[Athen] Assistive Hearing Systems in Classrooms

[Jeremy Zhe-Heimerman]

Thank you all for the responses.

Good suggestion, Wink. I looked at Williams’ website and they offer product<https://williamsav.com/wi-fi-products/>s that appear to be like what we are talking about.

Kamran, have you had experience with a listener in the room in real time? I’m wondering if you’ve seen the latency issues that Lori mentioned. And are you aware of the manufacturer of your system? I’d like to pass that along to our Campus Technology Services folks.

Thanks!

Jeremy Zhe-Heimerman (he, him, his)
Assistant Director, Disability Resources
SUNY Cortland
Memorial Library, Room B-121
P.O. Box 2000
Cortland, NY 13045-0900
O: 607-753-2358 | F: 607-753-5495
jeremy.zhe-heimerman at cortland.edu<mailto:jeremy.zhe-heimerman at cortland.edu>
Test Accessibility Scheduling System<https://webapp.cortland.edu/TASRequestForm/> | Disability Resources Homepage<http://www2.cortland.edu/offices/disability-resources/index.dot>
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From: Kamran Rasul <krasul1 at jhu.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2024 4:22 PM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: [Athen] Assistive Hearing Systems in Classrooms

We have this system set up in one of our classrooms. We had to put up a sign to read “microphone is always active,” given anyone can take a scan of the QR code and listen into the classroom from anywhere within the range of the campus and they have since added the talk back feature through its Mobile Connect app. While I need to get some updates from our audio-visual department, I would think by now; they have some security features that can be activated to offer some level of privacy.

Other than that, as mentioned below, it works very well, and we even did some test runs by writing on the blackboard using chalk and talking simultaneously. It worked well when the person’s voice was audible over the chalk sound.

[Johns Hopkins University logo]
Kamran Rasul, MEd.
Assistive Technology/Alternate Format Specialist
krasul1 at jhu.edu<mailto:krasul1 at jhu.edu>
Student Disability Services
Garland Hall, 1st Floor, Office 135G
3400 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21218
Schedule a Meeting<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/ATC2@live.johnshopkins.edu/bookings/>

From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu>> On Behalf Of Jeremy Zhe-Heimerman
Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2024 4:04 PM
To: athen-list at u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: [Athen] Assistive Hearing Systems in Classrooms


      External Email - Use Caution





Thanks for those resources!



Our Campus Technology Resources folks came to us with this new technology that does not seem to be mentioned on those webpages. It involves a ceiling microphone station<https://www.sennheiser.com/en-us/catalog/products/meeting-and-conference-systems/teamconnect-ceiling-2/teamconnect-ceiling-2-black-509161?utm_source=linkshare&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=generic&utm_term=3829940&ranMID=42592&ranEAID=%2FjZHTpnCvx8&ranSiteID=_jZHTpnCvx8-gEwW3BvssATzne7C1pNv0g&LSNSUBSITE=Omitted_%2FjZHTpnCvx8&utm_medium=CPA&utm_source=Linkshare&utm_campaign=%2FjZHTpnCvx8> that includes multiple microphones that do an exceptional job of picking up a wandering professor and can be calibrated for other noise in the room, like the HVAC system. It then sends audio to the internet. A student would snap a QR code to get access to the webpage where they can tap into the audio feed. The student can then play the audio through their own device to Bluetooth headphones or have it input to transcription like Otter.ai. They say that one system for one room could run $15-20K, but could be moved into a different classroom between semesters as needed.



They are interested in experiences that other campuses have had with these systems, as they want to choose the right product to test out. One concern I have would be any lag between the professor’s speech in the room and it coming through over the internet. I am interested, though, in a system that allows a student to get equal access over their own devices that they carry around everywhere and without faculty needing to worry about a lapel microphone and the batteries and clunkiness that comes with it.



Jeremy Zhe-Heimerman (he, him, his)

Assistant Director, Disability Resources

SUNY Cortland

Memorial Library, Room B-121

P.O. Box 2000

Cortland, NY 13045-0900

O: 607-753-2358 | F: 607-753-5495

jeremy.zhe-heimerman at cortland.edu<mailto:jeremy.zhe-heimerman at cortland.edu>

Test Accessibility Scheduling System | Disability Resources Homepage

AccessCortland Student Portal | AccessCortland Faculty Portal



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-----Original Message-----
There are five basic types of assistive listening devices. Some are personal/one-on-one type devices between the instructor and a specific student or students, and there are induction loop types that are used for whole classrooms.

Here is a link for the types of assistive, listening devices that are common:
https://mn.gov/deaf-hard-of-hearing/assistive-technology/assistive-listening-devices/#:~:text=There%20are%20five%20general%20types,amplified%20system%20and%20Bluetooth%20systems.


You also might want to check with the National Deaf Center for more information about assistive listening devices in classrooms. They are a great resource! Here’s a link:
https://nationaldeafcenter.org/

Wink Harner
Assistive Technology Consulting and Training
Alternative Text Production
Portland OR.

foreigntype at gmail.com<mailto:foreigntype at gmail.com>


On Wed, Jan 31, 2024 at 10:48 AM Sebastian M Niles <smniles at ucdavis.edu<mailto:smniles at ucdavis.edu>> wrote:
Jeremy

I am interested in learning more about this kind of system because I've never heard about it before.

Sebastian Niles, CPACC (he/him/his)
Accessible Technology Assistant
Student Disability Center
University of California-Davis
Davis, CA 95616
________________________________
From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu>> on behalf of Jeremy Zhe-Heimerman <Jeremy.Zhe-Heimerman at cortland.edu<mailto:Jeremy.Zhe-Heimerman at cortland.edu>>
Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2024 10:41 AM
To: athen-list at u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu> <athen-list at u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu>>
Subject: [Athen] Assistive Hearing Systems in Classrooms


Hi folks,



We are looking into purchasing some IP assistive hearing systems for classrooms that would allow students to stream audio over wifi through their own devices. If anyone else has these systems in place, I’d love to hear about your experiences, preferred brands, etc.



Thanks!



Jeremy Zhe-Heimerman (he, him, his)
Assistant Director, Disability Resources
SUNY Cortland
Memorial Library, Room B-121
P.O. Box 2000
Cortland, NY 13045-0900
O: 607-753-2358 | F: 607-753-5495
jeremy.zhe-heimerman at cortland.edu<mailto:jeremy.zhe-heimerman at cortland.edu>
Test Accessibility Scheduling System<https://webapp.cortland.edu/TASRequestForm/> | Disability Resources Homepage<http://www2.cortland.edu/offices/disability-resources/index.dot>

AccessCortland Student Portal<https://shibboleth-cortland-accommodate.symplicity.com/sso/> | AccessCortland Faculty Portal<https://shibboleth-cortland-accommodate.symplicity.com/sso/faculty>

Follow Us: Instagram<https://www.instagram.com/accessiblecortland/> | Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/accessiblecortland/>




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