Supporting Deaf People 2005
Date: March 2005
The 2005 conference dealt broadly with three themes: Language support,
interpreting and deaf people in developing countries. 192 delegates
from 17 countries (AUS, CAN, ET, FI, GH, IE, IT, JM, KE, NG, NL,
NO, NZ, PH, SA, US, ZM) attended the conference, with many countries
being represented for the first time. Another busy conference with
771 postings in the theme discussion areas, and many more in the
social and general discussion areas.
A conference first for Direct Learn was the inclusion of a British
Sign Language video presentation. This submission, entitled Around
the Language Table: A Discussion about the Working Practices of
Language Tutors with Deaf Students by Jen Dodds, Lynne Barnes, Claire
Haddon, Kath Mowe and Kyra Pollitt featured all five presenters
sitting around a table (with a camera each) discussing the topic.
The 20-minute video had been optimised for fast download. A transcript
was provided for those delegates who were not BSL users. Although
not all delegates could access the video version of the presentation,
as video paper was warmly welcomed by all delegates, and it is hoped
to make this a standard format for future conferences.
During this conference we introduced two new elements. Firstly
the interactive workshop on teaching foreign languages to deaf students.
This workshop was lead by Hilary McColl from Scotland. This workshop
allowed delegates to collectively compile a matrix of support/teaching
strategies for deaf students in modern foreign language classes.
The resulting grid can be downloaded
here. The information provided in this workshop formed the basis
for a book 'Deaf
and Multilingual', written by Judith Mole, Hilary McColl and
Micky Vale.
Another element which was introduced was a survey to establish
whether the daily summaries of postings were perceived to be useful.
90% of participants felt they were either very useful or useful.
Surveys can be added to a live conference on any topic and can also
be used by presenters to gauge responses, find out opinions or find
out about practice.
You can download the welcoming
address here. It's meant to be fun and not taken too seriously!
Some feedback from participants:
"I would like to say I think this was the best conference I
have ever attended. I hope I dont sound insincere when I say
the experience was almost indescribable. The wealth of knowledge,
experience, and perspective brought by the delegates and presenters
alike was amazing." Tammy Adams, USA.
"I'm full of admiration for the way it works. This is something
I've been wanting to do for about 10 years, but every attempt to
do it in the real world has come to nothing. You've made the impossible
possible! Thank you!". Hilary McColl, Consultant, UK.
"It seems like every year, the conference gets better and
better!! I really enjoyed myself!". Jennifer Sabo, USA.
Many of the papers and presentations are available through the
proceedings of the conferences. Please click on the links below
for more information.
Keynote presentations:
Around
the Language Table: A Discussion about the Working Practices of
Language Tutors with Deaf Students by Jen Dodds, Lynne Barnes,
Claire Haddon, Kath Mowe and Kyra Pollitt, UCLAN, UK
Educational
Interpreting - Does It Work As Well As We Think? by Marc Marschark
and Patty Sapere, NTID, US
Consumer
perceptions of sign language interpreting by Jemina Napier,
Macquarie University, AUS
Seminar presentations:
Using
eBooks to develop Deaf students' bilingualism by Steve Gibson,
DeafEducate, UK
Education
as dialogue: some implications for deaf learners by Wendy Martin,
UK
Should
we modify English language for deaf learners? by Rachel O'Neill,
City College, Manchester, UK
The
Changing Dynamics of the Interpreting Industry as Influenced by
Video Relay Service (VRS), and its Impact on the Deaf Community
by Jacqueline Dion, HOVRS, US
Should
Interpreters Care? by Ben Karlin, US
The
Interpreter and INTERRUPTING: Cultural and Group Dynamics by
Steph Kent and Anne Potter, US
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