Do you see what I hear? Speech Recognition as Closed Captioning

1. Do you see what I hear?Speech Recognition as Closed Captioning Chad Leaman NEIL SQUIRE SOCIETY Member of Liberated Learning Consortium

2. Accommodations for session • Does anybody need any accommodation to participate in this session? • Deaf or hard of hearing? • Type /cc into Wimba’s chat box • Blind or limited vision • Type /sd into Wimba’s chat box

3. Agenda • What and who is the Neil Squire Society? • How we use Wimba • Some additional technology we use with Wimba • Liberated Learning / ViaScribe • Wimba Closed Captioning • Liberated Learning demonstrations

4. We use technology, knowledge, and passion to empower people with physical disabilities

5. Introduction Neil Squire, a 24 year old medical student and basketball star injured in a car accident and paralyzed from the neck down. After his passing in 1984, Neil’s life and story inspired the creation of the Neil Squire Society that is dedicated to ensuring that all physically disabled persons in Canada can achieve to their full potential. For over 20 years, the Neil Squire Society has served more than 20,000 people

6. Research and Development • Developers of the first Breath Switch (Sip and Puff) to enable Morse Code input to a computer • “Jouse” & SARAW literacy software • Brain Interface Project • Adaptation of wireless technologies • Nokia – Accessible cell phones • Introducing Seniors to Technology

7. Assistive Technology • AT – Assistive Technology, Adaptive Technology, Accessible Technology, Alternative Technology, Enabling Technology • Technology which minimizes or eliminated barriers faced by a person with a disability • In Burnaby, we have fully equipped lab with over 200 input and output devices, software, hardware and other accommodations

8. AccessWorks • Vancouver is the host city to the 2010 Winter Olympic games • AccessWorks: • Ensuring Technology at 2010 Olympic Games is accessible • Leading multiple disability organizations in placing people with disabilities in employment and volunteer opportunities at both the Olympic and Paralympics games

9. EA - EmployAbility • An 12 week program to assist people with disabilities in determining a vocational direction and achieving their goals • Four course modules • Career Development • Employment Liaison • Personal Wellness • Assistive Technology • Majority of course utilizes computer technology for assignments • All client’s leave program with a vocational direction, marketing materials, and an action plan

10. Distance EmployAbility ANY TIME, ANY WHERE, TO ANY CANADIAN WITH A PHYSICAL DISABILITY • Leverage Community Partnerships • Blended Classroom Environment – • 2 hour classes, 4 days a week, in Wimba • Online AT training and assessments with community partners • Online Training Sessions are recorded and transcribed • Participant’s PC can be accessed remotely by the instructor • Closed Captioning through Speech Recognition

11. E-A DL: Active Clients by Month

12. E-A DL: Yearly Statistics

13. The Real Statistic: Participant Success • Our face-to-face program, delivered in our regional offices • Return to work rate: 44% * • Our distance program, delivered online and with some face-to-face classes by our distance partners • Return to work rate: 44% * • * Statistics based on fiscal year enrollment and reporting • Over three year tracking, 89.7% of participants that complete the program return to work, school, or volunteer activities

14. Wimba • Employ-Ability (Pre-employment program) • 4 days a week, 2 hours a day • Assistive Technology Partner Training • 1 hour every 2 weeks • National Staff meetings • Piloting Liberated Learning technology

15. Neil Squire Society Office • Burnaby, BC • Regina, SK • Ottawa, ON • Fredericton, NB • Moncton, NB

16. Employ-Ability DL • Pembroke, ON • Penticton, BC • Vernon, BC • Saskatoon, SK • Sudbury, ON • In participants homes

17. ATEC: Where we are (BC) • Abbotsford • Burnaby • Duncan • Prince George • Vernon • Victoria • Williams Lake • Whitehorse

18. SOS: Seniors on Seniors Technology • Burnaby • Penticton • London • Kitchener / Waterloo • Fredericton • Inkerman • Saskatchewan

19. Additional Tools to Wimba - VNC • To assist student’s, the facilitator has remote access to their PC through VNC technology • RealVNC is a free remote access program • Server runs on their PC • Viewer runs on facilitator’s PC • Password protected • I believe Wimba utilizes this technology in an optimized fashion for connectivity and app sharing • http://www.realvnc.com

20. Liberated Learning • “LIBERATED LEARNING© is a unique application of speech recognition technology that began as a method for enhancing accessibility for students with disabilities in the university classroom.”

21. Liberated Learning • Multimedia Accessibility Project to improve access to information through speech recognition (provided by IBM’s ViaScribe) • Software listens and types • Real Time Speech Recognition • Real time computer captioning of the speaker • Prerecorded media • Provide speech recognition for captioning of recorded lectures, speeches, etc • Recorded class given to you in a variety of file formats

22. Wimba: Closed Captioning • Three ways to do it • Text Chat • Through a web browser • Through opening a port on your Wimba server and passing text through it • For a user to turn on and off closed captioning, type /cc in the chat box

23. Wimba: Closed Captioning #1 - Through the text box • In the Text Chat Input Field, type /closedcaption <message>

24. Wimba: Closed Captioning #2 - Through a webbrowser • http://<server.wimba.com>/main/closedcaption.epl

25. Wimba: Closed Captioning #3 – Through port 8500 on your Wimba Server “Note: Most clients generally do not use this method, as it requires more in depth knowledge about the product. We have provided a sample program.” • Can accept input to from an outside source…..

26. Liberated Learning Consortium • Mini Open Source Community • 18 partners across 4 continents • Developed: • ViaScribe - IBM • Engine Controller / RT3A - IBM • Captioning Editing System - IBM Japan • Dragon Dictation Text Editor - Cambridge College • Extended Voice Commands - IBM China • Multiple Speaker Support - University of Southampton, St. Mary’s University • Note Finder - Saint Mary’s University • Personal Display (Pass across a network to a PC) – University of Southampton

27. Liberated Learning Pilot • A pilot focuses on enhancing Wimba and our Distance initiatives through utilizing voice recognition • Speaker’s voice is generated as text in real time by IBM’s ViaScribe • Fed into Wimba’s closed captioning system generated by ViaScribe to Close Caption the class’s webcasts. • Create a series of accessible lessons that can be accessed by past or future students as needed.

28. Let’s work together! • Expand the use of ViaScribe and Liberated Learning through Wimba? • Transcribe the audio of recorded Wimba sessions? • Real time transcription of your classes? • Value of searchable notes of all classes • Speech-to-text increases all learners retention rates

29. Thank You • Chad Leaman • NEIL SQUIRE SOCIETY • 1 – 877 – 673 – 4636 • chadl@neilsquire.ca • http://www.neilsquire.ca • http://www.liberatedlearning.com Thank you for your time and providing opportunities to people with disabilities