Dr. Z and You

Certified Interpreters or Not? Why are Non-Certified Interpreters Screaming at the FCC?

pbravin — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:26:17 +0000

Something strange is happening.

There have been more comments than usual on the FCC comments page related to VRS. They have been coming from non-certified interpreters trying to protect their jobs with some VRS providers, Sorenson for one. (Link to FCC comments)

First of all, would you go to a doctor that is not licensed by your state and allow the non-licensed doctor to examine you and prescribe medicine for you?

This is why we have licensing and certification. While is is not 100% foolproof, it offers us a level of confidence that those professionals whom have at least been reviewed for their competency to work with us all.

Then the VRS providers review and evaluate the interpreters once again to be sure they can do the tough work that comes with VRS interpreting.

What about those non-certified interpreters? Some of them get training, some of them just graduated from school. They are evaluated by their respective VRS companies and placed to work if the VRS providers feel they can do the job.

One of the issues being brought up is national vs. state certification. Is one better than the other? Some states have better certification processes than the other, but with VRS we do not know in which state the VRS interpreter is working when we make such a call. This is why the FCC is asking questions about national certification for interpreters.

Why are non-certified interpreters allowed to do it; bypassing the certification process that is in place to insure we deaf and hard of hearing consumers have the protection and level of confidence in the profession of interpreting? It is like allowing non-licensed doctors to perform procedures.

Where does this leave us as deaf and heard of hearing consumers?

Dr. Z says we deserve the best, using certified interpreters. We should not be at the mercy of non-certified interpreters. We deserve the legal and professional protection offered as part of the certification process.

ZVRS goes on record–using only certified interpreters. You can call ZVRS 888-888-1116 to see for yourself as to how much of a difference a certified interpreter is.

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z (Philip W. Bravin) is associated with CSDVRS, currently its Vice-President of Business Development and Outreach.

Dr. Z on Having Fun with Your iPad–”Evernote”

pbravin — Tue, 08 May 2012 17:12:10 +0000

One of the useful apps Dr. Z uses on his iPad is an app called “Evernote”. It is FREE and you can download it from the Apple app store.

After you download it, you can use it to save everything you need — PDF documents, clips from websites, bookmarks, etc.

When you need something, just go to Evernote and search for it–it will find the information you need.

For example, if you save a PDF file with “Costco” in it; and you do a search on Evernote, it will locate that PDF file.

Evernote is available on a PC, Mac, web, iPhone/iPad and Android and you can get the same info after entering your userid/password from any of these devices–so you are never away from the information you saved!

Here’s a video you can watch and it is captioned! (video link)

Dr. Z will continue this series with different apps.

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z (Philip W. Bravin) is associated with CSDVRS, currently its Vice-President of Business Development and Outreach.

Dr. Z on How He Selects Apps for his iPad

pbravin — Tue, 01 May 2012 21:07:35 +0000

Dr. Z has a LOT of apps on his iPad.

But he uses about 20 of them most of the time–the rest he checks and evaluates for his “patients” who come to him for advice all over the country. Most of the apps he uses are free.

The basic criteria he uses is that the app must have “backup” capability in the “cloud”. This means, if he loses his iPad or the iPad crashes, he can access the same information from his computer through the web. What good would it be if you cannot access the information if you lose it. Also, he protects his iPad with a passcode that he sets up using the “Settings” icon. Some apps have another password to protect other people from accessing the app. So there are 2 levels of protection–never use the same code for the passcode and the password! And remember those codes!

The top apps he uses are:

1) Evernote – which allows you to clip anything off the web and save it. It makes it very easy for you to search anything you clip off the web.

2) Toodledo – which is a task and todo manager. Dr. Z is by nature a not very organized person – Toodledo keeps him on track as much as possible (not 100%). The app is good only if he checks it. It also sends him reminders for some tasks, such as taking medicine.

3) Pocket – which saves articles on the web for reading later. You can read such articles offline when on the plane or the like.

4) Appzilla – which has about 50 mini apps for different things that you never thought of.

5) Skitch – which allows you to draw things and send them on, with or without pictures you take.

More to come–have fun!

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z (Philip W. Bravin) is associated with CSDVRS, currently its Vice-President of Business Development and Outreach.

