Paradigm Shifts in Interacting With Virtual Environments: A Focus on Deaf People

Zoom has thrived since March 2020. Obviously, COVID-19 prompted an interesting fundamental change in how to socialize and network with people remotely. But what about the 3D virtual space?

Professor Wendy Dannels will point to some challenges and opportunities deaf individuals using American Sign Language as their primary language have faced when navigating and interacting with others through Mozilla Hubs.

She will discuss ideas on making VR social platforms more inclusive including working with host and access service providers such as ASL interpreters.

PRESENTER BIO
Wendy A. Dannels is an Associate Research Professor and the Director of the XR Accessibility Solutions Laboratory within the NTID Research Center on Culture and Language at Rochester Institute of Technology. Her team develops real-time, immersive, and interactive technologies including mixed, augmented, and virtual reality with a focus on accessible and inclusive experiences especially for deaf individuals.

Prior to joining NTID in 2008, Dannels worked for several engineering corporations for more than 17 years. She can be reached at w.dannels@rit.edu.

ACCESSIBILITY
The presentation will be captioned [cc]. The event will have real-time captions displayed in Hubs and YouTube live stream.

Wendy will be presenting in ASL.

Mozilla Hubs holds weekly office hours that can be used to practice and gain an understanding of how to interact in Mozilla Hubs.

LIVESTREAM
We will have video streaming of the event to YouTube via a partnership with the Internet Society Accessibility SIG (a11ySIG).

Link: https://youtu.be/by-JkpU-AXI

You can enter Hubs through any browser. It does not require VR goggles.

If you are unable to join via Hubs, we encourage you to watch the stream on YouTube and ask questions. As we begin meeting regularly each month we will capture feedback on ways we can be more accessible and inclusive in virtual reality and start incorporating them into a set of Best Practices.

SPONSORS
Thanks to Equal Entry for sponsoring.

ACCREDITATION
All A11yVR meetups are pre-approved for IAAP Continuing Accessibility Education Credits (CAEC).

TIMELINE
Please NOTE: Meetup is not skilled in representing time zones. This Meetup is set in Tokyo, Japan so it will display differently than your local time zone. When you RSVP, use the "Add to calendar" link to receive a calendar invite transcribed to your time zone.

This timeline is based on the New York ET time zone.

7 - 7:15 PM
Thomas Logan introduction to A11yVR

7:15 - 7:50 PM
Presentation

7:50 - 8 PM
Q&A with attendees

8 - 9 PM
Breakout sessions in small groups to get to know each other in virtual reality. It is up to you if you want to stay and continue meeting other people in the room.