LSA Technology Services Lead Media Consultant, Chris Taylor, received the 2023 Adam Miller Faculty and Staff Appreciation Award. The accolade is given to an individual for an “outstanding contribution to the life of student(s) with a disability at the University of Michigan.” It is named after the late Adam Miller, a distinguished alumni and journalist who had neurofibromatosis type 2. It is given by the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) student advisory board. Taylor was presented the award at the James T. Neubacher Award Ceremony on November 1, 2023.
Taylor was recognized for playing a crucial role in the delivery of Communication Access Real-time Transcription (CART) services. Requests for CART services are made through the SSD by hard of hearing students registered with the SSD. The SSD office then contacts both the instructor and LSA Technology Services to provide CART services for the student. Taylor has been providing technology and classroom support with videoconferencing in LSA since 2005. There was an increase in requests for videoconferencing support after the pandemic started, with many of the same faculty Taylor assisted in the past asking for help with Zoom in classrooms. As a result, many teaching spaces now have hybrid technology, which was installed by LSA Technology Services.
What are CART Services?
The pandemic also brought about new changes to CART services. Previously, SSD would provide the student requesting accommodation with a lapel mic that they would have to give to their instructor at the beginning of each class. The mic would transmit to a receiver plugged into the student’s laptop and the student would need to start a GoToMeeting session with the remote CART transcriptionist who would then provide transcriptions back to the student. This was problematic, as it required the student to reveal their accommodation to their classmates, and, since the mic only picked up the instructor, the transcriptionist could only provide transcriptions of the instructor’s speech. As part of LSA Technology Service’s response to the pandemic, LSA’s classrooms (and many additional instructional spaces) had extensive Zoom capabilities added — including ceiling microphone arrays and audio digital signal processing — so that both the audio from the instructor’s mic and the audio from students in the room were captured. Because of this, CART transcriptionists can now provide transcriptions of students’ comments, questions, and discussions, along with the instructor’s speech.
With the transition to Zoom for CART services, Taylor was called upon to provide much more assistance and troubleshooting, both for instructors and the CART transcriptionists. Originally, instructors were only told to send a Zoom link to the remote transcriber. This led to instructors displaying the captions on the projection screen instead of directly onto the device of the student who needed it. Taylor contacted SSD and the CART services provider asking them to coordinate with LSA Technology Services moving forward. LSA Technology Services now helps instructors set up the Zoom meetings and prepare the necessary technology in advance. Taylor sets up a consultation with each instructor to ensure the Zoom meeting is set up correctly and coordinates orientations for instructors so they feel comfortable with the technology. He also makes sure the audio signal from the microphones in the ceilings will function properly for the class.
Who else is involved in CART services?
While Taylor coordinates the delivery of CART services, it is an effort that involves the help of multiple teams. Other staff members in LSA Technology Services are responsible for installing the technology that makes it all possible. If the remote captioner can’t hear audio, Taylor reaches out to colleagues to make sure it is fixed. LSA Technology Services Audio-Visual Technicians and Media Consultants work directly with instructors (26 this winter 2024 semester!) to make sure they are comfortable with the technology and connecting to Zoom. In addition to planning for future accessible technologies, John (Jan) Stewart, Lead Academic Technology Strategist in LSA Technology Services, assists in CART services if there are rare unusual circumstances. For example, if a chemistry lab or a conference room doesn’t have Zoom capabilities, Stewart gets involved by finding a solution. However, he credits other LSA Technology Services staff members, and Taylor in particular for efficiently and effectively providing CART services. He couldn’t be happier for his colleague receiving this special recognition. “Nobody deserves that award more than Chris,” said Stewart, “One of the great things he brings is that he takes ownership of the situation and makes sure there’s a working solution. He doesn’t try to fulfill the minimum requirement. Once he’s involved with it, he makes sure a good solution is implemented and that everyone’s happy with it.”
Taylor echoes this sentiment that CART services illustrate LSA Technology Services’ commitment to teamwork and service. When asked how it felt to receive this award, Taylor immediately recognized his colleagues. “Everyone in our department works here to help people. I really wanted to thank the rest of the team for helping support me at LSA Technology Services. I was humbled by it.” When asked what he wants people to know about CART services, he said. “Just that there are students and faculty who need assistance with this. It’s not apparent to everybody that people have a disability and there is a need to help support them.”
