Word Lens revolutionizes deaf travel
This is the first in a series of articles about technology, culture, and the Deaf. If you have any good tips about new technology that is beneficial to Deaf and Hard of Hearing people, please let me know. Word Lens is a iPhone application that does one thing, and one thing well — it is an [...]
FCC “Lock-In” Plan: Hurting Deaf Consumers
Let me get this out in the open: I am not much of a “phone person.” I never really developed the habit, as I could not really use the phone well, beyond a small circle of familiar persons. When I was thirteen, I was introduced to the TTY, and this was a minor miracle, as [...]
My Two Cents: Cochlear Implants
I used to feel sorry for children who had cochlear implants. I did. When I saw them it broke my heart because I really believed that their parents just didn’t understand deafness. I judged those parents. I assumed that the parents were looking for a quick fix to something that in my opinion didn’t [...]
ASL Literature, Reborn on the iPad
In addition to being a first-grade teacher, I’m also the geekminister for 15 brand-new iPad 2s at P.S. 347 The ASL and English Lower School in Manhattan. This is the first in what I hope will be a regular series on how my students and I are using the iPad to learn, read, create, and [...]
Cued Speech and ASL—Why I Use Both
When we first confirmed my son was deaf, I had several communication choices presented to me by his Early Intervention coordinator. I had never heard of cued speech, and at first I was ready to dismiss it solely because it was not the dominant form of communication among Deaf people. But when an advocate of [...]
The Canary in the Coal Mine
Just as I’m flying to California State University Northridge to present at their Deaf College Student Leadership Conference, I was reading a copy of Newsweek. There was a story on the infectious appeal of the #Occupy Wall Street movement. One particular quote stood out to me: “In 2008 vast new numbers of Americans transformed [...]
The YouTube Video You Don’t See
It has been about a week now since the video of Sarah Churman was posted on YouTube. You know what happened next… it went viral, major news networks picked up on the story and reposted the video on their websites, and since then there has even been a television interview or two. Sarah Churman, if [...]
Signed Languages and the iPad
The coolest thing about the iPad, for me, is that it becomes basically this powerful walking library. Yeah, it has games. Forget that. BOOKS. MOVIES. COMICS. DICTIONARIES. AUGMENTED REALITY PLANETARIUMS. And all this is in your hand – or your backpack. Now, several countries are releasing SL apps and we have the benefit of becoming [...]
“JUST GO ELSEWHERE:” Netflix, Deafhood, and why separate water fountains still apply
You’ve seen them by now: the vitriolic comments under news columns about the NAD suit against Netflix to begin providing captions for all its content, not just randomly chosen items. Let’s talk about this, let’s talk about what this implies for American Deafhood, and let’s compare this to other such items in American history. Let’s [...]
Deaf at the Drive Thru
In the days before iPhones, internet and video chat, the Deaf Community was limited in ways to communicate long distance. Local Deaf Clubs served as a way for deaf people to gather and communicate in the way they were most comfortable, in person. Many thought of the gatherings as a way to preserve American Sign [...]