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VIDEOCONFERENCING OPENS DOORS FOR
PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS Glenn Adamo, Vice President of Videoconferencing, Sony Electronics’ Broadcast and Professional Company Videoconferencing also offers people with similar needs the opportunity to globally connect face to face. One example is people with speech impediments. An effective method of overcoming this, and other speaking disabilities, is to practice. Videoconferencing puts people with speaking disabilities directly in touch with one another, as well as with a voice therapist who is in a remote location, allowing them to practice and conduct exercises without feeling shy or embarrassed. |
As videoconferencing technology has become a widely accepted business tool it has also evolved beyond the meeting room, and today can be found as the core component in a myriad of applications. For people with special needs, it has become an invaluable communications tool.
By taking advantage of diverse, cost-effective and high quality videoconferencing products, individuals with special needs can further enhance their lives through this technology. For example, schools are using roll-about systems to take kids to museums and zoos that might otherwise have been physically inaccessible. Smaller desktop systems help cut down on travel time for the home or small business executive. Similarly, these same systems can reduce the number of times an elderly patient must visit a doctor.
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Videoconferencing In The Classroom
One of the best aspects of videoconferencing is the value it brings to educational applications for children and adults with special needs. The Americans with Disabilities Act has made educational facilities more physically accessible, but part of the curriculum of nearly all schools includes field trips, guest lecturers and other activities that involve leaving school grounds. From zoos to environmental centers, students travel to a variety of locations to gain firsthand knowledge and onsite experience. And, as communication technology is becoming integrated into the classroom, videoconferencing is playing a more significant role.
For students who are unable to travel on field trips, videoconferencing enables them to participate with the rest of class. For example, a school in North Carolina has utilized videoconferencing to provide its hearing-impaired students and staff with access to special classes and programs. Since the primary mode of communication for many students is sign language, videoconferencing provides the critical face to face element necessary for these students to optimally communicate with each other and off-site curriculum providers.
This technology also provides students who cannot travel the opportunity to see Broadway shows. The touring company of a Broadway production recently performed in Indiana, in a theater equipped with videoconferencing products. Students from four separate high schools held an interactive discussion with cast and crew members while dozens of additional schools observed the session through one-way video. More than 1,000 students from 22 schools were able to get a behind-the-scenes look at a large scale musical production and information on career possibilities in the arts.
Videconferencing In The Small & Home Office
There is no reason why a person with special needs cannot create a successful business that requires face to face meetings. Videoconferencing is not just for large companies, and there are a number of competitively priced systems on the market that are attractive to the small and home office business executive.In fact, Sony’s Digital Meeting™ System is a small system that plugs right into your laptop or PC. It’s ideal for anyone who benefits from working at home, such as retired executives, individuals who are prohibited from flying due to pregnancy, or those whose special needs prevent them from extensive travel. And because this system operates in conjunction with the computer, documents can instantly be shared, annotated and collaborated by colleagues at remote sites. As a result of greater face to face interaction, business owners and their clients form stronger bonds, leading to increased confidence among clients for their business relationships.
Videoconferencing At Home
The possibilities for personal videoconferencing in the home environment are endless. Families with a child or adult who cannot easily travel because they are too ill no longer have to rely solely on the phone to connect with long-distance relatives and friends. Videoconferencing enables people who can’t physically be together to take advantage of the next best thing ¾ talking face to face. This allows users to not only hear one another’s voice, but to see the smiles and expressions these conversations bring. Imagine the expression on Grandma’s face when she can actually see her grandchild take his/her first few steps, and Grandma is located in a nursing home in Des Moines and her grandchild is in New York.
Videoconferencing also offers people with similar needs the opportunity to globally connect face to face. One example is people with speech impediments. An effective method of overcoming this, and other speaking disabilities, is to practice. Videoconferencing puts people with speaking disabilities directly in touch with one another, as well as with a voice therapist who is in a remote location, allowing them to practice and conduct exercises without feeling shy or embarrassed.
Videoconferencing also can cut down the number of times a person needs to visit a doctor. The increase in telemedicine for home health care will continue to grow as more people recognize the cost and time savings it affords. Sometimes, a doctor just wants to check in with a patient to ask questions about how he or she is feeling. This is especially useful for those in remote locations who might have to travel a few hours each way to reach a specialist. And, because of data collaboration capabilities, telemedicine allows medical practitioners to instantaneously share information for consultation purposes.
Sony Videoconferencing
Once thought of as a solution only for big business, Sony’s advanced technologies and barrier-breaking price-points have brought videoconferencing to the mainstream market. With a full line of videoconferencing products supported by a national infrastructure, the TriniCom® family includes the TriniCom 5100Plus System (PCS-5100/P), the TriniCom 3000Plus System (PCS-3000/P), the TriniCom Mini 1000 WorkGroup™ System (VMU-1000PAC), the TriniCom 500 PC-based videoconferencing kit (PCB-500) and the newly introduced Digital Meeting System (VMU-100SU/SD/SG). More information about Sony’s videoconferencing systems can be found at http://www.sony.com/videoconference.
Editor’s Note: More information about Sony products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sony.com/professional , or readers may call 1-800-686-SONY. Additional press information is available at http://www.sony.com/news .
Sony Electronics offers a wide array of products and systems for image capture, production and display. Sony also provides specialized equipment and systems for data recording, duplication, electronic photography/publishing, video conferencing, high definition video, interactive and security applications. In the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 1998, Sony Electronics had record sales of $10.5 billion.