Dr. Z on Having Fun with Your iPad–”Skitch”

pbravin — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:28:21 +0000

One of the fun apps Dr. Z uses on his iPad is an app called “Skitch”. It is free and you can download it from the Apple app store.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBdokEZjMNY

After you download it, you can use it to create drawings or use a drawing on any picture you take.

The video shows how you can make a note on the picture you just took. It is fun.

Dr. Z will continue this series with different apps.

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z (Philip W. Bravin) is associated with CSDVRS, currently its Vice-President of Business Development and Outreach.

What Does Dr. Z’s iPad Look Like?

pbravin — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 02:37:04 +0000

Dr. Z has been using his iPad for close to a year. His iPad is a 16gb iPad2 model. He has about 75 apps loaded on the iPad but uses mostly about 20 most of the time.

In the next few weeks, Dr. Z will explain each of the most popular apps he uses on his iPad.

Since he does not have 3G capability on his iPad, Dr. Z uses Sprint mifi to get wifi access when he is not near a wifi hotspot. Dr. Z learned recently that T-Mobile has a nice portable wifi hotspot that costs as little as $10 a month if you do not have 3G capability on your iPad. Bear in mind $10 buys you 100mb of memory which is easily used up if you use video. So you should use video on your iPad only in a wifi environment. If your iPad has 3G capabiliuty, AT and T and Verizon offer 3G packages but each carries a monthly charge if you use it.

Remember if you want to use video on your iPad, its usually best in a wifi environment because its bandwidth (pipe) is much larger.

Look for more reviews of iPad apps in the next few weeks from Dr. Z!

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z (Philip W. Bravin) is associated with CSDVRS, currently its Vice-President of Business Development and Outreach.

What Does Z4 Look Like on an iPad?

pbravin — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 03:09:27 +0000

This is what Z4 looks like on an iPad!

The left is the phone book. The center is the dial pad.

To dial, there are 2 ways–you can dial using the phone book by touching on the name of the person you want to dial. Another screen will appear with the phone number in the box. Touch the box where the phone number is and then it will dial the call.

The other way is to use the keypad to dial the number and then click the green box to dial out.

That’s all!!!

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z (Philip W. Bravin) is associated with CSDVRS, currently its Vice-President of Business Development and Outreach.

Have You Tried ZVRS on the iPad? Try Z4, You Will Love IT!

pbravin — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 02:38:02 +0000

Dr. Z has traveled a lot in recent weeks.

He has started to fall in love with the iPad!

Using ZVRS’ Z4 on the iPad amounts to a perfect videophone.

It works beautifully–go to this link to download Z4. If you do not have a profile, you need to create a profile and you will get a new phone number immediately. And then download Z4 from the Apple App Store.

When you launch Z4 on your iPad, you will see a keypad. Just press the phone number on the keypad and off you go! To make a VRS call, just dial 888-888-1116 on the keypad and a smiling ZVRS interpreter will be ready to facilitate the call for you.

Remember, you need a good wifi connection to do a video call. Do a Speedtest before you make a call outside your home.

Try Z4, You will love IT!

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z (Philip W. Bravin) is associated with CSDVRS, currently its Vice-President of Business Development and Outreach.

Want the Best Interpreters for VRS-Try 888-888-1116 To Find Out!

pbravin — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 16:43:01 +0000

People have all kinds of videophones.

If you have a VP-200 or nTouch VP, you can still call ZVRS!

If you have a P3, you can still call ZVRS!

How?

Try dialing 888-888-1116 when you want to make a VRS call–you will meet a ZVRS interpreter!

You will see…and love the difference.

Come on–try us, you will like ZVRS!

Remember-888-888-1116 is the way to go.

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z (Philip W. Bravin) is associated with CSDVRS, currently its Vice-President of Business Development and Outreach.

Editorial #109: Interesting Survey Information from VRSCA

pbravin — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 18:05:53 +0000

VRSCA (Video Relay Services Consumer Association) is a communication forum for Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing and hearing persons who use Video Relay Services (VRS). It is Dr. Z’s understanding they are funded by Sorenson. They recently provided some survey information to the FCC that Dr. Z found interesting and is sharing with you all in this post. There were 900 responses to the survey which was done in March, 2012. Some of the info below is copied verbatim from the survey.

