Monette's Musings

“Accuracy of Sign Interpreting & Real-Time to Deaf Students”

April 7th, 2010

“Accuracy of Sign Interpreting & Real-Time to Deaf Students”
Part I of III

Last month I shared “A Number of Firsts In Science Education With Karen Sadler, Ph.D.”

Karen Sadler created ‘firsts’ graduating with a bachelor’s in neuroscience and acceptance to the Center for Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh for graduate work.

Karen was born severely hard of hearing. She lost almost all hearing by 1991 and had a cochlear implant that failed. Then Karen “had to learn ASL, American Sign Language, to be able to get information in school.”

Karen Sadler used ASL while working on her bachelor’s and master’s degree. When she started her Ph.D. work, Karen began to work with CART providers.

Now we share details within Karen’s May 2009 science education doctoral work, “Accuracy of Sign Interpreting and Real-Time Captioning of Science Videos for the Delivery of Instruction to Deaf Students.”

As a preface to Karen Sadler’s doctor of philosophy work, I want to share that the term “Deaf” (big D) is a reference for individuals who typically use sign language as their first language. My opinion is this detail will assist court reporters and court reporting students to have a greater understanding within Karen’s research.

RESEARCH ON ASL AND REALTIME EFFICACY

Karen Sadler: When I started, I worked on the interpreters first. Interpreters were easy to find. I had a horrible time for two years with different people I hired to ‘translate’ tapes with me. One person sat on it for a year and did hardly anything with it, and a professional interpreter I know also didn’t do much of anything with it for a year.

I ended up translating the majority of the interpreter tapes with assistance to ensure it was being done correctly.

CART personnel were easier, except trying to find them. I located some via word of mouth, but had to talk to a couple of groups that do court reporting here. They were all very professional.

In a silent world, Deaf students must rely upon others to get their information in the classroom, especially in public school classrooms, where teachers will be unfamiliar with ASL, American Sign Language, and cannot spend significant time teaching one student with special needs.

It has become necessary to use third-party communicators to convey classroom information.

Until recently, sign language interpreters were the usual choice for Deaf students.

With the advent of the computer and court reporting, more and more Deaf students in college, as well as Deaf professionals, are choosing to use court reporters in the classroom.

Part II is posted April 19, 2010 at www.monettebenoit.com

Monette may be reached for private tutoring and coaching: Tutoring@CRRbooks.com

Monette Benoit, B. B.A., CCR, CRI, CPE
Coach, Tutor and Multiple Title Author of Books & Test Prep for the Court Reporting & Captioning Industry
Realtime Court Reporter, Instructor, Consultant, Columnist

Court Reporter Reference Books & CDs: www.CRRbooks.com
Blog: Monette’s Musings, www.monettebenoit.com

* Educational/Career Advancement; Private Tutoring/Coaching
All American RealTime/Captioning Services, Inc.: www.ARTCS.com

Have you failed NCRA’s RPR, RMR or a state court reporting exam? I want to help you and others to pass your test and to exceed career goals. http://crrbooks.com/index.php?cPath=61

Did You Know: www.CRRbooks.com has material to help you advance skills for NCRA exams and state certifications?

Did You Know: You can accelerate your career with private tutoring and coaching?
Court reporting veteran Monette Benoit can help you achieve your goals.

Coaching and tutoring topics include:

• Motivation skills to keep you moving forward,
• Time-management skills,
• Process learning for more effective retention,
• Communication skills and daily interaction improvement skills, and much more.

Who comes to Monette for tutoring and coaching?

• Veteran court reporters, CART providers and captioners brushing up on their skills for test-taking requirements,
• In-class students who feel they’re falling behind or aren’t ready for the required tests,
• Students or veterans who struggle with focus, goal-setting, time-management or other life skills that might be interfering in their upward success,
• At-home students who want to ensure they’re on track for their exam and career goals,
• Veteran court reporters and captioners expanding their career options in related fields,
• Students and veterans alike who find they’re struggling with one or two key areas of daily practice,
• Students or veterans who have begun to question their career or whether they’re on the “right track” …

Check It Out: Reach Your Goals! Tutoring and Coaching
http://crrbooks.com/index.php?cPath=29

Monette Benoit can help you achieve at much high levels. Where do you want to go? What have you really wanted to do with your career, and ultimately, your life? Specific custom-designed guidance efficiently assists you!

About Monette Benoit:

As a 25+year court reporter, CART provider, author of NCRA test prep material and an instructor, Monette Benoit has taught multiple theories, academics, all speed classes and the 225 homeroom within NCRA-approved schools and a community college. She understands the challenges many adults now face in our industry and schooling.

Monette Benoit has worked with thousands of professionals, court reporters, students and instructors. She has also helped create new court reporting training programs, worked with federal grants, and assisted instructors in developing curriculum for both in-class and at-home students.

Her one-on-one tutoring has greatly assisted thousands of students, novice and experienced professionals to privately reach the next level.

Posted in CART provider, court reporter certification, court reporter test prep, Court reporting students, Deaf, HOH, Karen Sadler, Ph.D., science, Sign Interpreters, state certificiation, Tutoring | No Comments »

A Number Of Firsts In Science Education With Karen Sadler, Ph.D., Part III of III

March 31st, 2010

A Number Of Firsts In Science Education With Karen Sadler, Ph.D.,
Part III of III

Part I was posted on Monette’s Musings: www.monettebenoit.com 3/17/10.

Part II was posted on www.monettebenoit.com and www.CRRbooks.com 3/23/10.

Karen Sadler, Ph.D., shares:

“I met my husband at college. We moved to Pittsburgh, PA, when he graduated where we raised three great children.

After 12 years I decided I had to get a degree or get stuck in menial jobs all my life.

I enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh. My hearing loss intensified as I matured, but I lost almost all of it by 1991 and had a cochlear implant, which failed.

So I had to learn ASL, American Sign Language, to be able to get information in school.

I used ASL through my bachelor’s degree and my master’s degree.

