Bye Amazon

* UPDATE:  Amazon.com has started to provide captions for some of their online videos.

Because Amazon does not offer captioned online videos I recently closed my Amazon Affiliates account. It does not feel right for my blog to be affiliated with Amazon or to advertise products sold on www.amazon.com.

I frequently write on my blog about the importance of inclusion and not being left out. I do not support the idea of intentionally leaving out a specific group of people due to lack of accommodations that can be easily provided.

It also does not feel right to me to continue buying from and using Amazon's services. So I will be closing my account with Amazon today until they can provide captioned online videos. At this time I will not visit www.amazon.com or buy anything from Amazon.

This will be hard. I love Amazon. It is so convenient to be able to instantly order books for my Kindle. I can practically buy anything from Amazon for a great deal. I buy from Amazon and visit its website frequently. Being able to have access to captioned media is important to me, so important that I can no longer support organizations or companies who continue to leave out those who rely on captioning and subtitles.

It will be hard at first, but it is not the end of the world. I am sure I will save a lot of money. There are libraries and other online book stores I can take advantage of.

Bye Amazon. Hopefully I'll see you again soon when you start providing captioned online videos.

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Response from Amazon (to My Reason for Closing Associates Account)

Nice response from an Amazon.com Associates Program representative (note the highlighted portion at bottom of response):

Hello,

Thank you for writing to Amazon Associates. All we require to close an Associates account is the request to close it from the Primary account holder.

As you requested to close the account, I've gone ahead and closed your Associates account for you. If there becomes an opportunity where you would want to be an Amazon Associate again, we'd be happy to reinstate your account.

Your payment for the balance of your Associates account's advertising fee will be sent as a direct deposit in late August 2012.

You will still be able to access Associates Central to view any historical account information, but your account has been closed and you are no longer earning any referrals. Also, you'll continue to receive monthly payment reports and occasional announcements regarding policies, tools, and features for up to 60 days. Please know that your voice has been heard and I have brought this situation to the attention of the appropriate persons in our company. I hope in the future we will be offering close-captioning services for Amazon Video on Demand and you will be in a better position to once again pursue Amazon Associates as a business endeavor.

Bye Bye Amazon Associates

*UPDATE: Amazon has started to provide captions for some of their online videos.

I have decided to close my Amazon Associates account. I do not wish to advertise their products on this blog until they can provide captioned or subtitled online videos. It would not feel right if I continue to promote Amazon or help them make more money as an Amazon affiliate while they refuse to caption their online videos.

My email to Amazon Associates:

I want to close my Amazon Associates account. Please let me know what I need to do to close it.

Until Amazon can provide captioned or subtitled online videos (Amazon Prime Instant Videos) I do not wish to be associated with Amazon affiliates or to advertise Amazon products on my blog.

Thank you,

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Letter to Classroom Teachers: Please Use Captioned Media

Below is a letter I sent out to teachers for a deaf student who requires captioned media.

*Names have been changed for privacy reasons.

Dear Teachers,

For John Smith, please try to remember that if you are going to show any videos or multimedia work that involves listening, use closed-captions or subtitles (if possible). If there are no subtitles or closed-captions, provide a transcript for John to help him follow along or simply don't show the video or multimedia work.

John has a profound hearing loss in both ears. Without his hearing aids, he is unable to hear speech sounds. With his hearing aids, he has a moderate-severe hearing loss; he will have difficulty hearing most speech sounds and soft and high pitch sounds. John relies on lip reading and seeing the speaker's face to understand what is being said.

He will have trouble understanding dialogue in videos unless it is captioned or subtitled. For example: if a person in a video says, "Hello, my name is Mister Smith." John may hear, "-ello my -ame i- Mi---- -m---." Without his hearing aids, he would not understand what is being said, unless he can see the speaker. If he can see the speaker he may catch most of what was said, that is if he concentrates really hard. This is extremely frustrating and tiring as you can imagine.

Closed-captions or subtitles will allow John to watch the videos with less difficulty and to be included like everyone else. He should have the opportunity to have full access to the materials being taught in class.

There is a site called Described Caption and Media Program. It includes a media library where you can access 4,000 free-loan described and captioned videos available, if you register as a Level 2 member. You can watch the media online or order a DVD.

I thought you could use this site if you want to show any educational videos in class. They will include closed-captions or subtitles which would be necessary for John.

Here is the link to the website: http://www.dcmp.org/Catalog/Default.aspx

There are other online educational sites that provide captioned media as well. Please contact me and I can show you what is available and how to find captioned online videos.

Let me know if you have any questions.

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Deaf/HH Services

Personal Stories Most Memorable in Education

When I think about my elementary years, what I remember most are the teachers who shared personal stories or experiences. I remember a teacher telling us about her trip to Egypt. She rode camels, saw the pyramids, and ate interesting food. I learned a lot about Egypt through her stories and it actually prompted me to go home and look up more information about Egypt in an Encyclopedia. Another experience she shared with us that has stayed with me was about the time her husband was bitten by a Black Widow spider when we were learning about spiders. Her stories were fascinating.

I am trying so hard to remember what else she talked about or taught us, but I can't remember for the life of me. I can only remember her stories. Why is that? Perhaps because it was so interesting to me. I suppose things that fascinate you or make a strong impact will stay with you for a long time.

I notice that with some of my students, even after we went over a certain concept over and over again, they may have trouble remembering, especially if it has been a long time. But they will usually remember a personal story I shared with them two months ago, that I have forgotten myself. Most of them are truly fascinated with my personal life outside of school.

This has got me thinking maybe I should be incorporating more personal experiences or stories with my lessons. For example, if I were to discuss with a student how people catch fish, I can talk about my experiences with fishing as a child. If my stories are interesting to the student, I would hope that he or she would retain some information about fishing from my stories. I doubt the student would remember some boring paragraph about fishing in some textbook.

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