Stanford U. Will Test a Computerized Transcription System
By KAREN BIRCHARD
Stanford University is the first test site in the United States for a
Canadian system designed to give students with disabilities a better
shot at succeeding in college.
Students testing the Liberated Learning Project (LLP) at
colleges and universities in Canada, Britain, and Australia find they no
longer need note takers at lectures where LLP is used.
Although LLP adds some extra work for the lecturer, students, including
those without disabilities, give the innovation positive reviews.
Using voice-activated software, the system immediately
converts a teacher's words into print that is flashed onto a large
screen.
After the lecturer edits the session for accuracy and
corrects words that sound the same, the lecture is made available to all
students online. For the visually impaired, it can be quickly translated
into Braille.
"The student response has been fantastic," said David
Leitch, the head of LLP and director of the Atlantic Centre of Research,
Access and Support for Students with Disabilities, at Saint Mary's
University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Saint Mary's has been using the system for two years. "We
find that all students in the classes where LLP is used are using the
words on the screen to check their notetaking or find their place," Mr.
Leitch said.
Students without disabilities also say that the screen,
with its real-time display, adds interest to the lectures.
But the real winners are students like Jane Bagnall, who has
been profoundly deaf since she was 6.
In an e-mail interview from Saint Mary's, she said: "I could see the
professor's lecture on the screen as he was speaking. I was therefore
getting lecture information in two ways (in text and via the Sign
Language interpreter). ... The second benefit is having near-verbatim,
edited lecture notes afterwards for studying. This gave me an
opportunity to reconcile my own classnotes with the actual lecture
notes, as my own were far from perfect. If I missed a class, the LLP
notes would be available."
According to Mr. Leitch, access to lecture material has always been a
problem for students with disabilities. "Some wealthy universities can
hire court stenographers -- each one costs about $60,000 a year -- but
the majority of students with disabilities in most universities depend
on volunteer note takers, and this is less than ideal," he said.
"LLP certainly improves the accuracy and makes it easier for
students to take a course," he said.
Mr. Leitch is pleased that Stanford has agreed to test the system,
saying that the university's information-technology expertise means it
can quickly develop solutions whenever problems arise.
"Where we see a glitch, they see an opportunity," he said.
_________________________________________________________________
This article from The Chronicle is available online at this address:
http://chronicle.com/free/2002/01/2002012401t.htm
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