C-Print

 In my last blog post, I talked about the WordQ/SpeakQ assistive technology device. The dual WordQ/SpeakQ program can be extremely helpful to students with a writing learning disability and students with communication issues (two types of students I had previously blogged about). In this blog post, I am going to be talking about the C-Print assistive technology device. The purpose of the C-Print is to help students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing be able to communicate.  This blog post relates to a previous blog, where I had talked about students in your class who may have a sensory disability. 

How Does The C-Print Help Students Who Are Deaf Or Hard-

Of-Hearing?: 

• The C-Print has speech-to-text services for computer use.
• The C-Print, "allows the captionist to input text using a keyboard abbreviation system and/or voice.The abbreviation system is based on phonetics, or how words sound" (National Technical Institute For The Deaf).
• " Unlike traditional keyboard typing, a C-Print captionist processes information auditorily. Typing using abbreviations based on how words sound is an extension of the auditory process. In addition, problematic spelling is not an issue" (National Technical Institute For The Deaf).
• The text written with the C-Print can be provided in paper or electronic format for the student to use as notes.

COST:

There are two payment options when considering buying the C-Print.

1. Option 1: The price varies depending on the pay levels hours the captionist works and services/demands the captionist has to deal with.
2. Option 2:  "C-Print can be a cost-effective service that a university, secondary school, business, or organization may provide" (National Technical Institute For The Deaf) .

The C-Print system is a very unique system, that I have never heard of before. Since there are many students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, I think that although it may be an expensive purchase, it would definitely be a worthwhile purchase to help these students be able to communicate easier in the classroom. Communication is key in the classroom setting so that a teacher can make sure that all of his or her students basic needs are met. If a teacher is unable to communicate with one of their students, it becomes more difficult to make sure that their basic needs are met.  Additionally, with the purchase of the C-Print, students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing will be able to use the C-Print in business and community settings! Being able to communicate in a professional environment, where employers may not know sign language is crucial because it could help these students get a job!!

National Technical Institute For The Deaf. (2013). Welcome To C-Print. Retrieved from: http://www.ntid.rit.edu/cprint/index.php.