Captioning / Relay Archives - NVRC.org - Archive

Captioned Simulcast of “Show Boat”!

May 9, 2013 in Captioning / Relay, Community News

 

Free captioned simulcast of the Washington National Opera’s production of Show Boat at Nationals Park

M&M’S® Opera in the Outfield at Nationals Park

Saturday, May 18 at Nationals Park (rain or shine)

Gates open at 5 p.m. for “pregame” activities

Performance broadcast begins at 7 p.m.

Events at Nationals Park will be captioned.  The simulcast will be captioned on the scoreboard screen!

Assistive listening devices (ALDs) may be signed out free of charge from Guest Services located at the Center Field Gate. A valid driver’s license will be held until the device is returned.

 

Join Washington National Opera and the Kennedy Center for a free, live broadcast of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II’s hit Broadway musical! Featuring a full orchestra and over 100 cast members, this dazzling new production of Show Boat follows a troupe of riverboat performers down the Mississippi and across the decades, with songs that include “Ol’ Man River” and “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man.”

 

Register today and you’re automatically entered to win “A Night at the Kennedy Center!”

 

Questions about accessibility? Contact the Accessibility Office at (202) 416-8727 (voice/relay) oraccess@kennedy-center.org.

 

“Pregame” Activities

Arrive early to Nationals Park for entertainment and activities including:

- Dance demonstrations by Gottaswing

- A meet and greet with M&M’S® Ms. Brown

- Photos with the living statue of Babe Ruth… back by popular demand!

- An open playground for kids, plus a costume trunk and face painting

- Chances to win prizes, including Kennedy Center tickets

- And much more!

 

About Show Boat

This spectacular new production of Show Boat, Broadway’s original masterpiece, brings unforgettable songs, dazzling choreography, and an epic story together to make great entertainment and great art. With something in store around every bend as the Cotton Blossom travels the Mississippi with a troupe of riverboat performers, Julie, Joe, Queenie, and of course Magnolia and Ravenal make their way through the decades, navigating the trials of show business, love, and loss in a landscape overshadowed by racial inequality.

 

Show Boat contains words and images that were common during the post-Civil War period in which it is set. Some of the language and stereotypical situations are considered offensive in today’s society. Learn more about the performance with this Kennedy Center Cuesheet, a free performance guide that helps kids and teenagers prepare for attending M&M’S® Opera in the Outfield.

 

The Captioned Simulcast of WNO’s “Show Boat”! emails are a free service of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Accessibility Program.

Distributed 2013 by Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC), 3951 Pender Drive, Suite 130, Fairfax, VA 22030; www.nvrc.org; 703-352-9055 V, 703-352-9056 TTY, 703-352-9058 Fax. Items in this newsletter are provided for information purposes only; NVRC does not endorse products or services. You do not need permission to share this information, but please be sure to credit NVRC.  This news service is free of charge, but donations are greatly appreciated.  To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your email address, or report problems, contact cheppner@nvrc.org

 

 

 

Invisible Captions for Movie Theaters

May 9, 2013 in Captioning / Relay, Community News, Technology

 

Will we be seeing another new technology to watch captions in movie theaters?  Unique glasses and ultraviolet light could be the key, according to a video on invisible CAPTIONS.

Captions would be viewed with lightweight, half-frame glasses which can be manufactured at low cost. The business plan includes collaboration with Regal Cinemas in Rochester, New York for testing.

See a video about this technology at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeadEx7oc9E&sns=em

Distributed 2013 by Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC), 3951 Pender Drive, Suite 130, Fairfax, VA 22030; www.nvrc.org; 703-352-9055 V, 703-352-9056 TTY, 703-352-9058 Fax. Items in this newsletter are provided for information purposes only; NVRC does not endorse products or services. You do not need permission to share this information, but please be sure to credit NVRC.  This news service is free of charge, but donations are greatly appreciated.

