Interpreter Education in the Digital Age

Innovation, Access, and Change

Suzanne Ehrlich, Jemina Napier, Suzanne Ehrlich, Jemina Napier

• Publisher: Gallaudet University Press
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781563686382
• eBook ISBN: 9781563686399
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

This collection brings together innovative research and approaches for blended learning using digital technology in interpreter education for signed and spoken languages. Volume editors Suzanne Ehrlich and Jemina Napier call upon the expertise of 21 experts, including themselves, to report on the current technology used to provide digital enhancements to interpreter education in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Divided into three parts, Innovation, Change, and Community Engagement, this study focuses on the technology itself, rather than how technology enhances curriculum, delivery, or resources.

       Initiatives described in this collection range from the implementation of on-demand interpreting using iPad technology to create personalized, small-group, multidimensional models suited to digital media for 160 languages; introducing students to interpreting in a 3D world through an IVY virtual environment; applying gaming principles to interpreter education; assessing the amenability of the digital pen in the hybrid mode of interpreting; developing multimedia content for both open access and structured interpreter education environments; to preparing interpreting students for interactions in social media forums, and more. Interpreter Education in the Digital Age provides a context for the application of technologies in interpreter education from an international viewpoint across languages and modalities.

PART 1

Innovation

JEMINA NAPIER AND SUZANNE EHRLICH

Innovative Use of Mobile Technology as a Key to Learning in Higher-Education Classrooms

THE ADVENT of various new forms of technology has had a significant impact on access to communication, information, and education. In particular, technology has greatly improved the lives of deaf people by enabling point-to-point communication between deaf and hearing people. For example, technological developments led to specialist equipment such as teletypewriters (TTYs), which enable deaf people to have direct contact with each other by typing text-based messages. In the 1970s, capitalizing on the availability of TTYs, telephone relay services began appearing in many countries, enabling deaf people to directly contact hearing people by telephone and thus giving them more independence (Padden & Humphries, 2005). To substitute for telephone communication, which relies on speaking, Deaf people have also embraced other technologies that are used by deaf and hearing people alike, such as text messaging via mobile phones and email (Power & Power, 2004; Power, Power, & Horstmanshof, 2007; Power, Power, & Rehling, 2007). Further access to information is now provided through real-time and prerecorded remote, respoken, and typed captions (transcription) in service provision, on television, at conferences, and in classrooms, which may assist not only deaf people but also people in remote locations and foreign language users who are attempting to develop literacy skills in the language of the country in which they live (e.g., Blake & Tucker, 2006; Kheir & Way, 2007; Remael, 2007; Romero-Fresco, 2012).

One particular technological development that has affected sign language users is video-based technology, which allows easy filming, as well as the compression and uploading of video files. This has been especially significant for sign language researchers, who can now more easily collect sign language data for analysis (Lucas et al., 2013). Sign linguists can use software such as ELAN to upload and annotate video data (Crasborn & Sloetjes, 2008; Wittenburg et al., 2006); sign language interpreter researchers now have easier access to authentic data (Metzger & Roy, 2011), thanks to smaller, less intrusive cameras (Major, 2013, in press); and signed language interpreter educators can also more readily capture student work for analysis and feedback (Collins, Tate, & Hann, 2012; Cox, 2012; Goswell, 2012).

After a difficult period of development (Ma & Tucker, 2008), high-quality video technology now allows deaf people to communicate remotely in sign language, leading to an explosion of services worldwide for deaf sign language users in the form of video remote “telephony,” for which there is a high demand (Napier, Turner, & Skinner, 2014). These video relay and remote interpreting services have received various responses from interpreters and community members. Although it is generally acknowledged that deaf people benefit from the ability to easily communicate in sign language via video technology (Keating & Mirus, 2003; Power & Power, 2010), the rollout of video remote interpreting services has not been without its problems: it has affected the availability of interpreters in the community (Dion, 2005; Taylor, 2005, 2009); it has led to interpreter burnout due to demanding working conditions (Alley, 2014; Bower, 2014); it puts pressure on those who are communicating via a two-dimensional video screen (Napier, 2011, 2012; Napier & Leneham, 2011); it appears to have had an influence on the linguistic features of sign language (Keating, Edwards, & Mirus, 2008; Palmer, Reynolds, & Minor, 2012; Young, Morris, & Langdon, 2012); and it also affects the nature of turn taking and other interactive norms that take place via video (Marks, 2014; Napier, 2013; Warnicke & Plejert, 2012). Nonetheless, the availability of video-based technology has had a positive impact on the Deaf community (Russell, 2014; Russell & Demko, 2013; Shaw & Roberson, 2013), especially in connecting people who live in remote locations.