When I started my Ph.D. work, I started using CART personnel in my classrooms more often.

I set a number of ‘firsts’: graduating with a bachelors in Neuroscience and getting accepted to the Center for Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh for graduate work.

An advisor noticed, in her classes, the difference between what I was ‘getting’ with CART versus what I would ‘get’ from my interpreters.

She said that half the time I looked totally confused with interpreters, swinging my head around trying to get info from lipreading other students and (lipreading) my advisor who was teaching the class; I would look at the board, and watch my interpreters to get what I could out of them.

I often had to work much harder than everyone else, in order to receive only part of the info.

My advisor suggested that I look into this as a research topic. It hadn’t been done, especially in the sciences or math, which is significantly different than topics like history; the vocabulary and concepts are a lot harder to convey.

I finished my Ph.D. in science education in 2009.

Currently, I work at several universities teaching a variety of sciences to hearing students, which I enjoy thoroughly.

So now, the Deaf person is teaching eight classes on different sciences. I teach all hearing students … nursing students, anatomy/physiology, environmental health, meteorology, geology, and I’ve taught physics, chemistry, and cell biology labs.”

ONE LAST NOTE

by Monette Benoit: Karen Sadler’s e-mails contain the footer, “Ethical axioms are found and tested not very differently from the axioms of science. Truth is what stands the test of experience. ~Albert Einstein.”

Next month we will share the results of Karen L. Sadler, Ph.D. studies, “Accuracy of Sign Interpreting and Real-Time Captioning of Science Videos for the Delivery of Instruction to Deaf Students.”

Monette may be reached for private tutoring and coaching: Tutoring@CRRbooks.com

Monette Benoit, B. B.A., CCR, CRI, CPE
Coach, Tutor and Multiple Title Author of Books & Test Prep for the Court Reporting & Captioning Industry
Realtime Court Reporter, Instructor, Consultant, Columnist

Court Reporter Reference Books & CDs: www.CRRbooks.com
Blog: Monette’s Musings, www.monettebenoit.com

* Educational/Career Advancement; Private Tutoring/Coaching
All American RealTime/Captioning Services, Inc.: www.ARTCS.com

Have you failed NCRA’s RPR, RMR or a state court reporting exam? I want to help you and others to pass your test and to exceed career goals. http://crrbooks.com/index.php?cPath=61

Did You Know: www.CRRbooks.com has material to help you advance skills for NCRA exams and state certifications?

Did You Know: You can accelerate your career with private tutoring and coaching?
Court reporting veteran Monette Benoit can help you achieve your goals.

Coaching and tutoring topics include:

• Motivation skills to keep you moving forward,
• Time-management skills,
• Process learning for more effective retention,
• Communication skills and daily interaction improvement skills, and much more.

Who comes to Monette for tutoring and coaching?

• Veteran court reporters, CART providers and captioners brushing up on their skills for test-taking requirements,
• In-class students who feel they’re falling behind or aren’t ready for the required tests,
• Students or veterans who struggle with focus, goal-setting, time-management or other life skills that might be interfering in their upward success,
• At-home students who want to ensure they’re on track for their exam and career goals,
• Veteran court reporters and captioners expanding their career options in related fields,
• Students and veterans alike who find they’re struggling with one or two key areas of daily practice,
• Students or veterans who have begun to question their career or whether they’re on the “right track” …

Check It Out: Reach Your Goals! Tutoring and Coaching
http://crrbooks.com/index.php?cPath=29

Monette Benoit can help you achieve at much high levels. Where do you want to go? What have you really wanted to do with your career, and ultimately, your life? Specific custom-designed guidance efficiently assists you!

About Monette Benoit:

As a 25+year court reporter, CART provider, author of NCRA test prep material and an instructor, Monette Benoit has taught multiple theories, academics, all speed classes and the 225 homeroom within NCRA-approved schools and a community college. She understands the challenges many adults now face in our industry and schooling.

Monette Benoit has worked with thousands of professionals, court reporters, students and instructors. She has also helped create new court reporting training programs, worked with federal grants, and assisted instructors in developing curriculum for both in-class and at-home students.

Her one-on-one tutoring has greatly assisted thousands of students, novice and experienced professionals to privately reach the next level.

Posted in CART provider, court reporter certification, court reporter test prep, Court reporting students, Deaf, HOH, Karen Sadler, Ph.D., science, Sign Interpreters, state certificiation, Tutoring | No Comments »

A Number Of Firsts In Science Education With Karen Sadler, Ph.D., Part II of III

March 23rd, 2010

A Number Of Firsts In Science Education With Karen Sadler, Ph.D.,

Part II of III, 3/23/10

Part I was posted on Monette’s Musings: www.monettebenoit.com 3/17/10.

Part III was posted on www.monettebenoit.com and www.CRRbooks.com 3/31/10.

PASSING THE TEST

Karen Sadler “was born in Salt Lake City severely hard of hearing, in 1956. But my parents did not ‘discover’ it until I was 3 years old, when my mom noticed I was not turning around when she rang a bell behind me.

So that started all the testing and speech therapy, and what not that all HOH, hard of hearing, and Deaf children go through.

I am legally deaf. I have no hearing in my right ear, and have an over 90-110 db (decibel) loss in my left ear, in most tones, but especially tones that encompass the human voice.

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area in California where I went to a public school because there were no schools for the Deaf close enough that my mother felt comfortable sending me to.

I had a great family, with two sisters. They were all musical, so I grew up with the piano constantly playing. I learned to understand music and play several instruments myself.

The schools were never comfortable having a deaf student in their classes, so I was constantly pulled out of class to take IQ tests.

They thought they could test me out of the system and put me into a school for the mentally retarded. This happened for three years, until I finally said something to my parents who put a stop to all this. My parents eventually received an apology from the district on this.

I received my first hearing aid at 13. It was amazing what I had missed. It was the first time I heard a bird, and I remember my mom crying when I said something about the bird making noise.

