There are problems when using web cams of any type where one or both parties uses a dial-up connection or even some of the slower broadband connections, which might often be the case when trying to communicate with students working from home. The images are jerky and blurry, making signing a problem.

We had a fellow come in to demonstrate a special video phone that operated outside the internet environment, but that also did not have sufficient speed or resolution to facilitate sign language.

High speed broadband at both ends is required to have good enough live-streaming for sign language to be of practical use. Even with high speed, for example from our NSW DET state office in Sydney to the IT office a few kilometers away, we don’t get good enough speed to enable a webcam to be used to pick up sign language. When a person moves, the image is very blurry unless the movements are very slow.

Video conferencing can be used between NSW DET locations, and that is usually not too bad, although still a bit slow; but that is not be a practical solution for one-on-one interaction between a teacher and an individual student, who may be at home.

On the technical side:

The cameras themselves are quite cheap, so that cost is not an impediment.

We have two options that are freely available at the moment for web cam communication.

1. Bridgit (part of SmartTools): If both parties are at NSW DET locations, they can use web cams and headphones to share live streaming audio and video communication. I have tested it with a nearby offfice and don’t believe our network is fast enough to efficiently use sign language.

2. Skype: If one or both parties are not at a NSW DET location, Skype is a free service that works with a web cam and headphone as well. Officially, we can’t download and install Skype on NSW DET PCs.

The problem of students from home not having sufficient broadband speed for practical use, in terms of seeing what people are signing, may be an ongoing problem.

Unfortunately, I think it is a case of the movies giving people a false impression of what is available — possible, yes, available, hmmmm . . .?

If you know of anyone who successfully uses web cams to communicate via sign language, I would certainly like to know who they are so I can ask how they are doing it and how successful it is.

Having a visual image of a person while communicating, no matter how poor the image quality, is probably useful in many ways; but at this stage, I am not sure we have services that would enable efficient sign language communication.