf and mainstream/center programs), it has morphed into a myth. Don't forget we now have the majority of deaf students receiving cochlear implants - that may have boosted the achievement levels of at least some deaf students. I want up to date statistics from the Gallaudet Research Institute or another source, so we can start to debunk this myth.
And, if newer, up to date statistics indicate that we still have a fourth grade median, then obviously more work needs to be done in deaf education.
How to Stop Spread of Fourth Grade Myth
Over the weekend I blogged a news article at About.com that had the usual mention of the average fourth grade reading level for deaf students. Every time a newspaper, magazine. or television program mentions that, it hurts the deaf community. Not only that we get told about parents "determined" that their child will not be "like that," automatically setting the stage for a superior attitude on the part of child and/or parents.
How can we stop the spread of this fourth grade myth? We can't stop it completely but it could be reduced. It could be reduced if deaf people and parents of deaf children insisted on the right to review articles before publication. I think I may have mentioned this before but it bears repeating as the problem persists.
Deadlines be damned. What's more important a deadline or the image of the deaf community? If enough people exercised that right of review prior to publication then the frequency of the fourth grade mention could be sharply reduced.
I should know. In the past I have been interviewed by the Los Angeles Times, and other papers. With all of them I always request a chance to review before they go to press. This gives me a chance to make sure deafness is portrayed positively in any article that includes a statement from me.
How can we stop the spread of this fourth grade myth? We can't stop it completely but it could be reduced. It could be reduced if deaf people and parents of deaf children insisted on the right to review articles before publication. I think I may have mentioned this before but it bears repeating as the problem persists.
Deadlines be damned. What's more important a deadline or the image of the deaf community? If enough people exercised that right of review prior to publication then the frequency of the fourth grade mention could be sharply reduced.
I should know. In the past I have been interviewed by the Los Angeles Times, and other papers. With all of them I always request a chance to review before they go to press. This gives me a chance to make sure deafness is portrayed positively in any article that includes a statement from me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
