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Update From Certification Committee
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 The Global Alliance certification test, projected to be completed by the end of 2021, is ahead of schedule. So, what does the certification and assessment test consist of? In a nutshell, we have been busy collecting uncopyrighted videos containing subject matter from live events. Each video is separated according to levels of challenge. Different venues are chosen according to difficulty of topic, rate of speed, the challenge of single or multiple speakers and speakers with accents. Once the material is collected, we are not done. If only it were that easy, right? Each video is transcribed and the number of words, including punctuation, is calculated. Next, we create a pro forma for each video detailing rate of speed, complexity of subject matter, and many other factors. Not an easy task, to be sure. We have created a central repository to store the materials and have created templates to be filled in as each video is completed. This process will continue until we feel we have accumulated enough material for our assessments.
This could not have been accomplished in such a short amount of time without the help of Ken Frommert, President of ENCO Systems, Inc., whose company has transcribed each video. Ken has also volunteered to populate the NER spreadsheets which will be used to certify each applicant. I want to thank Ken. Without his help, we would not be this far along in the process. I want to also thank Pablo Romero-Fresco. Without his mentorship, we would not have been able to develop the NER model here in the U.S.
I would also like to thank Steve Clark, who continues to mentor our evaluator trainees, Deanna Baker and Josh Foley, along with his many other volunteer duties. Deanna and Josh volunteer on our committee, and they are working hard to learn the NER and to become evaluators. Our plan is to continue to train evaluators, which includes consumers and professionals, in the very near future.
More updates will be coming your way very soon!
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Global Alliance Webinar Series 2020-2021
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Our Webinar Series has presented on topics of interest to steno and voice captioners as well as consumers. We have now presented the first four webinars in our six-part series:
- “Innovation and Software: Tools for Realtime and Post-Production Captioning”
- “Interlingual Subtitling, With and Without an Interpreter: A Respeaker’s Perspective”
- “Know Your Audience” (realtime captioning from a consumer’s perspective)
- “Captioning in a World with No Prep”
All four webinars are available to purchase and view on demand, with open captions.
You don’t want to miss our two final webinars in this series. Register today!
March 20, 2021
Sports Captioning
Presenters: Jennifer Bonfilio and Sandra Smith
April, 2021 (date TBD)
Introduction to Voice Captioning: Who, What, How?
We are grateful to our sponsors who help make this series possible. We could not do this without your support. Thank you!
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Thank you to our Sponsors!
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Thank you to Global Alliance Board member Michele Michaels for sharing this!
World Hearing Day (WHD) is celebrated each March 3. Established by the World Health Organization (WHO), World Hearing Day raises awareness of the prevalence of hearing loss throughout the world and stresses prevention of hearing loss along with rehabilitation, education, and empowerment. Currently, 1.5 billion global citizens experience hearing loss, and 430 million of those have hearing loss in the moderate or higher levels. By 2050, WHO projects 1 in 4 global citizens will experience hearing problems.
Preventing hearing loss includes but is not limited to: proper prenatal care, turning down the sound, being mindful of noise exposure during recreational activities, working safely, and being aware of other hearing loss inducing factors such as ototoxic medications.
Today, WHO has released the first ever World Report on Hearing. An executive summary can be found here. Contained within that summary is this statement: "The use of sign language and other means of sensory substitution (such as speech reading) are also valuable options for many deaf people; hearing assistive technology and services (such as captioning and sign language interpretation) can further improve access to communication and education for those with hearing loss."
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In our last newsletter, we reported on the addition of online guidelines dedicated to consumers. This online form guides the consumer through specific questions, some not often thought of by consumers, and a report is generated based on the consumer’s answers. This report can be shared with a live service caption provider, or the consumer can click the “Find a Captioning Service Provider” tab on our website and choose from among our members, using the report as a guide. The member link will be displayed inside the consumer page.
A new feature of our Find a Captioning Service Provider tab is the addition of the method or form of captioning a member provides, as well as a link to the member’s website. Members, be sure to visit our website and update your profile to add these new features!
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Thank you to Global Alliance Board member Lukasz Dutka for providing this update.
A new law in Poland requires all public bodies to provide captions for all the video materials they publish on their websites or their official profiles on YouTube or social media. This new requirement affects all videos published after September 23, 2020 and all public organizations, from big national agencies to small local organizations.
For caption users, this is a big step forward as they will now have access to far more captioning when dealing with public institutions. The Polish law is an example of a wider trend as all European Union countries were obliged to introduce similar regulations following the Web Accessibility Directive, an EU-wide attempt to make public sector websites more accessible.
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Are You a Captioning Service Provider?
Are You Looking for Captioning Services?
If you’re a Global Alliance member, and you provide captioning services, be sure you’ve added your information to our captioning service provider tab. Sign in at our website, then click My Profile and choose yes to “Display my contact information in the public directory.”
Are you looking for captioning services? Click the link below and visit our website. Global Alliance members in this directory are ready to provide you the highest quality captioning services, both realtime and post-production. If you have a talent for writing and editing, we need you! We’re looking for one or two Global Alliance members to take over preparing our newsletter, which is sent every two to four weeks. Your time commitment will be about four hours a month.
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