The development of technology has also had a major impact on inclusive education not only for deaf people but also for students who speak a foreign language (Iglesias, Ruíz-Mezcua, López, & Carrero Figueroa, 2013) as support services can be provided to students in the classroom to facilitate their learning. In all areas of education, students’ learning experiences are also positively affected by technology. According to Taylor (2010, 2011, 2012), the current generation of college and university (higher-education) students comprises different kinds of learners: “digital natives” (Taylor, 2010). Advances in mobile technologies are having a major impact on education generally and influencing the way that students learn; thus, “rather than complain about students’ technology and online preferences, [we] need to embrace technology and leverage it for academic and developmental means and ends” (Taylor, 2012, p. 44). Furthermore, Taylor (ibid.) suggests that we utilize technology to make students more accountable for their own learning and to bring innovation into the classroom, especially in interpreter education (Taylor, 2013). The use of mobile technologies for the transfer of knowledge has also seen considerable growth in various disciplines in higher education (Geist, 2011; Kinash, Brand, & Mathew, 2012; Rajashingam, 2011; Rossing, Miller, Cecil, & Stamper, 2012), including situations that call for the use of iPads to provide additional avenues to information in higher-education settings.

This chapter thus provides details of two innovative and collaborative educational research projects that sought to utilize one particular form of mobile technology (the iPad) to engage students in the learning process. The iPad served either to provide access to deaf students in the classroom through video remote interpreting services or as a learning tool for interpreting students. We highlight the successes and challenges revealed by data collected from complementary qualitative studies. The first study examined the implementation of on-demand interpreting services, and the second study looked at interpreter training; both took place via iPad technology. The studies included data collected from spoken and signed languages in higher education in the United States and Australia. Emergent themes include student and interpreter practice, perception, and engagement. The findings reveal how technology can greatly influence the way in which we support learning in the classroom either by providing access to interpreters or by utilizing student-led, problem-based methods in interpreter education.

PROJECT AIMS AND METHODS

Here we provide an overview of the goals and the qualitative methodologies of each study, which draw upon typical social science and educational research methodologies (Krathwohl, 1998; Scott & Usher, 1996) that are also used in interpreting and interpreter education research (Hale & Napier, 2013), including a case study (Bassey, 1999; Merriam, 1998) and participatory action research (Burns, 1999; Scott, 1999).

Study 1: Case Study of On-Demand Interpreting Services in the Classroom through the iPad

This aim of this case study was to explore the concept of direct versus indirect on-demand interpreting by piloting prescheduled interactions with the goal of developing a framework of considerations when exploring the possibility of offering on-demand interpreting. The project sought to consider which factors need to be accounted for when providing successful interpreting services in the classroom via an iPad (Ehrlich & Vance, 2014).

The case study was conducted at a large university in the United States with a yearly average deaf and hard of hearing student population of approximately 14 students. A preservice survey was distributed to the pilot study’s student participant, which assessed the student’s use of technology in both personal and academic life. The survey design was based on a previously conducted iPad study at Pepperdine University (n.d.), the first half of which provided remote interpreting services for the student’s one-hour course. Both the student and the interpreter used iPads to connect with each other using the FaceTime platform and on-campus Wi-Fi services.