I graduated with good grades and attended Brigham Young University. There I ran into problems prevalent at all universities: They wouldn’t let me major in what I wanted, and kept shuttling me around. After four years, I gave up.”

Karen’s sharing, Part III, is posted on www.monettebenoit.com and www.CRRbooks.com 3/31/10.

Monette may be reached for private tutoring and coaching: Tutoring@CRRbooks.com

Monette Benoit, B. B.A., CCR, CRI, CPE
Coach, Tutor and Multiple Title Author of Books & Test Prep for the Court Reporting & Captioning Industry
Realtime Court Reporter, Instructor, Consultant, Columnist

Court Reporter Reference Books & CDs: www.CRRbooks.com
Blog: Monette’s Musings, www.monettebenoit.com

* Educational/Career Advancement; Private Tutoring/Coaching
All American RealTime/Captioning Services, Inc.: www.ARTCS.com

Have you failed NCRA’s RPR, RMR or a state court reporting exam? I want to help you and others to pass your test and to exceed career goals. http://crrbooks.com/index.php?cPath=61

Did You Know: www.CRRbooks.com has material to help you advance skills for NCRA exams and state certifications?

Did You Know: You can accelerate your career with private tutoring and coaching?
Court reporting veteran Monette Benoit can help you achieve your goals.

Coaching and tutoring topics include:

• Motivation skills to keep you moving forward,
• Time-management skills,
• Process learning for more effective retention,
• Communication skills and daily interaction improvement skills, and much more.

Who comes to Monette for tutoring and coaching?

• Veteran court reporters, CART providers and captioners brushing up on their skills for test-taking requirements,
• In-class students who feel they’re falling behind or aren’t ready for the required tests,
• Students or veterans who struggle with focus, goal-setting, time-management or other life skills that might be interfering in their upward success,
• At-home students who want to ensure they’re on track for their exam and career goals,
• Veteran court reporters and captioners expanding their career options in related fields,
• Students and veterans alike who find they’re struggling with one or two key areas of daily practice,
• Students or veterans who have begun to question their career or whether they’re on the “right track” …

Check It Out: Reach Your Goals! Tutoring and Coaching
http://crrbooks.com/index.php?cPath=29

Monette Benoit can help you achieve at much high levels. Where do you want to go? What have you really wanted to do with your career, and ultimately, your life? Specific custom-designed guidance efficiently assists you!

About Monette Benoit:

As a 25+year court reporter, CART provider, author of NCRA test prep material and an instructor, Monette Benoit has taught multiple theories, academics, all speed classes and the 225 homeroom within NCRA-approved schools and a community college. She understands the challenges many adults now face in our industry and schooling.

Monette Benoit has worked with thousands of professionals, court reporters, students and instructors. She has also helped create new court reporting training programs, worked with federal grants, and assisted instructors in developing curriculum for both in-class and at-home students.

Her one-on-one tutoring has greatly assisted thousands of students, novice and experienced professionals to privately reach the next level.

Posted in CART provider, court reporter certification, court reporter test prep, Court reporting students, Deaf, HOH, Karen Sadler, Ph.D., science, Sign Interpreters, state certificiation, Tutoring | No Comments »

A Number Of Firsts In Science Education With Karen Sadler, Ph.D., Part I of III

March 17th, 2010

A Number of Firsts In Science Education With Karen Sadler, Ph.D,
Part I of III

Part I was posted on Monette’s Musings: www.monettebenoit.com 3/23/10.
Part II was posted on www.monettebenoit.com and www.CRRbooks.com 3/31/10.

The October e-mail from Karen Sadler began:

“Hi Monette.

I hope you remember me. A few years ago I asked you about court reporters being used for Deaf people in educational environments.

I want to let you know that I finished my work and graduated with a Ph.D. in science education. I thought you might be interested in my research.

The 2003 to 2009 study related the work of court reporters compared to interpreters (court reporters did so much better than interpreters). It’s been a long haul for me, with a lot of obstacles.

I’m teaching sciences at two universities right now, both online and classroom.

Your name is in my (doctoral) references, and you helped significantly with understanding what court reporters do. Basically, they did a phenomenal job, and the only mistakes were due to science words not recognized by the dictionary in the software. … You taught me things I didn’t know about court reporters. I also asked you about software programs that court reporters use.”

Karen and I, in real-time, stepped back into our e-mail friendship.

As we wrote, she was often teaching multiple science courses, reviewing homework and then grading final exams.

I asked Karen Sadler to share her personal story.

Court reporters and CART providers working with deaf and hard of hearing individuals in an academic setting or work environment or social gathering (yes, in all settings) have much to learn from Dr. Karen Sadler.

I am honored to introduce you to Karen L. Sadler, Ph.D. Her story continues in this blog’s posting 3/23/10.

Monette may be reached for private tutoring and coaching: Tutoring@CRRbooks.com

Monette Benoit, B. B.A., CCR, CRI, CPE
Coach, Tutor and Multiple Title Author of Books & Test Prep for the Court Reporting & Captioning Industry
Realtime Court Reporter, Instructor, Consultant, Columnist

Court Reporter Reference Books & CDs: www.CRRbooks.com
Blog: Monette’s Musings, www.monettebenoit.com

* Educational/Career Advancement; Private Tutoring/Coaching
All American RealTime/Captioning Services, Inc.: www.ARTCS.com

Have you failed NCRA’s RPR, RMR or a state court reporting exam? I want to help you and others to pass your test and to exceed career goals. http://crrbooks.com/index.php?cPath=61

Did You Know: www.CRRbooks.com has material to help you advance skills for NCRA exams and state certifications?

Did You Know: You can accelerate your career with private tutoring and coaching?
Court reporting veteran Monette Benoit can help you achieve your goals.

Coaching and tutoring topics include:

• Motivation skills to keep you moving forward,
• Time-management skills,
• Process learning for more effective retention,
• Communication skills and daily interaction improvement skills, and much more.

Who comes to Monette for tutoring and coaching?

