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E-Michigan Deaf and Hard of Hearing People.

Announcements 2010

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Seeking Executive Director Deaf Adult Services in Buffalo, NY

Deaf Adult Services in Buffalo, NY seeks dynamic and innovative Executive Director to join Western New York’s leading agency serving the Deaf community. Masters Degree in Business or Non Profit Administration with a minimum of three years management experience or BA/BS in Human Services or equivalent with a minimum of five years management experience required. Proven experience with fundraising, grant writing, marketing, budget and financial management strongly desired. Thorough knowledge of Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Hearing cultures required as well as Sign Language proficiency. Strong people skills, diplomacy and public speaking abilities are necessary. Deadline: April 15, 2010. Full job description and application information can be downloaded at www.wnydas.org

Seeking Youth Specialist Supervisor at MSD

A Youth Specialist Supervisor 11 position (SEQ FY10-054) at the Michigan School for the Deaf has been announced on the Civil Service website to recruit both internal and external candidates. The closing date is March 21, 2010. Check department bulletin boards or the Civil Service website for information on this position. Please help us find the highest quality candidates from diverse backgrounds by alerting your colleagues and networks of this opportunity.

To view Job Opportunities open to all applicants, go to the home page for the Department of Civil Service at http://www.michigan.gov/mdcs

Click on Employment Information (left hand corner)
Click on Your Career Starts Here (middle of the page)

Information about You Tube and Captioning

By Jessica E. Vascellaro - Of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Google Inc.'s (GOOG) YouTube said it will offer automatically generated captions for its entire video catalog, a boon for deaf users and those who want to watch videos in other languages. At a press conference at YouTube's headquarters, Google software engineer Ken Harrenstein showed off the feature and ticked through the reasons Google invested in the product, from expanding accessibility to crossing language barriers to improving search. For instance, YouTube watchers can select to see captions in a different language from the language of the video. Harrenstein, who is deaf and gave his presentation in sign language, said he has been working on the product for the past five years.

YouTube has been pushing captions for a while and hundreds of thousands of videos have them. In 2008, it began allowing content owners to upload their own captions. Last year, Google turned on automatic captioning for videos uploaded by a small number of partners, like the University of California-Berkeley and Yale University.

Now, YouTube is rolling them out across the entire catalog of millions of videos, as long as the video has clear audio. The move was cheered by several students at the California School for the Deaf, who were in attendance and called the feature "inspiring."

Google scientist Mike Cohen said the captioning technology blends Google's speech-recognition and translation algorithms--both of which are based on large-scale data models that crunch data on Google's servers. "I don't know about anything tried at this type of scale before," he said.

http://help.youtube.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?answer=100079

Now Hiring Customer Service Reps and Sales Consultants

There are job openings at AT&T:

Where:
Rantoul, IL; Harrisburg, PA; Springfield, IL; Pewaukee, WI; Brecksville, OH; Saginaw, MI; Chicago, IL

Action Item:
Do you have family, friends or neighbors who would like to work for AT&T? Are they interested in consulting with customers to recommend and sell AT&T products & services to meet our customers' needs? We have great news. AT&T is now hiring Sales Consultants and Customer Consultants in the above locations.
These available positions won't last long, so please make a referral today. Interested candidates can click here to apply directly for:
CSR - Rantoul, IL,
CSR - Harrisburg, PA,
CSR - Springfield, IL,
Sales Consultant - Pewaukee, WI,
Sales Consultant - Brecksville, OH,
Sales Consultant - Saginaw, MI,
Sales Consultant - Bilingual (Spanish) - Chicago, IL

View On-Demand Children's Stories in ASL at ASLstory.info

Clearwater, FL [February 18, 2010] – Children and adults alike can now view popular children's books translated into American Sign Language (ASL) by dialing ASLstory.info on their videophones.

This new venue is what co-owner Keith Wann calls supporting Deaf literacy. "As someone who grew up bilingually with ASL and English and as someone who has children, I understand firsthand the crucial influence of bilingualism upon children, especially those who are deaf," Wann says. "Yet not all of them have easy access to ASL-narrated stories. By combining modern video technology with ASL, we can provide on-demand ASL storytelling at no cost to them."

With a new book narrated every month, the current story being narrated until the end of March is Papa, Do You Love Me? To view the pre-taped stories, people with videophones can dial ASLstory.info. Wann points out that the narrators are doing this on a volunteer basis "because they want to help children make that connection between ASL and English, and be exposed to a diverse array of stories."

