Technology News – Summer 2015 Your regular insight into technology which could benefit deaf children and what the NDCS Technology Team have been up to! Recent changes to the NDCS Technology team Over the last year we have been carrying out a thorough review of the NDCS Technology team structure and roles and it was decided to replace the previous three posts with two new full-time roles – increasing the teams capacity. In June, Chris Bowden was appointed to the new post of Head of Technology Development. He will be leading an organisation-wide effort to increase awareness of how products and technologies can improve real-life outcomes for deaf children and young people. The team will continue to collect and share knowledge and information on specialist and assistive technologies, but will also develop their expertise in new and emerging mainstream technologies. The teams’ new strategic focusses will be on early years and the post-16 transition years. Chris and his team will be working closely with other NDCS teams and external organisations to integrate their technology knowledge into other service offers. Another key part of Chris’s role will be to identify and implement new business development opportunities, income generation activities and funding bids to increase the scope of our work. Chris will be supported in this work by a new role of Research Officer which we will tell you more about in the Autumn issue of Technology News.
Technology News goes quarterly! We have produced Technology News since June 2014 and have received lots of positive feedback from NDCS staff, other organisations and professionals. This is the sixth issue and we are planning to produce Technology News on a quarterly basis from now onwards. Issues will be planned for Spring (April), Summer (July), Autumn (October) and Winter (January). Producing this news bulletin quarterly will enable to maintain our current quality of information and enable us to make the content more seasonal. If you have any feedback please contact us at technology@ndcs.org.uk.
New products and technologies A new 4G Smartphone for under £50! 4G phones, with their faster data and internet speeds, could have a number of advantages for deaf young people. Faster data means better web browsing, video streaming and game playing. However, the biggest advantage could be when using video communication apps like Skype or FaceTime, which require good, fast data connections to work well. The only drawback is that 4G Smartphones are usually expensive to buy, top-end phones costing over £500!. On 7 July EE launched the Rook, a 4G Smartphone costing only £39 for existing EE customers or £49 for new customers. This new budget Smartphone has Bluetooth, forward and backward facing cameras (for face to face video calls) and the latest Android operating system, 5.1 Lollipop, so it will run a huge range of Android apps. The Rook could open up a new, budget Smartphone market and for under £50 this might be a great way for deaf young people and their parents to get the benefits of 4G without having to spend too much nor worry as much about an expensive phone being stolen or damaged.
A deaf-friendly, Android Smartphone – testers needed! In the December issue of Technology News we told you about the Amplicomms M9000 Android Smartphone which is specially designed for people with a hearing loss. It has loud amplification, a loud ring and is hearing aid compatible. It also has all the features you’d expect from a touchscreen Smartphone, including front and rear cameras, web browsing, social media, email, music player, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. We have a sample and are really keen to see how well it performs and what deaf teenagers think about it. If you know someone who would like to try it out, please contact us at technology@ndcs.org.uk.
Free ‘ready for FM’ resource for professionals The cochlear implant team at London’s Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear hospital and Phonak UK have recently produced a new resource intended to make sure children are ready for FM and radio aids. They have identified the most common problems that can affect the sound quality which a child receives through a radio aid. Nine different auditory simulations, with matching picture cards, have been produced to illustrate these listening situations. The purpose is that children are taught the skills and language needed to judge and describe sound quality in a suitable and child-friendly manner. This resource is intended for use by Teachers of the Deaf, or relevant professionals, to make sure children are ready to use an FM system. It is expected to be particularly helpful with cochlear implant users. More information can be found at https://www.uclh.nhs.uk/OurServices/ServiceA-Z/ENTS/CIM/Pages/FMTrainingTool.aspx
New products and technologies We regularly come across stories about new pieces of technology being developed which could be beneficial for deaf users. Here we’ve gathered together brief information about some of these devices currently in the early stages of development – will any be the must-have tech of the future?