• Veteran court reporters, CART providers and captioners brushing up on their skills for test-taking requirements,
• In-class students who feel they’re falling behind or aren’t ready for the required tests,
• Students or veterans who struggle with focus, goal-setting, time-management or other life skills that might be interfering in their upward success,
• At-home students who want to ensure they’re on track for their exam and career goals,
• Veteran court reporters and captioners expanding their career options in related fields,
• Students and veterans alike who find they’re struggling with one or two key areas of daily practice,
• Students or veterans who have begun to question their career or whether they’re on the “right track” …

Check It Out: Reach Your Goals! Tutoring and Coaching
http://crrbooks.com/index.php?cPath=29

Monette Benoit can help you achieve at much high levels. Where do you want to go? What have you really wanted to do with your career, and ultimately, your life? Specific custom-designed guidance efficiently assists you!

About Monette Benoit:

As a 25+year court reporter, CART provider, author of NCRA test prep material and an instructor, Monette Benoit has taught multiple theories, academics, all speed classes and the 225 homeroom within NCRA-approved schools and a community college. She understands the challenges many adults now face in our industry and schooling.

Monette Benoit has worked with thousands of professionals, court reporters, students and instructors. She has also helped create new court reporting training programs, worked with federal grants, and assisted instructors in developing curriculum for both in-class and at-home students.

Her one-on-one tutoring has greatly assisted thousands of students, novice and experienced professionals to privately reach the next level.

Posted in CART provider, court reporter certification, court reporter test prep, Court reporting students, Deaf, HOH, Karen Sadler, Ph.D., science, Sign Interpreters, state certificiation, Tutoring | No Comments »

CART: Up-Skills For The Job, And Confidence For The Future, Part 3 of 3

March 8th, 2010

CART: Up-Skills For The Job, And Confidence For The Future,
Part III of III
By Monette Benoit, All Rights Reserved.

Part I was posted on Monette’s Musings: www.monettebenoit.com 2/8/10.
Part II was posted on www.monettebenoit.com and www.CRRbooks.com 2/25/10.

Michelle Coffey, Premier Captioning & Realtime Ltd., entered reporting in 1992. She earned her RPR in 1996, and her CRI in 2001.

Michelle also holds a degree in criminal psychology and diploma in counseling from the University College Dublin in Ireland.

Michelle Coffey and I met in Australia in 2000 when I was keynote speaker for the Shorthand Reporter Association of Australia, SRAA.

In Fremantle, I spoke about reporting to the Internet and also working with deaf/Deaf, oral deaf and hard of hearing, HOH.

My seminars were real-timed to a large screen and sign interpreted in Australian sign language, a first.

Our friendship began the day we spoke on a captioning panel. She has the brightest spirit. Michelle truly enhanced the session with her wisdom and humor. Several days later, we bumped into each other – deep within the Australian Bush. A small world indeed.

Michelle Coffey has been a true leader in Ireland.

She has a wonderful can-do attitude. When I see her name in my e-mails, I smile knowing “this is going to be entertaining and good.”

Michelle was the first captioner in Ireland.

No surprise here that she has led another first in her country.

I am honored to share Michelle Coffey’s first CART path within Ireland.

Part III

Michelle Coffey: We spoke to Irish Sign Language interpreters, to Speedtexters, and to note-takers, and in the process we all learned a lot about the pros and cons of all the services.

Next, we spent some time talking to different interest groups, from the National Association for the Deaf, to DeafHear (a hard-of-hearing association), to Irish Deaf Kids, all the way through to the access officers at educational institutions.

And at each point, when we did our “show and tell” the response was always the same, “This is fantastic, why haven’t we heard of it before?”

But the most important people we met were the students who were with us on this new road of discovery.

And it was never far from our minds as we prepared for the beginning of term, that the weight of expectation on us was enormous; from the students that they would get a service appropriate to their needs; from the colleges that we would provide a suitable access solution for their students; and from ourselves and the up-and-coming CART reporters, that we prove that CART services can, and should, be an integral part of accessibility services for all educational establishments in Ireland.

However, much more telling and – proof that this service is necessary and will be a success is a statement from Emma, the first student to take up the service.

After having only two sessions with a CART provider, she had this to say, “I can’t believe the difference CART has made to my life.

Did you know that I began this degree course four years ago but had to drop out because I couldn’t participate in my PBL (peer-based learning) lectures?”

Well, we didn’t know that, but it certainly makes it much easier to study and up-skill for the job when you hear that what you do can has such a profound effect on someone else’s life!

Another fan of the newly available Irish CART services is Caroline Carswell, founder of Irish Deaf Kids, a charity supporting inclusive mainstream education for deaf children in Ireland.

Caroline was new to CART, and its simplicity blew her away.

She said, “For the first time in my life, I could follow a group discussion word for word and contribute without risking a non sequitur. For lip-readers, the law of multiples applies: the more speakers in a group, the harder a discussion topic becomes to follow. It’s like, Chinese whispers, anyone?”

Now, as we look back on our journey to get CART recognized in Ireland, we think “How did we do it?”

Well, did you ever have the feeling that being a member of an organization, whether it’s CARTWheel or the NCRA, is like being a Musketeer? You know, “One for all and all for one”?

Well, that’s exactly how I felt, but the Athos, Porthos and Aramis to my d’Artagnan were some of the most experienced and supremely talented people in our profession. They each gave of their time, expertise and encouragement, instantly and unstintingly when I needed it.

My eternal thanks, and admiration to Dayette Zampolin, Gayl Hardeman and Monette Benoit for their help, advice, vision, encouragement, and even offers to jump in and help out (remotely of course) if we needed it!

Does that not speak volumes about our profession?

Even though our work can be a solitary job, we know that we will never be alone when there are still so many passionate and generous colleagues out there.

And that gives me confidence for the future of our profession!

