The needs of the Deaf community are often overlooked by local authorities and other bodies who supply vital information resources to the general public. Even the Disability Discrimination Act does not really tackle the access problems faced by British Sign Language users where English is very much a second language. Fortunately there are some organisations that recognise the need and lead the way in providing sign language information.
EyeGaze, through their British Sign Language translation service called Equal Sign, are always looking for novel and innovative ways of presenting information to Deaf people. One such example came about thanks to the foresight of the Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service who commissioned EyeGaze to translate and present the Fire Kills pamphlets that give advice and guidance on how to avoid fires around the home and more specific situations that often present a hazard, such as a party.
Over the last two years or so Adobe (formerly Macromedia) Flash has improved markedly in its video integration capabilities and also the quality of the video compression it can utilise. It is possible to create a complete multimedia environment where the different elements seamlessly synchronise. This technology was ideal for the creation of a self-contained sign language information resource where the presentation is colourful, intuitive, interactive and very high quality for web delivery.
The feedback we have had for this web presentation have been extremely complimentary and we hope to use this as a showcase to open the eyes of other organisations as to what can be achieved.
See for yourself by having a look on our holding server. You may not understand the sign language but for those that do the knowledge they are gaining could save lives.