Sign Language Glove This uses motion sensors and software to interpret movements in the hand and translate them into written and/or spoken language. Currently a student project, go here for more information http://enabletalk.com
Tactile Communication Glove Another piece of technology currently in the early stages of development is a sensor-covered glove designed to interpret ‘Lorm’, the tactile communication system used by deaf-blind people in German-speaking countries. Signals from the hand sensors can be translated into written language, and text can be translated back into vibrations on the glove for the deaf-blind user. More information can be found at http://mashable.com/2015/03/13/mobile-lormglove/?utm_cid=mash-com-fb-main-link
Motion Recognition Technology Perhaps the closest to being available in the mainstream is the use of motion recognition technology to interpret sign language, using cameras as opposed to sensors placed on the hand. Motion Savvy is a company currently developing such software for ASL, you can read more about the technology here http://www.motionsavvy.com/
Hearing with your tongue The most futuristic solution here is one being developed by Colorado State University in the USA. They are looking at the concept of letting you hear by using your tongue! This technology uses a Bluetooth earpiece to detect sound and sends electrical impulses to an electrode-packed retainer that wearers press their tongue against to ‘hear’. To find out more, go to: http://source.colostate.edu/words-mouth-csudevice-lets-hear-tongue/
Apps Pedius (iOS, Android: Free) This communication app allows deaf people to make real time voice calls using their Smartphone. The deaf user phones the number and writes their message in text – the app then sends this to the person, or service, receiving the call as speech. When they reply, their speech is translated into text for the deaf person and so the live conversation continues without the need for a relay operator. The app offers various user tariffs from free calls, for up to 20 minutes per month, to £25 for unlimited calls for a year. Otosense (iOS, Android: £5.99) Otosense is an alerting app which allows you to record and store the sounds of alarms or alerters you have in your home. The app recognises these sounds and gives you visual and tactile alerts, so you know exactly what’s happening. Interpreter Now (iOS, Android: Free) This is a video relay app service which allows deaf users to make a videorelay call to any recipient, via a BSL interpreter. The caller signs their message to the interpreter, and the interpreter speaks this message to the call recipient, then signs the reply back to the caller. In order to use the service, the caller must have a webcam and good internet connection, and for mobile devices (such as Smart phones and tablets) the service can be accessed through the Interpreter Now app. The app is free, calls are free to organisations who are signed up to cover the cost of the calls and there are other payment options for non-participating recipients. From March 2015, deaf people in Scotland have been able to use the ‘Interpreter Now’ app and interpreting service to contact all government services for free. This includes local councils, GP surgeries, NHS24, the non-emergency police number (101) and official organisations such as Historic Scotland. For a full list of organisations signed up to the Interpreter Now service across the UK, you can check on their website, here: http://www.interpreternow.co.uk/
Information on these apps is available on our online apps resource - Why not check them out now? Go to www.ndcs.org.uk/apps
Apps – welcome to Marsha Earlier this year Marsha joined us as a Technology Research Volunteer – specifically working on apps.
Hi everyone, my name is Marsha Locke, originally from Oxfordshire where I worked as a Communication Support Worker for deaf students studying at college. I now live in beautiful Norfolk where I work for the local County Council’s Sensory Support Service supporting Early Years deaf children and their families. I have a passion for technology especially when I know it will enhance the lives of the children I work with. I’m a keen app explorer, especially for children in the Early Years, as I use my iPad every day in my sessions and I guess you might call me an all-round geek.
Technology Test Drive – our latest products Wireless accessories for the Cochlear N6 cochlear implant and Baha 4 For some time now we’ve been impressed by the Phonak ComPilot and Oticon Connectline digital streamers which link their hearing aids to Smartphones, tablets, landline phones or the TV by using Bluetooth. This technology has been available for users of the Advanced Bionics Naida CI for a while now and in March Cochlear announced their own products which we now have available for loan from Technology Test Drive. Cochlear’s wireless accessories are compatible with their Baha 4 bone anchored hearing aid and the Cochlear N6 cochlear implant. The 4 different accessories, listed below, cost £195 each and sound is streamed directly to the Baha 4 or N6 from each accessory:
Phone clip (links to any Bluetooth product, such as a Smartphone or tablet) Mini-microphone (helps you hear someone’s voice clearer over distance) Wireless TV streamer (links your BAHA or CI to the TV so you can hear it better) Remote Control (for adjusting the Baha 4 or N6)
If a child has been upgraded to an N6 or a Baha 4 then they are entitled to one free wireless accessory. For N6 recipients, a simple firmware upgrade is required which has to be done at their implant centre.