Michelle Coffey may be reached: www.pcri.ie and michelle@pcr.ie

Monette may be reached for private tutoring and coaching: Tutoring@CRRbooks.com

Monette Benoit, B. B.A., CCR, CRI, CPE
Coach, Tutor and Multiple Title Author of Books & Test Prep for the Court Reporting & Captioning Industry
Realtime Court Reporter, Instructor, Consultant, Columnist

Court Reporter Reference Books & CDs: www.CRRbooks.com
Blog: Monette’s Musings, www.monettebenoit.com

* Educational/Career Advancement; Private Tutoring/Coaching
All American RealTime/Captioning Services, Inc.: www.ARTCS.com

Have you failed NCRA’s RPR, RMR or a state court reporting exam? I want to help you and others to pass your test and to exceed career goals. http://crrbooks.com/index.php?cPath=61

Did You Know: www.CRRbooks.com has material to help you advance skills for NCRA exams and state certifications?

Did You Know: You can accelerate your career with private tutoring and coaching?
Court reporting veteran Monette Benoit can help you achieve your goals.

Coaching and tutoring topics include:

• Motivation skills to keep you moving forward,
• Time-management skills,
• Process learning for more effective retention,
• Communication skills and daily interaction improvement skills, and much more.

Who comes to Monette for tutoring and coaching?

• Veteran court reporters, CART providers and captioners brushing up on their skills for test-taking requirements,
• In-class students who feel they’re falling behind or aren’t ready for the required tests,
• Students or veterans who struggle with focus, goal-setting, time-management or other life skills that might be interfering in their upward success,
• At-home students who want to ensure they’re on track for their exam and career goals,
• Veteran court reporters and captioners expanding their career options in related fields,
• Students and veterans alike who find they’re struggling with one or two key areas of daily practice,
• Students or veterans who have begun to question their career or whether they’re on the “right track” …

Check It Out: Reach Your Goals! Tutoring and Coaching
http://crrbooks.com/index.php?cPath=29

Monette Benoit can help you achieve at much high levels. Where do you want to go? What have you really wanted to do with your career, and ultimately, your life? Specific custom-designed guidance efficiently assists you!

About Monette Benoit:

As a 25+year court reporter, CART provider, author of NCRA test prep material and an instructor, Monette Benoit has taught multiple theories, academics, all speed classes and the 225 homeroom within NCRA-approved schools and a community college. She understands the challenges many adults now face in our industry and schooling.

Monette Benoit has worked with thousands of professionals, court reporters, students and instructors. She has also helped create new court reporting training programs, worked with federal grants, and assisted instructors in developing curriculum for both in-class and at-home students.

Her one-on-one tutoring has greatly assisted thousands of students, novice and experienced professionals to privately reach the next level.

Posted in captioning, CART, Certify NCRA RPR Test Prep, Coaching, Deaf, DeafHear, Ireland, managment, Michelle Coffey, Monette Benoit, Motivation, NCRA prep, NCRA RPR WKT, Sign Interpreters, Tutoring | No Comments »

CART: Up-Skills For The Job, And Confidence For The Future, Part 2 of 3

February 25th, 2010

CART: Up-Skills For The Job, And Confidence For The Future,
Part 2 of 3

Part I was posted www.monettebenoit.com, 2/8/10.

Michelle Coffey, Premier Captioning & Realtime Ltd., entered reporting in 1992. She earned her RPR in 1996, and her CRI in 2001.

Michelle also holds a degree in criminal psychology and diploma in counseling from the University College Dublin in Ireland.

Michelle Coffey and I met in Australia in 2000 when I was keynote speaker for the Shorthand Reporter Association of Australia, SRAA.

In Fremantle, I spoke about reporting to the Internet and also working with deaf/Deaf, oral deaf and hard of hearing, HOH.

My seminars were real-timed to a large screen and sign interpreted in Australian sign language, a first.

Our friendship began the day we spoke on a captioning panel. She has the brightest spirit. Michelle truly enhanced the session with her wisdom and humor.

Several days later, we bumped into each other – deep within the Australian Bush. A small world indeed.

Michelle Coffey has been a true leader in Ireland. She has a wonderful can-do attitude. When I see her name in my e-mails, I smile knowing “this is going to be entertaining and good.” Michelle was the first captioner in Ireland. No surprise here that she has led another first in her country. I am honored to share Michelle Coffey’s first CART path within Ireland.

Part II of III

Michelle Coffey: We spoke to Irish Sign Language interpreters, to Speedtexters, and to note-takers, and in the process we all learned a lot about the pros and cons of all the services.

Next, we spent some time talking to different interest groups, from the National Association for the Deaf, to DeafHear (a hard-of-hearing association), to Irish Deaf Kids, all the way through to the access officers at educational institutions.

And at each point, when we did our “show and tell” the response was always the same, “This is fantastic, why haven’t we heard of it before?”

But the most important people we met were the students who were with us on this new road of discovery. And it was never far from our minds as we prepared for the beginning of term, that the weight of expectation on us was enormous; from the students that they would get a service appropriate to their needs; from the colleges that we would provide a suitable access solution for their students; and from ourselves and the up-and-coming CART reporters, that we prove that CART services can, and should, be an integral part of accessibility services for all educational establishments in Ireland.

However, much more telling and – proof that this service is necessary and will be a success is a statement from Emma, the first student to take up the service.

After having only two sessions with a CART provider, she had this to say, “I can’t believe the difference CART has made to my life.

Did you know that I began this degree course four years ago but had to drop out because I couldn’t participate in my PBL (peer-based learning) lectures?”

Well, we didn’t know that, but it certainly makes it much easier to study and up-skill for the job when you hear that what you do can has such a profound effect on someone else’s life!

Part 3 of 3 will be posted 3/8/10.

