[Athen] Selecting and managing Video Remote Interpreting (VRI)

[Nazely Kurkjian]

Dear colleagues - my apologies in advance for cross-posting but,

With an increase in the number of students who are deaf, we want to be
prepared for the eventuality where there are no live interpreters available
on short notice, or at all. We've been exploring several VRI agencies, and
are wondering how your offices control or monitor the usage by the
students.

I've come to discover: Most VRI agencies provide the ability to
pre-schedule interpreting. Many offer "on demand" type interpreting
service. Like CART and closed captioning, the costs for these services
VARY...Some agencies offer interpreting through Skype and/or Facetime while
others have created an app specifically for VRI. Some offer administrative
customizable solutions where you can turn off the "on demand" feature so
the student cannot use the service for non-academic things, collect reports
of use, and so on.

For those who have used and contracted with VRI, if any of the above
features are great, bad, difficult to use, or anything else, we would love
to know. And, your opinion of particular agencies, or how you would rate an
agency would be most helpful.

Many thanks,
-- 

*Nazely Kurkjian*
*"Shame on us...  If we let the wonders of educational technology and
broadband internet lead to more inequality as opposed to less"*

Adaptive Technology Specialist
Services for Students with Disabilities - UU 119
Binghamton University
Phone: 607-777-2686
Email: kurkjian at binghamton.edu
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