Observations of the interpreted exchange were documented by utilizing a matrix that was based on the Pepperdine University (n.d.) study. In this iteration, the student, the interpreter, and the observer debriefed after the class to document their respective perceptions and experiences. In the spring of 2013, the student relocated out of state to participate in cooperative employment as required by his degree program. The researchers worked with the student to make agreements with the employer for the use of interpreting services during meetings that discussed proprietary information. Considerations made for this particular student included the use of meeting participants by telephone, participants with accent variations, length of meeting, and topic of discussion. Several standing meetings were then identified, and the interpreter was scheduled to provide remote interpreting services. Particular considerations were made for the location in which the interpreter would provide interpreting services, as the student and the interpreter were located in different time zones. During the student’s cooperative employment he utilized remote interpreting services for both scheduled times and last-minute requests for services.

Other data collected included the primary interpreter’s reflections after each assignment. These included opinions on the interpreting experience, such as duration of the calls, Wi-Fi connectivity, technology used, and challenges experienced. After the student completed his cooperative employment he completed a post-survey, which was again based on the Pepperdine study (n.d.). A post-survey was also sent to the student’s supervisor to assess the supervisor’s perception of the use of the technology and any impact on the student’s performance in the workplace.

Study 2: Participatory Action Research Study of Interpreter Training Using the iPad

Initially the primary goal of the participatory action research study was to test one particular application available on the iPad—AudioNote—for the development of note-taking skills with (spoken language) conference interpreting students. However, due to the organic nature of the project, this objective was expanded so as to also investigate how the iPad can be used to enhance educational experiences for interpreting students and instructors and how students engaged in self-directed, cooperative learning, and developed competence in interpreting (see Napier, Song, & Ye, 2013).

The study¹ involved the purchase of iPads, which were distributed to conference interpreting students and instructors with the AudioNote application already downloaded. Each participant was given an AU$50 iTunes voucher to purchase other apps. Specific educational activities were designed to use AudioNote and other apps, and the students were asked to try out those they thought might be helpful and to list and rate the ones they downloaded. Three instructors then met on a monthly basis with all of the conference interpreting students during the 13-week semester to discuss how they had used these apps and how effective they were. Between meetings, the students and instructors would download and explore the recommended ones from the previous meeting and look up new ones to discuss at the next meeting. As alternative apps were identified, the instructors and the students suggested new classroom activities to use them with.

Each classroom discussion was recorded using AudioNote, with one of the instructors taking notes with the same app. The audio files were then fully transcribed for analysis. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes in the classroom discussions (Guest, MacQueen, & Namey, 2012), and an adapted version of the Emerging Technology Projects Evaluation Framework was also used as a guide for discussions and for formal evaluation at end of the project.

RESULTS

In the presentation of the results, we focus on the overall outcomes of each project and direct readers to other publications that provide more details of the findings from the case study (Ehrlich & Vance, submitted) and the action research study (Napier, Song, & Ye, 2013).

Participants’ Perceptions of and Experiences with iPad Technology to Access Interpreting in the Classroom

Upon reviewing the surveys, both the supervisor and the student noted a positive impact on the hard of hearing student’s performance in the workplace. Additionally, the student noted that he would very likely use the iPad in the future and would recommend it to others. However, as anticipated, connectivity became a significant theme throughout the case study. Both successful and unsuccessful experiences were documented during the scheduled observations. One of the primary technical complications was the difficulty in accessing a consistent and stable Wi-Fi in the various settings (classroom, boardrooms, etc.). Audio was also compromised for the interpreter, who was some distance away (not in the same room) when the student did anything physical near the iPad. Although the video quality was, by default, affected by the Wi-Fi signal, it was not identified as an emergent theme with regard to primary technical issues gathered from the interpreters’ observations.

Another theme centered on the physical impact and demands of the work. Observations consistently revealed difficulties in adapting the use of the iPads in response to certain environmental demands, such as the need t...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Editorial Advisory Board
• Contributors
• Introduction Digital Evolution: Contextualizing a Volume on Digital Education in Interpreter Education
• Part 1: Innovation
• Part 2: Change
• Part 3: Community Engagement
• Index