Michelle Coffey may be reached: www.pcri.ie and michelle@pcr.ie

Monette Benoit may be reached for private tutoring and coaching at Tutoring@CRRbooks.com

Monette Benoit, B. B.A., CCR, CRI, CPE
Coach, Tutor and Multiple Title Author of Books & Test Prep for the Court Reporting & Captioning Industry
Realtime Court Reporter, Instructor, Consultant, Columnist

Court Reporter Reference Books & CDs: www.CRRbooks.com
Blog: Monette’s Musings, www.monettebenoit.com

* Educational/Career Advancement; Private Tutoring/Coaching
All American RealTime/Captioning Services, Inc.: www.ARTCS.com

Have you failed NCRA’s RPR, RMR or a state court reporting exam? I want to help you and others to pass your test and to exceed career goals. http://crrbooks.com/index.php?cPath=61

Did You Know: www.CRRbooks.com has material to help you advance skills for NCRA exams and state certifications?

Did You Know: You can accelerate your career with private tutoring and coaching?
Court reporting veteran Monette Benoit can help you achieve your goals.

Coaching and tutoring topics include:

• Motivation skills to keep you moving forward,
• Time-management skills,
• Process learning for more effective retention,
• Communication skills and daily interaction improvement skills, and much more.

Who comes to Monette for tutoring and coaching?

• Veteran court reporters, CART providers and captioners brushing up on their skills for test-taking requirements,
• In-class students who feel they’re falling behind or aren’t ready for the required tests,
• Students or veterans who struggle with focus, goal-setting, time-management or other life skills that might be interfering in their upward success,
• At-home students who want to ensure they’re on track for their exam and career goals,
• Veteran court reporters and captioners expanding their career options in related fields,
• Students and veterans alike who find they’re struggling with one or two key areas of daily practice,
• Students or veterans who have begun to question their career or whether they’re on the “right track” …

Check It Out: Reach Your Goals! Tutoring and Coaching
http://crrbooks.com/index.php?cPath=29

Monette Benoit can help you achieve at much high levels. Where do you want to go? What have you really wanted to do with your career, and ultimately, your life? Specific custom-designed guidance efficiently assists you!

About Monette Benoit:

As a 25+year court reporter, CART provider, author of NCRA test prep material and an instructor, Monette Benoit has taught multiple theories, academics, all speed classes and the 225 homeroom within NCRA-approved schools and a community college. She understands the challenges many adults now face in our industry and schooling.

Monette Benoit has worked with thousands of professionals, court reporters, students and instructors. She has also helped create new court reporting training programs, worked with federal grants, and assisted instructors in developing curriculum for both in-class and at-home students.

Her one-on-one tutoring has greatly assisted thousands of students, novice and experienced professionals to privately reach the next level.

Posted in captioning, CART, Certify NCRA RPR Test Prep, Coaching, Deaf, DeafHear, Ireland, managment, Michelle Coffey, Monette Benoit, Motivation, NCRA RPR WKT, NCRA tests, Sign Interpreters, Tutoring | No Comments »

Lose Him? Lose It? Part 3

February 14th, 2010

Mindful management is a term I share when I’m coaching professionals and students. I desire to share mindful management moments with you.

Monette’s Mindful Management: Lose Him? Lose It? Part 3

Part I and Part 2 were posted on Monette’s Musings, www.monettebenoit.com, www.crrbooks.com and www.mylegal.com

That “Lose Him!” candle (discussed in Part 1 and 2) sparked conversations and discussion. How does this relate to mindful management? Messages come in all shapes and sizes.

Now we target “Lose It!” within our world. The focus is in the decision to act. You make the decision moment by moment with mindful management – at work, at the gym, while shopping and preparing for a great night’s sleep. You focus.

You selectively lose actions, items, experiences — yes, people — and your life will change. You will notice a difference.

Part 3: Once when I was moving (not a ‘throw move’ within a zip code, but a complete pack-ker-roo) I became overwhelmed with abundant tasks and responsibilities required in a short period of time.

I was packing a household to be placed (thrown) into a truck. My parents motored into the city to check on my processing (they would use the word “progress”) or lack thereof.

My father had a bottle of wine and garbage bags. He opened the wine, unwrapped three bags. I remained seated, sighing – a lot.

This guidance counselor, teacher, medic, social worker, psychologist (psych counselor with the Veterans Administration) said, “You only have three decisions. Yes. No. I don’t know. If you don’t know the answer, then the item goes into this I-don’t-know bag. No thinking. None. Yes. No. I don’t know.”

This action – once brought into a focus that was darn close to zero stress for me – became very doable. We zipped through the process(ing).

I was amazed at what I was willing ‘to lose’ based upon a possibility with three simple choices.

I incorporated that day’s life lesson into many aspects (buckets full) within my world.

When I learned a friend still had boxed items of a sibling who had died years ago I was stunned and amazed. (When my brother died, the day his few possessions arrived I opened everything. I had to process. I sat on the floor – felt my world shift. And that was good – to move forward.)

My friend, a nurse, had never opened her sister’s boxes saying, “It’s too painful.”

When I mentioned going through the boxes, she developed a headache. In real-time, I watched her become physically ill. The mere thought ‘froze’ her.

I placed three boxes on the floor. I held up each item asking, “Yes? No? Later?” She nodded or shook her head.

Soon we had moved through her sister’s ‘never-opened’ items. I saw her lose the tight grip the boxes (and inaction) had upon her.

“Lose It!” focus does not need to involve moving or dealing with items from a loved one.

The focus may be simplified to preparing for a job, departure time on a snowy or rainy highway, planning your time to produce a job, and selecting food (standing or sitting?).

What do you want to lose? Time-wasters? Items? Tasks achieving the same results?

Identify three items you want to lose (okay, make it one, if three is too high). Identify three redundant actions.

What do you need to lose to improve your world?

Would the results be worth the loss?

Then get a plan, a garbage bag, or new mental approach. Invest in yourself and “Losing It!” You will see forward motion.

What are you willing to lose based upon a possibility with simple choices?

Is this a timely message for Valentine’s Day? Many people contacted me to say, “Yes, and I want to lose …”

This is your opportunity to unblock, unpack and to undo routine patterns. Here is your opportunity to effectively implement a new task and a new action with mindful management.

