[Trainer-Talk] Help finding a better conference calling service for the Deaf Blind Division

Tue Dec 10 00:21:12 UTC 2019

The NFB DeafBlind division did adopt official communication rules for meetings and conference calls; in the past we have reviewed those rules at the beginning of every meeting. Unfortunately, because not all who are involved in the deafblind division believe/accept the fact that they have hearing loss, which is a whole other topic not for this list; which complicates meetings. 

If anyone is interested in learning more about communication rules, please let me know and I can send a copy to the list; generally these are the rules used when working/communicating with persons or groups who are deafblind. 

Thank you!   

Marsha drenth  
email: marsha.drenth at gmail.com  
Sent with my IPhone  
Please note that this email communication has been sent using my iPhone. As such, I may have used dictation and had made attempts to mitigate errors. Please do not be hesitant to ask for clarification as necessary. 

> On Dec 9, 2019, at 5:03 PM, Scott Davert via Trainer-Talk <trainer-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> As an adendum to my last post, there are some non-technical things that are equally as impmortant to consider. These come in the form of communication rules. When working with a lot of different communication monalities, turntaking is NOT optional, but required. i know we're all adults and are supposed to be respectful in conference calls, but we also all forget. It is typically the responsibility of the person hosting the call to lay down these rules at the beginning of the call, and sadly, to review them at the start. Essentially, unless the person hosting the call has given the go ahead for the next person to talk, it means the mederator/host has the floor. If someone has a comment, they should let the host know, the host should acknowledge the person, and then the person with a comment/question is then given a turn when the host decides it's appropriate. In some circumstances, the mederator and host can be different people. Typically, when I host calls, which isn't too often, anyone who calls in is automatically muted. They must then press a key combination to be unmuted, or, everyone is muted until it's time to open things up for discussion. With a conference that may have captioning, sign language interpreters, relay operators, and voice callers, the second option seems best, as some people may have issues dialing the code to unmute themselves. I understand this is a tech trainer list, and I understand your question was tech related, but I just thought these types of things were worth mentioning.
> 
> Good luck,
> Scott
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Dec 9, 2019, at 12:02 PM, Marsha Drenth via Trainer-Talk <trainer-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Maurice, 
>> 
>> I believe that both Skype and Zoom have the options you are looking for. But
>> I do believe in both that its not free and that it must be paid for. 
>> 
>> Thank you, 
>> Marsha Drenth
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Trainer-Talk <trainer-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of
>> maurice.mines via Trainer-Talk
>> Sent: Sunday, December 8, 2019 9:01 PM
>> To: List for teachers and trainers of adaptive technology
>> <trainer-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: maurice.mines <maurice.mines at gmail.com>
>> Subject: [Trainer-Talk] Help finding a better conference calling service for
>> the Deaf Blind Division
>> 
>> Hello,
>> I am writing this email on behalf of the National Federation of the Blind
>> Deaf Blind Division board.
>> I am looking for advice on what conference calling service to switch to
>> other than Freeconference.com. The reason is simply this. Unfortunately free
>> conference calls audio levels of each caller vary so much that at times it
>> is impossible for us to hear each other. Then one must take into account
>> that all of us wear hearing aids, that can handle telephone audio at varying
>> levels. So unfortunately it is important to find a calling service where
>> there is a way to hopefully get better audio out of each individual caller
>> so that we can all hear each other. In addition looking for a service that
>> would allow either the caller to mute themselves when not talking, or the
>> conference leader to mute all callers except for the one that is speaking. I
>> think the ability to either mute oneself or the chair to mute all callers
>> except for the one who currently has the floor is critical. Because of the
>> issue that I explained above regarding the fact that we all wear hearing
>> aids of different types.
>> The other issue that this email is also going to touch upon is looking for a
>> text based messaging service that can supplement any potential calling
>> service so that if we have attendees who can't hear an audio call can
>> receive either a text message or a written record of the conversation that
>> is occurring. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how we should proceed?
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Maurice Mines, Board Member
>> National Federation of the Blind Deaf-Blind Division
>> Email: board4 at nfbdeaf-blind.org <mailto:board4 at nfbdeaf-blind.org>
>> Website: www.nfbdeaf-blind.org <http://www.nfbdeaf-blind.org> Live the life
>> you want.
>> The National Federation of the Blind Deaf-Blind Division, a proud division
>> of the National Federation of the Blind, is a community of members and
>> friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation's blind. Every day
>> we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.
>> 
>> 
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