Results of Captioned Telephone Service Survey

April 26, 2013 in Captioning / Relay, Community News, NVRC

Results of Captioned Telephone Service Survey Now Available

By Cheryl Heppner, 4/26/2013

Recently NVRC, along with a number of other organizations, reached out to individuals who are users of captioned telephone services.  We asked that they participate in a survey by Gallaudet University’s dynamic trio of Christian Vogler, Linda Kozma-Spytek, and Paula Tucker of the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Telecommunications Access to tell us more about their use of captioned telephone services.

The support from people who took the survey was awesome.  In just two weeks, 3,000 responses were received.  If you were one of the individuals who participated, THANK YOU for helping to better understand more about the consumer experience of using captioned telephone service.

Earlier this week I attended a meeting with other consumer advocates as the Gallaudet team presented the survey results to staff of the Federal Communications Commission.  If you participated in the survey, I suspect you are as eager as I was to see the results.  Well, now you can!

They have been made available at http://tap.gallaudet.edu/CTSSurvey/results.asp.

Distributed 2013 by Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC), 3951 Pender Drive, Suite 130, Fairfax, VA 22030; www.nvrc.org; 703-352-9055 V, 703-352-9056 TTY, 703-352-9058 Fax. Items in this newsletter are provided for information purposes only; NVRC does not endorse products or services. This news service is free of charge, but donations are greatly appreciated.

A New Captioned Telephone Solution: Innocaption

April 18, 2013 in Captioning / Relay, Community News, Technology

A New Captioned Telephone Solution: Innocaption Innocaption

Last month a meeting was held at NVRC by a large group of individuals with hearing loss.  They learned about a promising new captioned telephone service called Innocaption, and several of them tested it.  The service is not currently available because the Federal Communications Commission has not yet acted to approve it.

To learn more and view a video taken at the meeting: http://youtu.be/oSu5DICmhMU

© Copyright 2013 by Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC), 3951 Pender Drive, Suite 130, Fairfax, VA 22030; www.nvrc.org; 703-352-9055 V, 703-352-9056 TTY, 703-352-9058 Fax. Items in this newsletter are provided for information purposes only; NVRC does not endorse products or services. You do not need permission to share this information, but please be sure to credit NVRC.  This news service is free of charge, but donations are greatly appreciated.

NVRC- IPR Files Update to FCC IP Closed Captioned Complaint against Amazon

April 18, 2013 in Captioning / Relay, Community News

IPR Files Update to FCC IP Closed Complaint against Amazon

From Institute for Public Representation, Georgetown University Law Center, 4/18/2013

In December, IPR filed a complaint on behalf of several deaf and hard of hearing consumer groups against Amazon.com, alleging violations of the Federal Communications Commission’s rules requiring closed captioning for Internet Protocol (“IP”)-delivered video programming. Amazon responded to the complaint, admitting to delivering covered programming without captions but offering a myriad of excuses for doing so. Yesterday, IPR filed a response to Amazon, drafted by IPR student Margarita Varona, on behalf of IPR’s client, Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. (TDI) and several other deaf and hard of hearing consumer groups, including the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network (DHHCAN), the Association of Late-Deafened Adults (ALDA), the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), the California Coalition of Agencies Serving the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (CCASDHH), and the Cerebral Palsy and Deaf Organization (CPADO). Based on observations made by Dr. Christian Vogler, Director of the Technology Access Program (TAP) at Gallaudet University, the response noted that Amazon has continued to violate the IP captioning rules and urged the FCC to impose substantial sanctions against Amazon.

§  Consumer Groups’ Response to Amazon

§  Amazon’s Response to Complaint

§  Consumer Groups’ Complaint

 

Distributed 2013 by Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC), 3951 Pender Drive, Suite 130, Fairfax, VA 22030; www.nvrc.org; 703-352-9055 V, 703-352-9056 TTY, 703-352-9058 Fax. Items in this newsletter are provided for information purposes only; NVRC does not endorse products or services. This news service is free of charge, but donations are greatly appreciated.

YouTube Video of “Daytime” Captioning

March 27, 2013 in Captioning / Relay, Community News, Technology

YouTube Video of “Daytime” Captioning

“Daytime” has a 9 minute, 21 second video on YouTube of a segment of its program where Cyndi Edwards and Jerry Penacoli interview with court reporter Mark Kislingsbury and outstanding captioner Dee Boenau. Kislingsbury won the Guiness World Record and is considered the fastest court reporter in the world for typing 360 words per minute. Dee has some blazing speed herself!

