Web-based and video-based training is becoming more common for students in the IT field. But what if you were deaf or hard of hearing and couldn’t understand the lesson being presented on the video? You probably wouldn’t learn much. Now there is an option for accessible training that includes closed captioning and lab simulations so that people with hearing impairments can prepare for a career in computer networking.
A few weeks ago I wrote about resources that can help people prepare for an IT career, specifically one in networking. This week I had the opportunity to talk to Steve Shumko, who is studying for his CompTIA Network+ certification. Shumko is a machinist who is changing to an IT career. He is also deaf, but that’s nothing that will keep him from working in IT. However, his deafness did pose a challenge for his training until he found the right training materials, and this is what I want to share with you today. For Shumko and many others like him, accessible training resources are critical to success.
Make the most of your IT career
A career in IT is a good choice for a person with a disability. There are many technologies that help people work with computers, such as screen readers for people with vision impairments, and alternative input devices and voice recognition for people with mobility limitations. Computers don’t care if a person can’t see, hear or speak well. Computers aren’t judgmental, and they will do what you instruct them to do.
Shumko is one of 28 million Americans with a hearing impairment. Approximately 32% of these folks are between the ages of 18 and 65 — prime working age. At only 56, Shumko has plenty of working years ahead of him. He’s fortunate to be heading into the growth career of computer networking, where Cisco says as many as 2 million new workers will be needed by 2012. To get there, Shumko is getting a foundational education by earning his A+ and now his Network+ certifications.
He is a student at the Tooele Applied Technical College in Tooele, Utah. His instructor, Jay Olson, says students work on their own courses individually, and often they go through videos during class time. Although Shumko took courses to prepare for the A+ certification exam, he failed the exam the first time. He attributes that failure to video courseware that wasn’t accessible; Shumko couldn’t hear the lessons being presented and missed many of the major concepts that were only presented via video.
Then the college invested in accessible training materials from TestOut. Shumko retook the training and had a much better experience because the video is closed captioned and comes with a complete textual transcript for easy reading. The courseware also includes simulated labs using software called LabSim. Instructor Olson says having LabSim in the classroom is like having an instructor talking to the students, connecting the hands-on work to the video and book materials. Using the TestOut courseware, Shumko passed his A+ certification exam and is on track to earn his Network+ certification soon.
TestOut offers accessible training materials for some of the most popular foundational IT certifications, including A+, Security+ and Network+ from CompTIA. The company is working on accessible training materials for Windows 7. The materials are suitable for anyone, but especially people with a hearing impairment. The closed captioning can be turned on or off as needed (like television closed captioning), and be sped up or slowed down to meet a student’s specific needs.
Without the closed captioning, Shumko would need to have a signing interpreter in the classroom. This gets expensive — if an interpreter is available at all.
Many state and federal agencies as well as public educational institutions are required by law to accommodate workers or students with disabilities. TestOut offers an accessible training solution for people on an IT career path.
