NEXTALK, THE
Presenter(s)
Floyd White
Office of Information Technology, State of
145
State House Station
Augusta ME 04333
Day Phone: 207-624-9437
Fax: 207-287-4563
Email: floyd.b.white@maine.gov
Presenter
#2
Kathy Record
Office of Information Technology, State of
145
State House Station
Augusta ME 04333
Day
Phone: 207-624-7573
Fax:
207-287-4563
Email:
kathy.record@maine.gov
Through
internal and external call testing by the State of
NexTalk is a software application that installs on Windows PC5 and is
serving as a viable alternative to TTYs for the deaf and hard of hearing within
all state government agencies across the State of
In
a nutshell, here’s how it works. When a TTY call comes into state government
assigned phone numbers, they go through what is called the telephony server.
This server converts TTY messages into a format that can be moved to the
network server as readable text much like instant messaging. The call is moved
to the network by way of a communication card hooked to both servers. Once in
the network, the call is directed to the user(s) associated with the called phone
number. Scripts can also be written to filter a call to a specific sub-department,
service or user. When a call comes in, a ringer sound (Wave file) can be set up
with a soundcard and the ring box appears on the users PC with options for
answering, not answering or taking a message. Hardware visual devices can also
be added for the deaf and hard of hearing user. When a call is answered, a screen
called the conversation viewer appears. The
conversation is then ‘real time’ meaning each participant sees the letters and
words as they are being typed. There is no send button necessary. Proper TTY
etiquette is imperative for both the caller and callee.
If
the user chooses the take message option or is not available to take the call directed
to he or she. The caller can leave a message for future reading. NexTalk can also send a copy of this message to the user’s
Email address.
NexTalk was implemented in one of our larger departments in the
spring/early summer of 2005 as a pilot and first phase. We learned great
lessons from our experiences, including what not to do and what we feel are bet
practices. All other agencies/departments have been brought into the process
and phased in according to logistical and staffing circumstances.
There
are many components to making NexTalk a success.
First, it is vitally important to identify a project management team who will
develop an implementation plan with timelines and a strategy for delivery. Once
the project is under way, agency/department liaisons and customer support
personnel need to be named and overviews of NexTalk features
and benefits should be presented to them as well as to department managers
rollout to each agency must be coordinated with agency liaisons, phone company
and in—state service representatives. Each agency must determine which
employees will be responsible for answering and responding to TTY or other NexTalk calls. All users will need some level of training
depending on their comfort level with information technology in general and PC
software tools in particular. It should be noted however that NexTalk is very easy to use. It is also crucial that all
users, liaisons, customer support staff and agency/department managers be
trained to understand deaf culture.
Once
the hardware and software is installed and statewide and internal agency
policies are in place, agencies can be brought on board. This requires coordination
with the project team, internal and external phone line staff and of course liaisons,
users and customer support staff.
Before
or in parallel with implementation, there is a substantial amount of testing
that needs to be done to insure that the system is working properly.
In coordination with the Statewide Standing Accessibility Committee, we have developed a testing plan and brought in a volunteer resource pool of testers to help us gather monitoring statistics for call response from our NexTalk users and determine our efficiency with providing services to the deaf community. It is imperative to understand that we feel NexTalk is a very robust tool, but it is just the tool and only the first step in achieving our goal in providing equal access to all people.
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