Post #29: Chapter 60 and Quiz Results

Chapter 60:

Before reading this chapter I had never considered the internet to be a way of destroying Deaf Culture. I had never heard of deaf people meeting at clubs before. I didn’t know that there were local deaf clubs and that people went there and “watched a captioned or subtitled movie (or even one in ASL), socialized, discussed politics, swapped information, chatted, gossiped, and networked” (pg. 353). I thought this was an awesome idea and found it cool that even people in the hearing community were invited to participate in Deaf culture. Then I read that “the upsurge in accessible mass media has led to the downfall of the club” (pg. 353). This was disappointing just because I had never heard of the deaf clubs before and I thought it was such a neat idea. I guess that is why I hadn’t heard of them before, because the increase in technology is decreasing the deaf clubs.

The authors compared the Internet to the TV. “The Internet is more interactive, even social, medium than TV. Exploring Websites is more interactive than channel-surfing via remote control” (pg. 354). The use of deaf chat rooms really interested me. I discovered that “DeafChat began getting visitors from across  the nation and abroad-including parents of deaf children, some of them distraught, who were seeking information, advice, encouragement, and support” (pg. 355). I think that by using the chat rooms in a safe way, it would be an awesome way to meet new people and learn about ASL. The chat rooms were used to “share the positive (and negative) aspects of the Deaf experience: discussing their schooling, jobs, lives, families, issues, controversies, frustrations, and dreams” (pg. 355). I never considered it to be a great way to network but now that I read that I completely understand how it would be beneficial.

The authors kept comparing the chat rooms and Internet to something called “TRS”. After reading the chapter I still didn’t understand what “TRS” stood for. I researched it and learned the TRS stands for Telecommunications Relay Service. This apparently allows deaf people to make phone calls. It incorporates the use of a teletypewriter (TTY). It is like having someone facilitate a telephone conversation to another person for you. I personally think that this would get tiresome after a while.

The authors say that they are “looking forward to the day when videophones become affordable and technically sophisticated enough to be commonplace” (pg. 355). I think that this idea is not as futuristic as it may seem. A lot of people are already purchasing smartphones that have the ability to “face time”. This feature allows two users with Apple iPhones to be able to see each other when they are talking on the phone. Another way we to communicate that we discussed in class was via Skype. As long as each user has a webcam, which most computers now come with, people are able to video call one another. I think it is amazing how far we have come in our technology and think that these improvements have helped instead of hindered the Deaf community for the most part.

5-Minute Quiz for Chapters 47-60:

I knew all the correct answers to these questions which lead me to believe that I understand the information covered in these chapters.