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Richard Bloom, Educational
Technology Services
Educational Technology Services
(ETS), in collaboration with Berkeley's Disabled Students Program
(DSP) and selected vendors, is currently exploring three captioning
services for hearing-impaired students: Webcast captioning, live remote
captioning, and videotape captioning. The goal is to provide accurate
information regarding available services for media captioning; to
work with faculty and provide guidance in making their video materials
available to deaf and hard-of-hearing students; to research new technologies
for improving access to electronic media information; and to facilitate
reasonable access to services in the classroom.
Webcast captioning/streaming
Beginning in fall 2003,
ETS has been involved in a joint project with Automatic Sync Technologies
(AST) and Viable Technologies, Inc. (VTI) to provide captioned webcasts
for Computer Science CS 61A, "The Structure and Interpretation of
Computer Programs", taught by Professors Mike Clancy and Paul Hilfinger.
Viable Technologies provided real-time transcription services for
the same course through the Disabled Students Program at UC Berkeley.
After each lecture was complete, Viable provided an edited verbatim
transcript to ETS that was then submitted to Automatic Sync Technologies
along with the webcast RealMedia file for captioning.
For the spring 2004 semester,
streaming captions were provided for Computer Science 61B, "Data Structures
and Advanced Programming", taught by Professor John Shewchuk in Pimentel
Hall.
AST's CaptionSync service
is an automated captioning server that allowed ETS to submit program
content electronically and receive back a standard captioning file.
To upload material to AST's CaptionSync server, the workflow is as
follows. First, log on to the caption server website, submit the webcast
RealMedia file (several media formats can be accepted), and the transcript
(.txt file). Within 30 minutes, a caption result file is returned
that is ready for encoding. This file is subsequently posted to UC
Berkeley's webcast.berkeley site for viewing. The viewer must have
RealOne Player to view the captioned lectures. In order to prepare
each lecture for the synchronization process, ETS staff must first
edit out any breaks or extraneous audio from the RealMedia file. The
RealMedia audio is then converted to a .wav file that is then uploaded
to Automatic Synch Technologies along with the verbatim transcript.
ETS is working with Viable,
AST, and Real Networks to streamline and further automate the captioning
process for webcasts. By using captioning technology originally conceived
to better accommodate students with hearing disabilities, ETS in collaboration
with DSP, VTI, and AST, hope to enhance the online learning experience
for all students.
Live remote captioning
Since spring 2002, ETS,
in conjunction with the Disabled Students Program and Viable Technologies,
provided "live" remote captioning for four classes:
- Computer Science 61C (Pimentel Hall)
- Asian American Studies 20A (155 Dwinelle Hall)
- Computer Science 61A (Pimentel Hall)
- Analytical Geometry 16A (Pimentel Hall)
For the spring 2004 semester,
live captioning was provided for the following classes:
- History 7B (Wheeler Auditorium)
- Anthropology 1 (Wheeler Auditorium)
- Political Science (Wheeler Auditorium)
- Molecular and Cell Biology 61 (Wheeler Auditorium)
- Earth and Planetary Science (Pimentel Hall)
- Computer Science CS 61B (Pimentel Hall)
- Chemistry 3A (155 Dwinelle Hall)
The "live" remote captioning
process requires that the classroom has an Internet connection (either
hard wired or wireless) and that the audio signal is routed to the
ETS master control room. The audio signal from the classroom is then
sent to a telephone interface unit. Five minutes before the class
begins, the transcriber from Viable Technologies calls into the telephone
interface and hears the audio coming from the instructor's microphone
in the classroom. The student accesses the Viable Technologies website
and logs in with their personal ID and password. A screen appears
where the student views the live text as it is typed in "real time"
by the transcriber. Within 24 hours the student also receives an edited
Rich Text File that can be printed out. The live remote captioning
process could also provide transcripts for other students with learning
disabilities.
The hearing-impaired students
requesting the captioning service have been using the wireless connections
now available in 155 Dwinelle Hall, Pimentel Hall, and Wheeler Auditorium.
Having the AirBears system available means that the classroom is not
limited to the normal single Ethernet port that is installed in most
GA (general assignment) classrooms. If the instructor needs Internet
access, they can either be hard wired in, or they can use the same
wireless system that the hearing-impaired student is using to see
the captions on their computer screen.
Videotape captioning
ETS provided captions for
seven videotapes for Asian American Studies 20A in spring 2003. Currently,
ETS outsources Moffitt Library tapes to ClosedCaption Maker in Maryland.
The workflow is as follows. First the faculty member receives a student
accommodation letter from DSP, and then contacts ETS regarding titles
of videos to be captioned and what the show dates are. An ETS staff
member then contacts the Berkeley Media Resource Center in Moffitt
Library and obtains the tapes. Duplicates of the videos are then made
and the copies are sent off for captioning. ETS is asking for at least
two weeks lead time for processing requests.
Partners
- Educational Technology Services (ETS, http://ets.berkeley.edu/)
ETS promotes and supports the effective integration of technology
in teaching, learning, and communication at UC Berkeley. ETS is
dedicated to service, partnership, and innovation.
- Disabled Students Program
(DSP, http://www.dsp.berkeley.edu/)
The Disabled Students' Program offers a wide range of services,
accommodations, and auxiliary services for students with disabilities.
These services are individually designed and based on the specific
needs of each student as identified by DSP's specialists.
- Academic Compliance
Office , Sarah Hawthorne Assistant Vice Provost (http://compliance.chance.berkeley.edu/)
The Academic Compliance Office is responsible for overseeing and
coordinating compliance with a variety of laws and campus policies.
- Closed Caption Maker (http://www.ccmaker.com/)
Closed Caption Maker provides a unique college/university service
designed to make currently used VHS videos accessible to hearing-impaired
students.
- Viable Technologies
(VTI, http://www.viabletechnologies.com/)
VTI provides "live" in-classroom remote captioning using the Internet
and telephone technology.
Additional resources
If you have any questions
on this subject, please contact Richard Bloom,
richard@media.berkeley.edu
, richard at media dot berkeley dot edu, Educational Technology
Services.
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Educational Technology Services