During the segment, both Dee and Mark talk about what they do and the opportunities for people who choose this profession. Chris Wagner, President of the National Association of the Deaf, also talks about the value of captioning and legislation that requires captioning.

Watch it now at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCPEjz–BvE

Thanks to Joe

© Copyright 2013 by Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC), 3951 Pender Drive, Suite 130, Fairfax, VA 22030; www.nvrc.org; 703-352-9055 V, 703-352-9056 TTY, 703-352-9058 Fax. Items in this newsletter are provided for information purposes only; NVRC does not endorse products or services. You do not need permission to share this information, but please be sure to credit NVRC.  This news service is free of charge, but donations are greatly appreciated.

Important ADA, Air Carrier Act Amendments Introduced by Sen. Harkin

March 14, 2013 in Captioning / Relay, Community News, Transportation

ADA, Air Carriers Access Act Amendments Introduced by Senator Harkin;
Would Require Captions, Video Description in Movie Theaters, on Flights

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), long-time champion of the rights of people with disabilities and author of the Americans with Disabilities Act, has introduced new amendments to the ADA and to the Air Carriers Access Act to expand access to media.

These new bills promise to fully include people with sensory disabilities in two key venues for entertainment and information: movie theaters and airlines. They require captions and video description in movie theaters as well as in-flight entertainment, and include provisions for making seat-back touch-screens accessible on airlines.

Read more . . . →

TODAY at 12:06 “Watch” Kojo Nnamdi Show on Deaf President Now’

March 7, 2013 in Captioning / Relay, Community News

Kojo Nnamdi‘Watch The Kojo Nnamdi Show – 12:06 pm Today!

At noon today, the Kojo Nnamdi Show will broadcast “The Legacy of Gallaudet’s ‘Deaf President Now’ with Greg Hlibok, T. Alan Hurwitz, Fred Weiner and Sen. Tom Harkin .

Live captions will be provided at the Kojo Nnamdi Show website through streaming text by Speche Communications:
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2013-03-07/legacy-gallaudets-deaf-president-now-movement

© Copyright 2013 by Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC), 3951 Pender Drive, Suite 130, Fairfax, VA 22030; www.nvrc.org; 703-352-9055 V, 703-352-9056 TTY, 703-352-9058 Fax. Items in this newsletter are provided for information purposes only; NVRC does not endorse products or services. You do not need permission to share this information, but please be sure to credit NVRC.  This news service is free of charge, but donations are greatly appreciated.

Last Call! Participate in Brief Online Survey About Captioned Telephone Use

March 7, 2013 in Captioning / Relay, Community News

The RERC on Telecommunications Access at Gallaudet University would like to thank all the individuals who have taken our Captioned Telephone Service Survey. Your responses are very important and will be shared with the FCC once they are analyzed. There are two days left, and we would like to invite anyone who has not yet taken the survey and meets the participation criteria to take the captioned telephone survey.  The survey will remain open until Friday, March 8, 2013 11:59 pm Eastern Time.

PARTICIPANTS WANTED FOR A BRIEF ONLINE SURVEY

ABOUT CAPTIONED TELEPHONE USE

An online survey is being conducted by the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Telecommunications Access at Gallaudet University to learn about the experiences of adults who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have hearing loss, and who use Captioned Telephone Services. The goal of the survey is to help inform the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about the use of captioned telephones.

Read more . . . →

Towson’s Professor Sheffield Creates Closed Captioning Service for Radio

March 4, 2013 in Captioning / Relay, Community News, Hearing Loss & Deafness

Professor creates closed captioning radio service for the deaf

By Caitlin Meyd, The Towerlight-Towson University 3/3/2013

The Deaf Studies program is the reason senior Rachel Wirtz chose Towson. Wirtz said she believes in equal access for everyone, despite disabilities, and said Towson has been working to provide this. One example is associate professor Ellyn Sheffield’s collaboration with NPR to start a new radio captioning technology. She, and NPR’s Mike Starling, are co-directors of the University’s International Center for Accessible Radio Technology(ICART).

