Thanks to Ann Higgins on the heads up on the latest ARRA-funded project. It’s not in Minnesota but I’m glad to see that our neighbors to the west (South Dakota) are involved.
Here’s a little bit about the porject from the recipient (CSD) web site…
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced on July 19 that CSD has been awarded a sustainable broadband contract as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The contract, totaling $14.9 million over two years, enables CSD to implement a nationwide marketing initiative consisting of a combination of discounted broadband, technology training, and public access to videophones at anchor institutions for the underserved key population of deaf and hard of hearing people. CSD has named this two-year campaign Project Endeavor.
CSD expects to add 60 new staff, most of them proficient in sign language, to its contact center in Sioux Falls for voice, text, and video-enabled call support. CSD will also provide web-based visually accessible training content, along with a primary-residence connect plan that includes the last mile provider of choice available in that area. Project Endeavor will distribute customer premise equipment — like netbooks — to enable visual communications and access to next-generation remote video services. Overall, Project Endeavor provides a gateway to remote interpreter or captioning services, employment and job-seeking skills, and more readily available human services, by bringing broadband access to deaf and hard of hearing people who do not currently have that access.
I’m looking forward to learning more about the project and services available to deaf and hard of hearing people. Just to try to bring myself up to speed a little, I checked out the National Association of the Deaf. They had great page outlining the benefits of broadband to the deaf and hard of hearing community; they also had information on some of the challenges, specifically highlighting the drawbacks of online video in terms of access to closed captioning. (Podcasting and other audio files would presumably have the same challenges.) It’s something to consider the next time you’re posting information up in those formats.
I was also drawn into the CSD site and their remote sign language interpretation service. It might not be realistic but I love the idea of a handheld with broadband and interpreter available much like TTY support is available now – and you’d have an interpreter in your pocket. And who’s to say we’d need to stop with sign language?





