This is our current question from some inquiries that we have had, Just what exactly is classroom captioning?
Simply put, classroom captioning is a realtime text display service that allows deaf or hard-of-hearing students to read what a teacher, instructor, or professor is teaching to the students in a classroom or lecture environment on a laptop or portable device. This allows for the student to participate in the same fashion as every other student in the classroom.
OK, great, but just how does this work? How does this realtime text get put on the screen for the student to read? For that part there are a few options available. The most reliable service in place today is to utilize a trained CART writer to provide this service. A CART writer is a trained court reporter that now specializes in educational or other related areas. CART writers/court reporters can write at speeds over 225 words per minute (wpm) with accuracy of 98.5% for extended periods of time. The average speed of conversation is about 200 wpm, but that can be even quicker in a lot of cases. Having the ability to have someone take down the live conversation at these speeds with only a delay of a few seconds is crucial to a student to follow along at the same pace as everyone else.
Watch our YouTube video to see more on how our Classroom Captioning/Remote CART Services work from start to finish.
So what about voice recognition? Yes, this does exist, but the general translation speed of voice recognition systems in a perfect environment are generally in the range of 175 wpm with a lower accuracy. Another factor with voice recognition is how quick the realtime is displayed for the user. Doing the simple math, if a professor is talking at 225 wpm and the voice recognition software is delivering text at 175 wpm, over time you will have more and more lag and delay to what the student is reading – not good! Also, keep in mind this speed is attained in a controlled environment with perfect audio levels, trained recognition software, and no external noise. And, when was the last time that you had this happen in a classroom? Rarely…
Which leads us back to why a CART writer is your best option for classroom captioning. Having a real person taking down the instruction of a teacher and filtering out background noise to deliver only what the student needs to hear is the most important part to providing reliable and consistent services to the end user. No other service available today can provide the level of accuracy, quality, and reliability as Remote CART Services. And, the option of having the text of the file delivered to the student after their class is an added bonus. This allows the realtime text file that they just viewed to be part of their notes for review and study purposes.
Learn more about the Classroom Captioning and Remote CART Services by contacting us for a live demonstration or to discuss the exact details of your service requirements.