Deaf Australia Online

A New Project for Deaf People in Australia

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Centre of Excellence for Students who are Deaf & Hard of Hearing at NMIT

Victorian Deaf Society

Centre for International Research on Communication &  Information Technologies at  RMIT

Australian Communication Exchange

 

How do you want technology to help you?
 

  • Do you want your friends to sign Auslan to you on a TV screen instead of using a TTY?
  • Do you want to see your teacher signing in Auslan on a TV screen at home instead of having to travel a long way to class?
  • Do you want information on government services on the Internet in Auslan?
  • Do you want to be able to use technology for shopping and paying bills?
  • Do you live in the country and need interpreters quickly and easily?

 

If you said yes,
then you can help us.

 This is a new project for Deaf people in Australia.

  • We will ask some Deaf people to tell us how they use technology now.
  • We will ask some Deaf people how they think the technology can be improved.
  • We want to know if Deaf people have some ideas of how they want technology to help them.
  • We will have some discussion groups and interviews all over Australia.

 Do you want more information?

 

We need your help.

IYou can also submit this form as below,
  we will then contact you.

TTY: (03) 9 269 8354
Fax: (03) 9 269 8353

 

The two project workers for
"Deaf Australia Online"

are Janice Knuckey from NMIT

and

Claudia Slegers from CIRCIT
(cslegers@circit.rmit.edu.au)

This is an AccessAbility project organised by:
( http://accessability.noie.gov.au/ )

Australian Communication Exchange
(http://www.aceinfo.net.au)

Centre for International  Research on Communication & Information Technologies at RMIT
(http://www.circit.rmit.edu.au)

Victorian Deaf Society
(http://www.vicdeaf.com.au)

Centre of Excellence for Students who are Deaf & Hard of Hearing at NMIT
(http://www.nmit.vic.edu.au)
 

If you want more details, look further down
 

Deaf Australia Online: Project Description

Context
Late last year the National Office of Information Economy (now under the Department of Communication Technology and the Arts) submitted requests for tenders to "Identify Options to Improve Online Access for Deaf Australians". This was in response to concerns about Deaf Australians' access to and effective use of technologies which are becoming common-place in our society.

The following groups formed a consortium and were successful in their tender proposal for the project: VicDeaf, the Centre of Excellence for Students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing at Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE (NMIT), Australian Communications Exchange (ACE), and the Centre for International Research on Communication and Information Technologies (CIRCIT) at RMIT University.

Aims
The project is examining how Deaf people prefer to carry out activities in their daily lives such as study, paying bills, shopping, communicating with family and friends, and getting information on government services. Preferred solutions for online services to meet the needs of Deaf people will be recommended.

Research Methodology
The approach is non-linear: many of the following activities are occurring concurrently, with one activity informing developments in others. For example findings from the focus groups will inform discussion in the technical expert's network; the literature review will inform questioning in the focus groups.

The project activities are:

  • Establish and monitor consultative processes

    Deaf Community: comprises three levels of consultation. The first group is a "Core Group" of Deaf people from key organisations of the Deaf. This group has direct input into the project's development. The second group is a "Deaf Information Network". This group consists of various organisations of the Deaf around Australia and will be sent information regularly to pass out to members. The third group is at the grassroots level who will receive information via the "Deaf Information Network". This group also includes the focus group members, discussed below.

    Policy/Research Network: comprises a Reference Group of individuals working in relevant fields to externally review the conduct of the project, and a broader group to help input to the literature review.
    Technical Network: comprises a panel of individuals to advise on what technologies and services are possible but feasible, in terms of recognised standards for open systems, scalablity, bandwidth, costings, timeframes, sustainability, and other issues.

  • Plan of focus groups with Deaf community: Schedules for focus group interviews assist examination of activities such as communication with friends and family, education, shopping, and use of government services. Focus groups have been composed to achieve representation by Deaf people from a range of literacy levels, technical experience, age-groups, and geographical regions.

  • Conduct and qualitative analysis of focus groups: Focus groups with the Deaf community are being conducted across Australia to examine the activities outlined above. Following transcription into English, the data will be analysed using qualitative analysis techniques, and a report of the findings written.

  • Research/literature: Comprises Australian and international projects and material on the use of online services by the Deaf community for various activities, adult literacy projects, government initiatives, and other relevant material.

  • Develop initial proposal: This will be a consultative document, supported by videos and demonstrations, which puts forward an initial proposal(s) for the development of online services for the Deaf community. Issues to be addressed will include desirable characteristics of online services for different activities by Deaf Australians, preferred location and characteristics of terminal equipment and issues of universal design, conformity with recognised standards, scalability and commercialisation of services.

  • Plan and conduct Forum: A Forum will be held at the World Federation of the Deaf Congress in Brisbane to review the initial proposal(s). Individuals from the Deaf community, including consumers, policy advisors and technical experts will be invited. Displays and demonstrations of the proposals will be featured.

  • Develop Preferred Solution: Following review at the Forum, a final report will be developed and presented to the Department of Communication and Information Technology and the Arts in October 1999.

Project Team
The project team comprises

  • Project managers from each of the four consortium groups: Bill Ford (VicDeaf); Judie Kay (The Centre of Excellence for Students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing); Dean Barton-Smith (ACE); and John Burke (CIRCIT at RMIT)

  • Two project workers: Janice Knuckey (The Centre of Excellence for Students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing); and Claudia Slegers (CIRCIT at RMIT)