When you decide on “Lose It!”, then I want you to note what you create (what arrives) that would not have had an opportunity if “Lose It!” had not become a focused action.

New moments arrive. New results occur. They do.

Mylegal.com Contributing Editor, Monette Benoit, B.B.A., CCR, CRI, CPE, may be reached at www.CRRbooks.com and www.ARTCS.com for customized coaching and test prep.

Monette Benoit, B. B.A., CCR, CRI, CPE, Paralegal
Motivation Management & Life Coach,
Tutor and Multiple Title Author of Books & Test Prep for the Court Reporting & Captioning Industry
Realtime Court Reporter, Instructor, Consultant, Columnist

Court Reporter Reference Books & CDs: www.CRRbooks.com
Blog: Monette’s Musings, www.monettebenoit.com

* Educational/Career Advancement; Private Tutoring/Customized Coaching

All American RealTime/Captioning Services, Inc.: www.ARTCS.com

Have you failed NCRA’s RPR, RMR or a state court reporting exam? I want to help you and others to pass your test and to exceed career goals. http://crrbooks.com/index.php?cPath=61

Did You Know: www.CRRbooks.com has material to help you advance skills for NCRA exams and state certifications?

Did You Know: You can accelerate your career with private tutoring and coaching?
Court reporting veteran Monette Benoit can help you achieve your goals.

Coaching and tutoring topics include:

• Motivation skills to keep you moving forward,
• Time-management skills,
• Process learning for more effective retention,
• Communication skills and daily interaction improvement skills, and much more.

Who comes to Monette for tutoring and coaching?

• Veteran court reporters, CART providers and broadcast captioners brushing up on their skills for test-taking requirements,
• In-class students who feel they’re falling behind or aren’t ready for the required tests,
• Students or veterans who struggle with focus, goal-setting, time-management or other life skills that might be interfering in their upward success,
• At-home students who want to ensure they’re on track for their exam and career goals,
• Veteran court reporters and broadcast captioners expanding their career options in related fields,
• Students and veterans alike who find they’re struggling with one or two key areas of daily practice,
• Students or veterans who have begun to question their career or whether they’re on the “right track” …

Check It Out: Reach Your Goals! Tutoring and Coaching
http://crrbooks.com/index.php?cPath=29

Monette Benoit can help you achieve at much high levels. Where do you want to go? What have you really wanted to do with your career, and ultimately, your life? Specific custom-designed guidance efficiently assists you!

About Monette Benoit:
As a 25+year court reporter, CART provider, author of NCRA test prep material and an instructor, Monette Benoit has taught multiple theories, academics, all speed classes and the 225 homeroom within NCRA-approved schools and a community college. She understands the challenges many adults now face in our industry and schooling.

Monette Benoit has worked with thousands of professionals, court reporters, students and instructors. She has also helped create new court reporting training programs, worked with federal grants, and assisted instructors in developing curriculum for both in-class and at-home students.

Her one-on-one tutoring has greatly assisted thousands of students, novice and experienced professionals to privately reach the next level.

Posted in 95 % pass, Certify NCRA RPR Test Prep WKT, Court Reporter Tutor, CRRbooks.com, Life Coach, Monette Benoit, Monette's Mindful Management, mylegal.com, NCRA RPR Test Prep, NCRA test prep, NCRA tests | No Comments »

CART: Up-Skills For The Job, And Confidence For The Future, Part I of III

February 8th, 2010

CART: Up-Skills For The Job, And Confidence For The Future
Part I of III
By Monette Benoit, All Rights Reserved.

Michelle Coffey, Premier Captioning & Realtime Ltd., entered reporting in 1992. She earned her RPR in 1996, and her CRI in 2001.

Michelle also holds a degree in criminal psychology and diploma in counseling from the University College Dublin in Ireland.

Michelle Coffey and I met in Australia in 2000 when I was keynote speaker for the Shorthand Reporter Association of Australia, SRAA.

In Fremantle, I spoke about reporting to the Internet and also working with deaf/Deaf, oral deaf and hard of hearing, HOH.

My seminars were real-timed to a large screen and sign interpreted in Australian sign language, a first.

Our friendship began the day we spoke on a captioning panel. She has the brightest spirit. Michelle truly enhanced the session with her wisdom and humor.

Several days later, we bumped into each other – deep within the Australian Bush. A small world indeed.

Michelle Coffey has been a true leader in Ireland. She has a wonderful can-do attitude. When I see her name in my e-mails, I smile knowing “this is going to be entertaining and good.” Michelle was the first captioner in Ireland.

No surprise here that she has led another first in her country. I am honored to share Michelle Coffey’s first CART path within Ireland.

Michelle Coffey, RPR, CRI: I’m proud to say that Ireland was there at the beginning of court reporting, that is Ward Stone Ireland, who is generally accepted to be the inventor of the stenograph keyboard, as we know it today. But in modern-day Ireland the court reporting profession is under threat, from electronic recording and declining numbers of experienced professionals.

Ireland has a very different court-reporting environment to that of the United States. In Ireland we have a reasonably small number of court reporters; however, we also have a small number of courts in which to work. But when, in the last 18 months, a large portion of the courts moved over to electronic recording, we saw a massive reduction in the amount of available work for the reporters. This caused panic, with many reporters questioning what they were going to do now? How were they going to earn enough money?

All the ‘hard’ questions came to the fore.

We were left with a decision, whether to wade into the ever-shrinking marketplace and vie for work there, or to venture out into an area as yet untried in the Irish market.

The question of whether to stay in a declining marketplace, where everyone will undoubtedly face a decrease in earnings, or to look to a new opportunity which would leave the status quo relatively intact, was simple.

Our answer was CART.

And so, after many months of negotiations, explanations and demonstrations, we are proud to announce that the first-ever CART services have begun in Ireland.

Prior to this, a cart was something pulled by a horse; Irish CART services did not exist. Well, they didn’t!

But once we set out on this road we were determined to change that. So our first job was to engage with the different types of service providers already in this field.