He adds, "With this new program, we're already making waves. A mother told me that she was thrilled to see this offering for her deaf children, because she lives in a rural area where there are very few deaf people and even fewer opportunities for her children to see native-level ASL."She says her children ask to watch the story over and over, because they're so excited to see someone other than their mother signing."

Although this program is sponsored by callVRS, all calls into ASLstory.info are not interpreted calls and do not involve interpreters or call placements. Additionally, none of the calls to ASLstory.info result in billable minutes or profits. Wann says, "I've been asked why we have this program, and my answer is simple: this is a way for callVRS to give back to the community. What better way to do it than to reach out to new generations of deaf children through their natural language?"

For more about ASLstory.info, visit www.callvrs.org. callVRS is a minority-owned and woman-owned business.

Sprint Relay customers can download Sprint Video 4G Software free.

-- Announcement from an E-Michigan Donating Sponsor --

www.sprintvrs.com

Sprint Video 4G Software is compatible with Mac and Windows PCs and laptops with high-speed internet connection and allows 4G wireless access where available (and 3G access otherwise) when combined with a compatible mobile broadband device and data plan. Sprint 4G currently available in over 25 markets and counting, and on select devices. See sprint.com/4G for details

Seeking Employment Specialist for New Horizon Rehabilitation Service

New Horizons Rehabilitation Service has new job opening: Employment Specialist in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Please click here for job description.

For questions or more information, contact Jamie Maes at jmaes@newhorizonsrehab.org or Jason Kaszubski at jkaszubski@newhorizonsrehab.org.

For additional information:
http://www.newhorizonsrehab.org/employment_opportunities.html

DODHH Status Update

It has come to our attention that a rumor is circulating in the community that MCDC / DODHH is closing. That information is incorrect.

Please know and share with others that although we have encountered funding difficulties, the Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth, (our host department) and the State Rehabilitation Agencies have been working to resolve these difficulties and to achieve solutions that provide for the continued operation and viability of our programs. We are not closing down.

We would appreciate your help in bringing an end to this rumor.

Please direct all budget related questions and inquiries to Duncan Wyeth, Executive Director at wyethd2@michigan.gov or 877-499-6232.

Managing Fear and Anxiety

Read the new article in the Mental Health section: click here.

Deaf Services Manager Job in Missouri

Person needed to manage, coordinate, supervise and ensure exceptional care of deaf and hard of hearing clients with mental and emotional disorders through therapeutic and case management services.

For more information, click here.

Free Webinar: Recent Findings: Interpreting Needs in Vocational Rehabilitation Settings

The National Consortium of Interpreter Education Centers (NCIEC) will present the key findings from the recent national needs assessment survey of interpreting needs in Vocational Rehabilitation settings. This webinar is of special interest to anyone responsible for or interested in the current needs and challenges of providing appropriate and qualified sign language interpreting services in VR settings. This is a free webinar, sponsored by RSA through the NCRTM.

The complete final report, NCIEC Vocational Rehabilitation Interpreting Needs Assessment Report (October 2009) is available on the National Consortium website.

The following key areas are included:

* Respondent agency data
* Vocational Rehabilitation consumer characteristic information
* Utilization of full-time staff interpreters versus part-time contract interpreters
* Interpreter availability
* Requirements for interpreter qualifications and education
* Interpreter pay
* Need for interpreters by consumer sub-group
* Need for interpreters by Vocational Rehabilitation setting
* Interpreter training needs
* Mentoring for interpreters

This webinar presentation is the introduction to an ongoing Community of Practice in Vocational Rehabilitation Interpreting Needs. Following this presentation, an online forum will be available to pursue specific questions, and identify potential responses to the interpreting needs identified in the report.

Venue:
NCRTM Online Conference Center

Dates:
February 11, 2010 1:00-2:30 EST
RID CEUs and ACET credit available.

Who should attend?
* SCD, RCD directors and counselors
* Sign Language Interpreters working with and for Vocational Rehabilitation agencies

Registration:
This webinar is free for participants, but we are asking that people register by February 10th. More details will follow soon via email!

Accessibility:
Watch and listen to this presentation online using our web-based software. Sign language interpreting and captioning services will be provided as part of the presentation. There will be an opportunity for participants to ask questions at the end of the presentation.

Unable to attend?
You may view the archived webcast and accompanying resource materials on the NCRTM website. Archives will be immediately available within one month of the live webcast.

More details will follow soon, but mark this event on your calendar!

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