ANNEX 4

As a complement of the activities of the two VOICE Projects (described at Annexes 2 and 3) and with the aim of creating a first working group for reference in the field of the applications of voice to text recognition for the deaf at schools, we have started in October 1997 a third activity area, named VOICE-Schools Project. We have organised several presentations of the VOICE Project at schools, universities and associations of the hearing impaired. As they showed a considerable interest for the Project, some collaboration contracts of limited budget were established at the end of 1997 by JRC-ISIS with ALFA association of the deaf, Liceo Artistico of Varese, FBL and NET software houses.

JRC-ISIS is in charge of the technical and scientific co-ordination of the VOICE-School Project and of the development of some applications. The Liceo Artistico of Varese is analysing the user needs (students and teachers) and is helped by ALFA for the specific aspects related to deafness. FBL, which is experienced in applications of voice to text recognition systems to the disabled, is developing software interfaces for a more user-friendly use of commercial speech recognition packages. NET, which is experienced in multimedia educational and training systems, is preparing a cross-reference table of the user needs and of possible technical solutions. This table will be made available on the Internet VOICE Forum, together with other achievements of the Project.

On the basis of the first contacts and of the acquired experiences, a new prototype demonstrator of automatic subtitling of conferences, based on speech recognition, has been presented at JRC-ISIS VOICE Laboratory on the 20th February 98 to the Liceo Artistico of Varese and to five other schools that had declared their interest to participate to the Project. The JRC-ISIS scientific and technical co-ordinator presented the VOICE Project by using the prototype demonstrator for subtitling his speech. While doing so, he simulated a normal school lesson, with topics on literature, history, world explorations, spatial geography, electronics and art. FBL explained the technical developments and the hardware and software required for the use of the prototype demonstrator. NET presented the technical and pedagogic aspects of the foreseen activities, particularly of the tele-education support. A student of the University of Milan, preparing his thesis at JRC-ISIS VOICE Laboratory, presented the Internet applications and explained how the schools could use them for collaborating via the VOICE Forum and the Internet VOICE Special Interest Users Group.

Three other presentations have been organised in April 98: on the 8th at the Liceo Scientifico of Mortara, on the 18th at the Istituto Tecnico Statale di Comunicazioni Multimediali ITSOS of Milan, on the 19th to AFA, Associazione Famiglie Audiolesi of Cantù, linked with the Scuola Elementare e Materna of Cantù. The prototype system has been installed at the tree above-mentioned schools of Varese, Mortara and Milan, as well as at the Liceo Scientifico of Ravenna. It will be tested in real situations of use for subtitling school lessons for the benefit of deaf students. It will also visualise the dialogue pronounced during the foreign language lessons, for the benefit of the hearing students, or the lessons of the host country's language for the benefit of any user, particularly the immigrated. Some tests have been foreseen for university lessons and printing of summaries.

The next presentations will be organised on the 28th May at a Workshop organised at Accamatica H-workshop Polo Didattico e Tecnologico di Ricerca of Crema and on the 30th May at the ALFA general assembly in Milan. The system will be installed in May 98 at the Institut für Hör- und Sehbildung (IHSB) of Linz, in order to start the tests in German language. The Educational Endeavour Computer Science for the Blind of the Kepler University of Linz will collaborate with IHSB as well as with other schools in Austria. It will also collaborate with JRC-ISIS, offering its experience in the access of the blind to the Internet, so allowing a larger access to the VOICE Forum.

• The Netd@ys VOICE Project;
• Annex 1: Applications of voice to text recognition for the deaf:
  User needs and state of the art;
• Annex 2: European dimension: the JRC-ISIS Exploratory Research VOICE Project;
• Annex 3: The VOICE Project - a Telematics Applications' Accompanying Measure;
• Annex 4: The VOICE-Schools Project;
• Annex 5: Partners and activities of the Netd@ys VOICE Project;
• Annex 6: Tasks of the Netd@ys VOICE Project;