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Supporting Deaf People 2001

Themes: Ethics and Professionalism; Educational Interpreting; Training/Qualifications

Date: June 2001

The SDP 2001 conference was the first online conference Direct Learn organised. This conference was sponsored by Becta (British Educational Communications and Technology Agency) and used their online conference platform. In 2001, dial-up connections were commonplace in people's homes and online conferences were in their infancy. Using both electronic and traditional advertising, the conference attracted 130 participants from 10 countries (AUS, CAN, CZ, FI, DE, IE, IN, NZ, UK, US).

Direct Learn were able to offer Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) continuing education credits for US and Canadian interpreters, through our sponsors at the National Institute for the Deaf at RIT, USA.

Feedback from delegates included:

"The main discussion group was lively, fascinating, controversial, provocative…. I could go on for hours. The papers that were presented were 'cutting edge' and have challenged us all to look at our working practices, ethics and codes of conduct".

"Excellent in terms of cost, excellent in terms of flexibility and access. I would have real problems attending a 'normal' conference due to childcare issues, so this was a real bonus for me. It also enabled people from much further away to participate... So I think we had a more international mix than would have been possible otherwise. I thought the idea was great and it worked really well for me. It never really occurred to me that this type of thing might be possible, but I think it was really effective."

"I would do this again in a heartbeat . The level of the discussion and supportive, respectful tone of the comments set it way above many live forums (or online, too) that I have been in."

"I am back to questioning the principles underlying my work because of the discussions here. I am also more determined than ever to get a firmer theoretical understanding of discourse analysis and some of the other work that ties in to interpreting as a social process."

"This conference is absolutely wonderful...mind-boggling....thanks to all of you who have made it possible. "

"The accessibility was wonderful. I liked logging on at my convenience. Of course, the cost was right. I missed sitting in the bar and having a glass of wine with my new-found colleagues, smile. I would definitely participate again in the future and would encourage others to do so."

"I appreciate so much the opportunity to be one of the attendees of this historic first conference. I will definitely tell my colleagues about this great learning environment".

The presentations from this conference are available. Please click the links below.

Keynote Presentations:

Exploring Ethics: A Case for Re-examining the Code of Ethics by Dennis Cokely, Director, ASL Program, North Eastern University, USA

The Rise, Fall and Re-invention of the Communicator: re-defining roles and responsibilities in educational interpreting by Frank Harrington - Senior Lecturer in Deaf Studies, University of Central Lancashire, UK

"Never mind the quality/width, feel the width/quality!" - The development of a training, qualifications and registration system for BSL / English Interpreters by Miranda Pickersgill - Chief Executive, Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People, UK

Seminar Presentions:

Strategies for Success by Cynthia Collward, Colleen Freeman, Mandy Mothersell, Joyce Pemberton and Patty Sapere - NTID @ RIT, USA

Skills and Qualifications needed to work as an educational interpreter, the CSW, a "go-between" and a "supporter" by Sandra Dowe, Director, CSW Course at Barnfield College, Luton, UK

Feminist-Relational Approach: A Social Construct for Event Management by Lynne Eighinger, Director, Signs of Development, USA and Ben Karlin, Interpreter, St. Louis, USA

How will we design our future as on-line interpreters? by Sharon Lee, Interpreter, Interpreters Direct, UK

Training Deaf Students to Work with Educational Interpreters by Maureen Moose, Interpereter, New York, US

Linguistic Coping Strategies of Sign Language Interpreters in Higher Education by Jemina Napier, Honorary Research Associate, Renwick College, Australia

CSW Training in the 21st Century by Rob Rodgers, Derby College for Deaf People, UK