Roger 17 – integrated radio aid receiver for the Advanced Bionics Naida Cochlear Implant Children with the Advanced Bionics Naida cochlear implant can’t fit a Roger X ear-level radio aid receiver directly onto their cochlear implant. Instead they need a specific integrated receiver called the Roger 17, we now have these available on Technology Test Drive.
For more information on these new products and Technology Test Drive, go to www.ndcs.org.uk/technology
Technology – Are you using Raspberry Pi or BBC micro:bit? These are barebones computer boards which have been designed to cheaply open up the world of computing and coding. Raspberry Pi has been around for a few years now, but one million year 7 children are being given the micro:bit.
We’d like to hear from anyone working with deaf children who is using these new technologies.
Technology Test Drive – key stats from 2014-15 During our last financial year, April 2014 to March 2015, we:
Supported 677 families with product loans – a 35% increase over 2013-14! 215 families borrowed radio aids and 462 tried out assistive products.
Collected user feedback from 218 product loans telling us; what the families thought about the products, how they benefitted their child, whether the loan enabled them to make a decision and what that decision was.
Radio aids
The peak month for requests was September and for sending out products were October and March.
Most loans were made to the South East region, followed by Scotland and London.
Of the families that we received feedback from, 97% told us that the loan enabled them to make a decision.
Over 70% of families told us that during the loan period they saw an improvement in their child’s performance and concentration at school and an increase in their confidence.
Assistive products
The peak month for requests and sending out products was March.
The most popular products were 1. Alarm clocks 2. Accessories for listening to music or using mobile phones 3. Streamers 4. TV listeners 5. Telephones
Most loans were made to the North East , Yorkshire and Humberside region. The South East was second and London and the East joint third.
Of the families that we received feedback from, 89% told us that the loan enabled them to make a decision.
Finally, 95% of families told us that the Technology Test Drive service was either a very useful or useful service.
Technology Test Drive – farewell to Vicki and Lucy Sadly, Vicki Mitchell (who managed Technology Test Drive for us for many years) and Lucy Craig (our Technology Test Drive volunteer for two years) left us recently. Between them they ran our Technology Test Drive loan service and Vicki was responsible for helping thousands of deaf children, their families and professionals supporting them to make the best possible decisions on what products and technologies were best suited to that child. We’d like to thank them both for their hard work and dedication.
Technology Test Drive – latest feedback Radio aids are always popular, here are some examples of where the families used them ..... “Imogen used the Roger pen for her vocational hairdressing course at the local college, she was doing this as well as her other Post-16 courses”
Sarah Colebourne, Mum to Imogen aged 17, who borrowed a Phonak Roger Pen
“We used it at the Christmas markets whilst Kornelia was in the pram”
Marek Bialowas, Dad to Kornelia aged 17 months, who borrowed an Oticon radio aid “I used it at university open days and in the workplace. The radio aid enabled me to follow presentations. I was able to hear colleagues in the office, as the desk and computer arrangements made lip reading impossible. Using the radio aid meant that I could hear colleagues near my desk better than before”
Natasha Stones, aged 18, who is studying music, borrowed a Comfort Audio radio aid
Future external meetings planned August and September are always a quiet time whilst people are taking summer holidays. Chris has meetings with ITV to discuss TV accessibility and the UK Cinema Association to discuss subtitling and accessibility at the cinema. He is also planning meetings with Sense, the Ewing Foundation and Phonak to discuss working together.
Was this useful and interesting? Email chris.bowden@ndcs.org.uk if there’s anything you’d like to see included in future issues of Technology News. Published by the National Deaf Children’s Society © NDCS October 2014. Ground Floor South, Castle House, 37–45 Paul Street, London EC2A 4LS NDCS is a registered charity in England and Wales no. 1016532 and in Scotland no. SC040779.