Part 2 of 3 will be posted on Monette’s Musings and www.CRRbooks.com on February 25, 2010.

Michelle Coffey may be reached: www.pcri.ie and michelle@pcr.ie

Monette Benoit may be reached for private tutoring and customized coaching: Tutoring@CRRbooks.com

Monette Benoit, B. B.A., CCR, CRI, CPE
Coach, Tutor and Multiple Title Author of Books & Test Prep for the Court Reporting & Captioning Industry
Realtime Court Reporter, Instructor, Consultant, Columnist

Court Reporter Reference Books & CDs: www.CRRbooks.com
Blog: Monette’s Musings, www.monettebenoit.com

* Educational/Career Advancement; Private Tutoring/Coaching
All American RealTime/Captioning Services, Inc.: www.ARTCS.com

Have you failed NCRA’s RPR, RMR or a state court reporting exam? I want to help you and others to pass your test and to exceed career goals. http://crrbooks.com/index.php?cPath=61

Did You Know: www.CRRbooks.com has material to help you advance skills for NCRA exams and state certifications?

Did You Know: You can accelerate your career with private tutoring and coaching?
Court reporting veteran Monette Benoit can help you achieve your goals.

Coaching and tutoring topics include:

• Motivation skills to keep you moving forward,
• Time-management skills,
• Process learning for more effective retention,
• Communication skills and daily interaction improvement skills, and much more.

Who comes to Monette for tutoring and coaching?

• Veteran court reporters, CART providers and captioners brushing up on their skills for test-taking requirements,
• In-class students who feel they’re falling behind or aren’t ready for the required tests,
• Students or veterans who struggle with focus, goal-setting, time-management or other life skills that might be interfering in their upward success,
• At-home students who want to ensure they’re on track for their exam and career goals,
• Veteran court reporters and captioners expanding their career options in related fields,
• Students and veterans alike who find they’re struggling with one or two key areas of daily practice,
• Students or veterans who have begun to question their career or whether they’re on the “right track” …

Check It Out: Reach Your Goals! Tutoring and Coaching
http://crrbooks.com/index.php?cPath=29

Monette Benoit can help you achieve at much high levels. Where do you want to go? What have you really wanted to do with your career, and ultimately, your life? Specific custom-designed guidance efficiently assists you!

About Monette Benoit:

As a 25+year court reporter, CART provider, author of NCRA test prep material and an instructor, Monette Benoit has taught multiple theories, academics, all speed classes and the 225 homeroom within NCRA-approved schools and a community college. She understands the challenges many adults now face in our industry and schooling.

Monette Benoit has worked with thousands of professionals, court reporters, students and instructors. She has also helped create new court reporting training programs, worked with federal grants, and assisted instructors in developing curriculum for both in-class and at-home students.

Her one-on-one tutoring has greatly assisted thousands of students, novice and experienced professionals to privately reach the next level.

Posted in captioining, CART, Certify NCRA RPR Test Prep, Coaching, Deaf, Ireland, managment, Michelle Coffey, Monette Benoit, Motivation, NCRA RPR WKT, NCRA tests, Sign Interpreters, Tutoring | No Comments »

Monette’s Mindful Management: Lose Him? Part 2

January 28th, 2010

Mindful management is a term I share when I’m coaching, tutoring and assisting professionals and students with test prep. I desire to share mindful management moments with you.

Monette’s Mindful Management: Lose Him? Part 2

Part I was posted on Monette’s Musings, www.monettebenoit.com, www.crrbooks.com and www.mylegal.com

That “Lose Him!” candle (discussed in Part I) truly sparked discussion.

Who would buy such a candle? How does one earn a candle from a friend — or foe?

Would such a candle simply be left in a “handy” location or carefully placed next to a coffee cup to avoid embarrassing the gifter gifting the giftee?

How does this relate to mindful management?

Messages come in all shapes and sizes.

Now we target this message and “Lose It!” within our professional and personal world.

We have resolutions (and deals) we made with others and with ourselves, right?

We’re not out of the month of January, yet individuals roll their eyes, laugh or sigh when someone asks how those New Year’s 2010 resolutions are surviving.

I desire to ask: What would you lose?

To narrow the field, we should hone “what would we lose?” to what we are paid to lose (work related), and what we desire to lose at home (paper, files, clutter, old technology items, etc.) And let’s put diets in this discussion as many people want to lose pounds, right?

When you have the list created for what it is you want to lose, then focus that quest to location – your office, home, garage, desk, refrigerator, closets, your waist, etc.

The real deal in “Lose It!” and what is it we really want to lose is, in my opinion, in the consistency of how we integrate this action into our world.

When people ask what I would like to lose, I softly reply that I want to lose people (only as an example) who say, “I don’t have time to take seminars or finish (fill in the blank) — I’ll take less money to learn – while working. Then I can charge more.” (I always blink.)

Recently, I was asked to take $2.00 less per hour to have the opportunity to provide professional work. No joke.

It’s not that hard to act on the “Lose It!” commitment once your focus is there.

Make a decision, give the decision a little leeway, then consistently act on your goal regarding that decision.

As an example, people I work with while coaching, tutoring and test prep tell me they want to lose time wasters, working on repetitive tasks without improving job and/or personal skills, the ability to — (okay, take a deep breath) — accept work at a fee where one truly believes they should be compensated – vs. – taking the lowest dollar number to “get” that job.

We identify first, then we isolate to lose the action, mindset, thought, activity second.

Once you look at the “lose it” list with a different view, you start to focus your day and also while cruising the grocery store with your half-empty grocery cart.

The focus is in the decision to act.

You make the decision moment by moment with mindful management – at work, at the gym, while shopping and preparing for a great night’s sleep. You focus.

You selectively lose actions, items, experiences — yes, people — and your life will change.
You will quickly notice a difference.

“Lose Him?, Part 3” will be published – when? On Valentine’s Day, February 14th.

Now you choose. Mindful management: What do you need? What do you want to lose?