NARRATOR: Communication Access Realtime
Translation
also known as 'CART'
is available to deaf and
hard-of-hearing people
who seek an alternative to American Sign
Language interpreting - or ASL -
or reliance on assistive listening
devices.
CART is an advanced and accurate trans-
lation method that uses a human captioner
assisted by computer-based captioning
technology to transcribe
spoken dialogue word-for-word
into written sentences.
CART is widely used in a variety of educa-
tional, professional and personal settings
For example, here at the University of
Washington CART is often used
to enhance students' ability to learn
in a classroom setting
and communicate with instructors,
mentors, and peers.
CART provides realtime word-for-word
translation, transcribing
each word as it is being spoken.
At the University of Washington, I was
part of the first Summer Academy here.
D'WAYNE: What CART does, it just actually
types that exact word
and leaves it up to you whether
you know it or not.
Like, you can ask the question,
'what does that mean?'
or if you do know what that word means,
you're understanding what it's saying.
DWAYNE: If you have verbatim word-by-word
print right there in front of you, you're
able to understand more
and, like, have a lesser chance of
misinterpreting what they're saying.
NARRATOR: CART is noted for
it's accuracy, speed,
and wide variety of practical
applications.
These qualities enable CARTusers to follow
dialogue more efficiently and precisely.
JESSIE: CART has been very helpful, like
for example
in a really large classroom,
it can be very noisy
especially with everyone just talking all
at once.
So, CART has really helped me
understand my classmates
what they are talking about, a lot better.
NARRATOR: CART providers are able to
customize their services to accommodate
each user's needs and preferences.
Text font size and text color can be modi-
fied to fit each CART user's preference.
When working in a live setting
providers will try to
position themselves so that they can
clearly hear a speaker and
simultaneously watch the transcription
they are producing
in order to correct any mistakes.
There are different display options to
fit different settings, these include:
personal computer screens,
projection screens, television monitors,
and mobile devices.
If CART is being used in a group setting,
a larger display can be very beneficial.
In classroom or workplace situations where
a user
needs to follow and understand complex
vocabulary
CART can be very advantageous.
In certain settings, such as math and
science classrooms, CART's
word-for-word translation
is a useful resource.
NARRATOR: CART can be used in a
variety of settings and can be flexible
according to each user's needs.
CART technology allows it to be used in a
mobile setting
such as a tour or site visit.
This flexibility enables users to engage
in real-life situations
in which participation might otherwise
be challenging.
SPEAKER: So, I drew up my own peg on the
computer and printed it out.
NARRATOR: Upon approval, at the
end of a CART session
a written log of the transcription can
be sent to you and saved for studying
or record-keeping purposes.
NARRATOR: For ASL users, there are
different ways to utilize CART
in a classroom setting with other
hearing individuals or instructors.
If an ASL interpreter is not
available when using CART,
an option is to type replies on a
laptop computer for the CART
provider or your seatmate to voice.
CART can also be used in a teleconference
setting, allowing a user to join
a conference call using
a remote CART provider.
In this situation, the CART provider and
user both remotely join the conference
call and the user receives a live trans-
cription of the teleconference on their
internet-enabled computer.There are
other speech-to-text services available.
C-Print is a realtime speech-to-text
translation service.
It uses a meaning-for-meaning translation
system.
This allows it to summarize a large amount
of information very quickly.
TypeWell works in a similar
fashion to C-Print, providing
meaning-for-meaning transcription.
Both services can be useful
depending on the situation,
but do not provide word-for-word
transcription as CART does.
Automatic Speech Recognition, or ASR, uses
an electronic device to capture speech and
then internally translate it into text.
It promises to become an effective
independent translation source,
but at the present time variables such as
noise, pronunciation, pitch,
volume, and accents can disrupt
the automatic translation process
and make the transcript difficult to read.
CART and other similar transcription
services provide many benefits, including
equal communication access and
independence,
while fostering full participation in
a variety of settings.
Students, professionals, and others
that are deaf or hard-of-hearing
can benefit from the versatility and
comprehension offered by realtime
transcription services.
JESSIE: I really like CART, it is very
helpful, especially in really loud
and noisy environments, and especially
when your teacher or classmates are
talking very quickly.
Or if you cannot hear everything correctly
one-hundred percent of the time.
D'WAYNE: With CART, I'm able to be
active and be engaged
fully in whatever the subject is.