On the question of where one uses VRS:

95% use VRS in their home.
19% use VRS in their office.
13% responded “Somewhere else” – which includes use of VRS on mobile devices, at a friend or a family member’s home, or while traveling.
5% use VRS at school.

On the question as to how often one uses VRS:

39% use VRS more than 10 times per week.
18% use VRS at least 10 times per week.
28% use VRS at least 5 times per week.
9% use VRS once per week.

On the question of how often one makes point-to-point calls (deaf to deaf):

41% make deaf-to-deaf calls more than 10 times a week.
16% make deaf-to-deaf calls at least 10 times a week.
28% make deaf-to-deaf calls at least 5 times a week.
9% make deaf-to-deaf calls at least once a week.
3% make deaf-to-deaf calls less than once a week.

On the question of what is the most important feature of making a VRS call:

48% of respondents chose quality of interpreting as the most important feature.
17% responded that the features and equipment were the most important features.
17% responded that speed of answer was the most important feature.
12% responded that quality of the video was the most important feature.

When asked what problems one experiences when making VRS calls:

40% of respondents chose long hold times to get an interpreter.
39% of respondents chose hearing people do not understand what VRS is.
30% of respondents chose poor video quality.
30% of respondents chose poor quality of interpreting.
18% of respondents chose something else.

On the question of how important outreach and education is to consumers:

69% responded that the outreach function was extremely important.
21% responded that it is somewhat important.
7% responded that it is neither important nor unimportant.
3% responded that it is either less important or not important at all.

On the question of who provides the most useful information about VRS:

67% of respondents get VRS information from VRS providers.
47% of respondents get VRS information from friends.
30% of respondents get VRS information from VRSCA.
18% of respondents get VRS information from the FCC.

You can get a copy of the survey from the FCC website at this link: VRSCA Survey Info on FCC Website

Dr. Z wants to thank VRSCA for doing the survey and sharing this with the FCC.

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z (Philip W. Bravin) is associated with CSDVRS, currently its Vice-President of Business Development and Outreach.

Editorial #108: Stories about Remote Controls

pbravin — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:31:52 +0000

Dr. Z does not use a remote control to make phone calls. 99 percent of the people in the world do not use remote controls to make phone calls. Only deaf people in the United States use remote controls to make phone calls if they use a Sorenson device (VP-200 or nTouch VP.)

Why use a remote control? To avoid walking, that means you gain weight and lose some exercise?

What if your dogs eat your remote control? How would you be able to make a call? Why do dogs eat remote controls? Well, when people watch TV, they tend to have snacks such as potato chips and popcorn. And the oils and flavoring from those snacks get carried over to the remote control, making it very appealing and tasty to those cute dogs. Then before you know it, it looks like this picture on the right.

What if a phone call comes in and you need to answer it, and one of your kids misplaced your remote control? Result? A missed call?

What if your remote control is hidden under a sofa cushion and there is an emergency and you can’t make a 911 call? *

Here is a quote from a press release by a remote control replacement outfit:

“Sofa cushions aren’t the only things that eat the remote controls that operate televisions and other appliances. The eternal search for the missing remote often ends in the mouth of the family dog.”

“Dogs are devouring remote controls,” says a press release from Charlie Waters, customer service director for MrRemoteControls.com.

“My dog ate the remote” is second only to “somebody lost it” as the most common reason given by customers ordering replacements, he says. They say dogs bury remotes or chew them beyond recognition.

“Similar in size and shape to their favorite bone, a remote control has the added flavor of [their] master’s scent, making it an irresistible treat,” the release speculates.”

From the same source, here are some excuses people make about their remote controls:

- My husband lost it. My wife lost it. My kids lost it. Note: We never hear “I lost it.”

- We moved but the remote didn’t.

- My husband spilled beer, soda, coffee, water or all of the above on the remote.

I am sure there are other stories or situations you have about remote controls.

Why is Dr. Z bringing this up? Simply to point out the fact that there are other videophones such as the Z20 which do not need a remote control. Also the Z4 on your PC or Mac doesn’t need a remote control. The Z4 mobile on your iPhone and iPad do not need remote controls either. They all have keypads that are part of the device. (And you lose some weight in the process.)

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z (Philip W. Bravin) is associated with CSDVRS, currently its Vice-President of Business Development and Outreach.

* The Sorenson nTouch VP has a button for situations like this to make VRS calls (not point-to-point) without a remote.