The print., November 09, 1983, Page 6, Image 6

College computer aids agencies, community
By Shelley Ball
Of The Print
Have you wondered how
hearing-impaired or deaf peo­
ple are able to use the
telephone?
Thanks to the invention
of a TDD (Telecommunica­
tion Device for the Deaf),
communication by phone is
possible. Clackamas Com­
munity College is one of two
agencies in Clackamas County
to have a TDD, and the Col­
lege is currently working to ex-
pand its usage among
members of the community.
The College’s TDD was
purchased in June of 1982 for
about $500. Located in the
Handicapped
Resource
Center, Debbie Derr, han­
dicap specialist, said the com­
puter was used mainly by
hearing-impaired students
who needed to make phone
calls.
Hearing-impaired people
who own TDDs, however,
cannot communicate with
other agencies by phone unless
they also have TDDs. Since
there are only two such com­
puters in Clackamas County,
Derr said the College has
established a transfer system,
in an effort to help the deaf get
in touch with places they
would otherwise not be able
to.
“We’re the go-bet­
ween,” Derr said in regards to
the transfer system. The
system works like this: Owners
of TDDs will dial a special
number (657-4740) and relay
their message from their com­
puter to the College TDD,
whether they need information
concerning the College or have
a particular agency to contact.
The College will pick up
the information, and will con­
tact the agency themselves,
gather the information and
then transmit the information
back to the TDD owner.
Formally called a
TDD/TTY, the TTY part
stands for teletype, as the first
TDDs were actually modified
Western Union teletype
machines. Although the
devices have been around for
nearly 60 years, Derr said it is
only recently that they are
becoming more well known
Five campus students grab
sophomore scholarships
By Kristen Tonole
among the hearing communi­
ty.
“The deaf community is a
very closed community. As a
result they’ve developed their
own system of communica­
tion,” she said.
Derr explained that the
College’s TDD has basically
“the guts of an Apple Com­
puter.” Equipped with a
display screen for typed
messages and a letter keyboard
for sending them, a telephone
receiver is placed on top of the
computer and into two round
receivers, called cuplers, when
a hearing-impaired person
needs to make a call.
After contact has been
made by dialing the number,
the TDD owner will com­
municate his message by typ­
ing the words into his TDD.
The computer then sends a
series of beeps, representing
the typed words, through the
telephone lines and into the
receiving TDD, where the
beeps are transmitted back in­
to words that appear on its
display screen.
It is in this manner that
the deaf community is able to
communicate by phone. Derr
said most colleges already
have TDDs, this College being
one of the last to acquire one.
“If we’re serving deaf
students, then we have to have
a way to communicate with
them. It’s (TDD) one of the
resources,” she said.
As for its importance with
Requirements for the
scholarship are to have been a
The Financial Aid Office sophomore with at least 45
at Clackamas Community credits, and to have maintained
College recently selected five a 2.5 GPA, with enrollment of
students as recipients for at least 12 credit hours per term.
outstanding sophomore
One of the recipients was
scholarships.
asked to speak Nov. 3 at the
Sophomores James Ed- College’s second annual
mark, Paul Gleason, John Scholarship Recognition By Charlene Jensen
Headrick, Debbie Koffel and Ceremony. Other scholarship Of The Print
Susan Liston were all honored honoraries, such as Catherine
with the full-tuition waiver, Latham, winner of the Oregon
Clackamas Community
which covers fall, winter and City Business and Professional
College teacher Magdalena
spring terms for the current Women’s Scholarship, were
Ladd has been elected presi­
academic year.
recognized for their awards.
dent of the Pacific Northwest
Council on Foreign Langu­
ages. Presently Ladd is the
AS
vice-president of the organiza­
tion and will become president
in the fall of next year.
Of The Print
COMPUTER PLUS ONE—Debbie Derr, Handicap Specialist,
poses next to College’s TDD (Telecommunication Device for the
Deaf). College has recently expanded computer’s usage to in­
clude agencies.
Photo by Steve Beals
the deaf, Derr asks hearing
students to consider how im­
portant the telephone is to
them. “That (TDD) is their
telephone. It’s a necessity,”
she said.
In order to promote TDD
usage, Derr has distributed
flyers describing the College’s
services. She said copies of the
flyers are even being carried in
the patrol cars of the county
police.
Ladd elected council president
malcolm mcdowell
CALIGULA
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linguistsics.
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Page 6
Ladd, who teaches
French and German at the
College, is also the department
chairperson of foreign
languages. Being a language
teacher, Ladd has been a
member of PNCFL for several
years. Ladd was asked by the
executive committee if she was
interested in being nominated
for the presidency, and after
careful thought, Ladd decided
to run for election.
Ladd has defeated her op­
position and looks ahead to
the tasks of the president. “As
president you give the
organization its direction. You
can introduce the concepts and
ideas you estimate need to be
French/German Instructor Magdelena Ladd
Photo by Joel Miller
pursued by the organization. I
and how it relates to the
can propose new directions,
speaking as well as the skills
but the important thing is to
and ways to test a student.”
get the cooperation of the
Ladd said that the
others on the council,” Ladd
PNCFL has a membership of
said.
400 language teachers from
National proficiency
nine western states. The
testing is very much stressed
PNCFL is concerned with all
by the PNCFL. “I would like
levels of foreign language in­
to get the PNCFL to fomulate
struction, cultural information
a group of people from the
and increasing public
various levels—elementary,
awareness as to the need and
high school and college—to
necessity of communication
concern themselves with profi­
with other cultures.
ciency testing, which stresses
communication abilities
“I just hope that the pre­
among students,” Ladd said. sent good enrollment con­
She added, “Language con­ tinues. It is no doubt a result
sists of understanding, of President Regan’s Commis­
reading, speaking, and sion on Foreign Language and
writing. What I’m concerned International Studies,” Ladd
with is the proficiency testing said.
Clackamas Community College