The first radio program to use the equal access distribution technology was Latino USA Feb. 22. Broadcasting on more than 100 public radio stations, captioned-radio public media broadcasts allow access to radio to a target audience of nearly seven million people in the United States who are deaf and hard of hearing. ICART started developing the program in 2007.

Deaf Studies Major Michaela Nesmith said she never heard of radio captions until recently but thinks it will be useful.

“I think it’s cool they’re using other media other than just TV,” she said. “”It’s pretty cool that they’re reaching out to do that.”

Read more . . . →

Tonight! Switched at Birth Entirely in ASL

March 4, 2013 in Captioning / Relay, Community News

TONIGHT! SWITCHED AT BIRTH EPISODE ENTIRELY IN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE

From Chris on Switched at Birth web page

http://beta.abcfamily.go.com/shows/switched-at-birth/blogs/Season-2/Switched-at-Births-All-American-Sign-Language-Episode

 

Screen Shot 2013-03-04 at 4.52.56 PM

In an ALL NEW episode of ABC Family’s award-winning original series Switched at Birth, told entirely in American Sign Language (ASL), the students at Carlton School for the Deaf protest to keep their school open. The ground-breaking episode, a first for a scripted series on mainstream television, will air Monday, March 4 at 8/7c. The special episode, will be told from the perspective of the series’ multiple deaf characters — with open captions for hearing viewers.
When news of the school’s closing spreads throughout campus, Daphne leads the students of Carlton School for the Deaf in arranging a demonstration to take place on the eve of the Romeo and Juliet play, in which Daphne has the lead role. Meanwhile, as one of a handful of hearing students in the school, Bay’s attempt to be part of the campaign is challenged. The storyline was inspired by the real-life “Deaf President Now” protests at Gallaudet University that took place 25 years ago this March.

The story will put us in the middle of a student uprising in which the very essence of the characters’ deaf identity is at stake. “I’ve been wanting to do an all-ASL episode since the series began, and the storyline we’ve been focusing on this season gave us the perfect opportunity,” said series creator and Executive Producer Lizzy Weiss. “It’s an exciting, visual, empowering story of kids, who are different, fighting back, and it allows our audience to experience the world as our deaf characters do. We’ve been building to this for 39 episodes, and we’re all thrilled to be the first to try this.”

To learn more about the all-ASL episode, watch this video! 

Distributed 2013 by Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC), 3951 Pender Drive, Suite 130, Fairfax, VA 22030; www.nvrc.org; 703-352-9055 V, 703-352-9056 TTY, 703-352-9058 Fax. Items in this newsletter are provided for information purposes only; NVRC does not endorse products or services. This news service is free of charge, but donations are greatly appreciated.

More Participants Sought for Survey on Captioned Telephone Use

February 28, 2013 in Advocacy & Access, Captioning / Relay, Community Events, Community News

ADDITIONAL PARTICIPANTS WANTED FOR A BRIEF ONLINE SURVEY
ABOUT CAPTIONED TELEPHONE USE

An online survey is being conducted by the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Telecommunications Access at Gallaudet University to learn about the experiences of adults who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have hearing loss, and who use Captioned Telephone Services. The goal of the survey is to help inform the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about the use of captioned telephones.

The RERC on Telecommunications Access at Gallaudet University would like to thank all the individuals who have already taken its Captioned Telephone Service Survey.  Your responses are very important and will be shared with the FCC once they are analyzed.  Anyone who has not yet taken the survey and meets the participation criteria is encouraged to do so.

The survey will remain open through Friday, March 8, 2013.
Individuals interested in participating:

1.    must be 18 years of age or older, and
2.    must be deaf, hard of hearing, or have a hearing loss.

The study takes approximately 10 minutes. You will be asked questions about your hearing loss, your hearing device use, the captioned telephone service and equipment you use for personal and work related calls, and your experience using this type of telephone and service.

If you would like to participate in this online survey, please go to http://tap.gallaudet.edu/CTSSurvey/

This study has been approved by the Gallaudet University Institutional Review Board.

