An improvement on the accessibility of communications services for the hearing and speech impaired:
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced a three-month trial that will allow 911 call centres to communicate with pre-registered participants with hearing and speech impairments by text message.
The Debate: are we ready for paperless society?
http://www.zdnet.com/debate/great-debate-the-paperless-society-are-we-there-y...
the following info comes from Western Institute for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing:
FCC Mandates Cell Phone Compatibility with Hearing Aids- ANSI C63.19
March 22, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS
Mobile phone manufacturers have one year to comply with a U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandate requiring mobile handsets built or used in the U.S. to comply with the American national standard for cell phone-hearing aid compatibility.
Issued in 2003, the mandate is intended to ensure that new mobile phones available on the market are accessible to individuals using hearing aids.
the following info comes from Western Institute for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing:
There is a new service being provided by Telus (and perhaps other carriers). It is called Visual Voice Mail.
Telus describes it as:"Don’t worry about missing important messages when you are unable to answer your phone. With TELUS Visual Voice Mail, there’s no need to dial in to pick up your messages, you just read them on screen. Read it instead of listening to itVisual Voice Mail converts your voice mail messages to text and delivers them straight to you as SMS or email within minutes. The converted message will include the phone number of the caller embedded in the text.Keep record of your voice mail.You can view all of your messages in one convenient inbox and have a visual record of who called and what they said. "Telus provides this service for a monthly fee of $7.50. However it is currently being offered for a free 30 day trial. This is the link to the information.or you can call: 1 800 316 0979 or Visit your nearest storeComments from WIDHH staff using this service already:"It works well except if a person does not speak clearly when they leave a msg, a word will either be skipped or spelled phonetically. Also, if the voice message is long, it will cut out some of the mssage and leave a request for you to call and listen to the rest of the message."There are so many cellphones on the market these days, it can be overwhelming when it comes to finding a phone appropriate for you. Following are some tips on what to look for in a cellphone so that it will be hearing aid compatible.
Look for a Cellphone with a rating of AT LEAST M3/T3
The following is the info from Western Institute for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing:
Hi my name is Janice Jickels. I work at the Western Institute for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing as head of the interpreting department.
I’d like to share with you some information, maybe its information you already know about, but I want to make sure the word gets out. Many deaf people have cell phones or blackberries, or devices from Telus, Bell, Fido, Rogers etc.Deaf people have been frustrated with voicemail. You know what voicemail is, it’s like the answering machine function on a TTY, except it is spoken language left on your cell phone, we can’t hear the message and we tend to ignore them.Cell phones and blackberries also have feature on a called voicemail. Now how can you use your voicemail feature?First you need to set up a voicemail account, contact your provider, and ask to have voicemail added to your phone. There is a small monthly charge for that service. Once you have added voicemail you need to open the account and personalize it. You can do that by calling TRS, ask the operators to call the number provided to you by your cell phone company to access your voicemail.The operator will then call the voicemail number, and you will have several options to choose from. The option you choose is “I want to set up my voicemail” you will be given an option to record a greeting, the TRS operator will do that for you. You can pick a standard greeting or personalized greeting.You will find that you already have a password as part of setup the voicemail, use that password. The TRS operator will set up the greeting then your voicemail is activated and ready to go. If a hearing person calls your phone they will leave a voice message in the normal way and you will see on your phone “new voicemail.”To retrieve that message, call 711 (Telus Relay Service) give the Telus operator the phone number the company provides to access voicemail, and your name and password.Then the operator will type the messages that are recorded on your voicemail. And that’s all! The TRS operator will ask you if you want to delete or save the current message. You have the ability to save the message as long as you want on your cell phone. This is a great feature for deaf people because hearing people will be able to leave voicemail messages in the normal way, and we have the ability to retrieve those using TRS or any other relay service.It is great to share this information because we’re all trying to get equal access, and you know how many of us get frustrated explain how to use TRS services, but now we can retrieve our own messages directly. It’s a great thing!Many hearing people feel uncomfortable with having to go through a two step process. But now you don’t have to bother with that explanation. You just give them your cell phone number.Thank you!
If you are having difficulty hearing on the telephone with one hearing aid, consider using your FM system so that you can use both hearing aids. You can either have the signal transmitted to your FM receivers snapped on to the bottom of your hearing aids, or to a bodyworn receiving unit with an induction loop such as the Phonak MyLink receiver unit. The bodyworn receiving unit will transmit sound to your hearing aids through the induction loop. The hearing aids must be set on the 'telephone' or 't-coil' position. Remember that when your hearing aids are on the t-coil position you can't hear anything other than the phone. Consider asking your audiologist if one or both of the aids can have an 'M-T' program put in (this means the microphone and the telecoil are working at the same time-so you can hear around you and you can hear on the phone. You don't have to worry about feedback because the ear piece of the phone doesn't need to be next to your hearing aid anymore - the sound is being sent by the FM transmitter to the FM receivers or the FM induction loop around your neck (i.e. the Phonak MyLink).
Parts required:
Note: for systems other than the Phonak Smartlink, Zoomlink or Easylink - you just plug the callcorder into the 'auxiliary audio input jack' of the FM transmitter. For some FM systems the jack is a 2.5mm, or a 3-pin eurojack - and the Call Corder will not fit. You will need to purchase a dual mini jack coupler (Radio Shack part number was 274-886). Plug the call corder into the coupler jack, use the DAI (direct audio input) cord that came with the FM system and plug one end into the remaining side of the coupler and then plug into the auxiliary audio input jack of the FM transmitter.
As fans of lantern making and lantern-making, I bet you already know how to make paper balloon lanterns. If you don’t, you can follow the instruction here, or attending our workshop:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4797962_paper-balloon-lantern.html
Once you master this basic balloon lantern, you can make lovely puffy fish, angry bird, monkey, rabbit, bee, flower, eerie robot or insect! You name it.
Here are some examples what others start with balloon lantern:
Send us the picture of your creation too so we can post it here :>
Running short of time and idea to make lanterns for the festival?
Beautiful lanterns, or bizarre ones if it is the way you want, can be made quickly.
What you need:
Rinse the milk jug and remove label.
Cut opening that is big enough to put a tea light candle, or a LED one, in.
Cut more shape for your own design.
Give color and patterns to the milk jug by either gluing colored tissue paper or paint.
Here is a collection of what people do with their milk jugs. Start your creativity now!
Eerie Luminarias – Cat, Dog http://www.bhg.com/halloween/outdoor-decorations/eerie-luminarias/ Spirit Jugs http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/spirit-jugs-673388/ Universal lamp shade polygon building kit http://www.instructables.com/id/Universal-lamp-shade-polygon-building-kit/ Milk jug Jack-O-Lantern http://www.instructables.com/id/Milk-Jug-Jack-o-Lanterns/ Recycled Milk Jug Lanterns http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/recycled-milk-jug-crafts3.htm Other projects: Recycled Jar Jack O Lanterns http://www.instructables.com/id/Recycled-Jar-Jack-OLanterns/ Milk Jug crafts for kids http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/milkjugscontainersartscraftsideaskids.html Milk bottle lamps http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2007/06/milk-bottle-lamps.html#0_undefined,0_
How to Make a Lamp Out of Vintage Glass Milk Bottles
http://www.designswan.com/archives/11-cool-and-unusual-lamp-designs.html
http://www.plantea.com/milk-jug.htm
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