Distributed 2013 by Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC), 3951 Pender Drive, Suite 130, Fairfax, VA 22030; www.nvrc.org; 703-352-9055 V, 703-352-9056 TTY, 703-352-9058 Fax. Items in this newsletter are provided for information purposes only; NVRC does not endorse products or services. This news service is free of charge, but donations are greatly appreciated.

Users of CART (Real Time Captioning): Do a 1-Question Survey!

February 26, 2013 in Advocacy & Access, Captioning / Relay, Community News, NVRC Announcements

ccacTo All Users of CART (Real Time Captioning):

Please go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FB6LF63 to do a short one-question survey.

The more people who reply, the better we can continue to advocate together for resources needed.

This survey is by the Collaborative for Communication Access via Captioning.

Distributed 2013 by Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC), 3951 Pender Drive, Suite 130, Fairfax, VA 22030; www.nvrc.org; 703-352-9055 V, 703-352-9056 TTY, 703-352-9058 Fax. Items in this newsletter are provided for information purposes only; NVRC does not endorse products or services. This news service is free of charge, but donations are greatly appreciated.

Participate in Online Survey About Captioned Telephone Use

February 21, 2013 in Captioning / Relay, Community News, Technology

PARTICIPANTS WANTED FOR A BRIEF ONLINE SURVEY
ABOUT CAPTIONED TELEPHONE USE

An online survey is being conducted by the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Telecommunications Access at Gallaudet University to learn about the experiences of adults who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have hearing loss, and who use Captioned Telephone Services. The goal of the survey is to help inform the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about the use of captioned telephones.

Individuals interested in participating:

1.   Must be 18 years of age or older, and

2.   Must be deaf, hard of hearing, or have a hearing loss

The study takes approximately 10 minutes. You will be asked questions about your hearing loss, your hearing device use, the captioned telephone service and equipment you use for personal and work related calls, and your experience using this type of telephone and service.

If you would like to participate in this online survey, please go to http://tap.gallaudet.edu/CTSSurvey/

This study has been approved by the Gallaudet University Institutional Review Board.

Distributed 2013 by Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC), 3951 Pender Drive, Suite 130, Fairfax, VA 22030; www.nvrc.org; 703-352-9055 V, 703-352-9056 TTY, 703-352-9058 Fax. Items in this newsletter are provided for information purposes only; NVRC does not endorse products or services. This news service is free of charge, but donations are greatly appreciated.

Maryland Law Firm Settles Deaf Access Complaint

February 13, 2013 in Captioning / Relay, Community News, Disability Law

From The Disability Law & Policy e-Newsletter 2/7/2013

http://disability.law.uiowa.edu/ and http://bbi.syr.edu

On January 3, 2013, the Department of Justice’s Office of Civil Rights announced a settlement with a Maryland-based debt collection law firm over allegations that the firm had discriminated against individuals who are deaf. Multiple complainants claimed that the firm refused to accept phone calls through video relay services, a type of technology that allows a person who is deaf to communicate with another party through the use of a video sign language interpreter. The complaint further alleges that firm employees hung up on one complainant and informed another that she had to call back at a specific time when a manager was present.

The settlement requires the firm to pay $30,000 to the complainants, to revise its policies and procedures to ensure that the office accepts video relay service calls and treats people with disabilities equally, and to train its employees on ADA obligations. In regard to the settlement, Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez stated that people with disabilities cannot be denied services simply because they use alternative ways to communicate and that the Justice Department will not tolerate this type of discrimination.

Full Story:
Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Law Firm Over Discrimination Against Deaf Individuals, U.S. Department of Justice Press Release, Jan. 3, 2013, available at:
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2013/January/13-crt-005.html

Distributed 2013 by Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC), 3951 Pender Drive, Suite 130, Fairfax, VA 22030; www.nvrc.org; 703-352-9055 V, 703-352-9056 TTY, 703-352-9058 Fax. Items in this newsletter are provided for information purposes only; NVRC does not endorse products or services. This news service is free of charge, but donations are greatly appreciated.