IN KNOWLEDGE THERE IS OPPORTUNITY Court reporters create word-for-word transcriptions at trials, depositions, administrative hearings, and other legal proceedings. Some court reporters provide captioning for television and real-time translation for deaf or hardof hearing people at public events, at business meetings, and in classrooms. Communication Access Real-Time Translation providers or CART reporters, are court reporters who work primarily with deaf or hard-of-hearing people in a variety of settings turning speech into text so that the deaf or hard of hearing can interact with the world around them. For example, CART providers who use a stenograph machine may caption high school and college classes and provide an immediate transcript to students who are hard of hearing or learning English as a second language. If you were a CART reporter in an academic setting, you would enjoy a perpetual college life because CART reporters attend college classes at numerous universities listening to lectures on anything from English 101 to Thermal and Statistical Physics. We spoke to Mirabai Knight, a working CART reporter, and asked her what it is like to spend her days in college classes listening to lectures, “I get to be a fly on the wall, getting paid to help my brilliant clients flex their own math and science muscles while I sit back and marvel. Over the years I’ve been CARTing, I’ve worked for future economists, architects, pharmacists, doctors, and dentists. I’ve been exposed to what would have been stratospherically above my cognitive pay grade, but here I am, sitting in classes, absorbing all this cool information about the structures and systems that make up our universe. All for someone who barely managed to learn her times tables. I’ll never be a doctor, and I’ve made my peace with that, but I still get to swim in this stuff every day.” Computer-aided transcription, referred to in the industry as “CAT,” is technology that utilizes highly specialized software to interpret the strokes made by a court reporter on a stenography machine. As the court reporter 28 AQNS.COM SUMMER 2016 presses applicable keyboard combinations, the software immediately translates the machine shorthand into English. Realtime writing refers to computer-aided transcription which is performed by court reporters whose steno notes require very little editing and can be instantly read on a monitor. We asked Mirabai about the reaction from the students in class to this unique technology, “Other students in the class are usually curious about the technology. It sparks a conversation, but whenever my deaf/hard of hearing client is there, it’s important for me to remain in the background, as quietly as possible, I am working for them so the attention shouldn’t be on me.” Mirabai enjoys everything about being a CART reporter. “Being a fly on the wall in the middle of an intense academic environment is constantly challenging and interesting. I definitely have a sense of pride helping someone else become educated and achieve their goals.” Growth of the elderly population also will increase the demand for court reporters who are Communication Access Real-Time Translation (CART) providers or who can accompany their clients to doctor’s appointments, town hall meetings, and religious services. In addition, movie theaters and sports stadiums will provide closed captioning for deaf or hard-of-hearing customers. If you would like to gain the knowledge and skills required of a Court Reporter and have the opportunity to become a CART reporter, so that you will also have the opportunity to gain additional knowledge and become a lifelong learner, contact the Long Island Business Institute (www.libi.edu) and ask about our Court Reporting program (631-499-7100). QNS.com iS the New deStiNatioN for everythiNg QueeNS! BreakiNg NewS free claSSifiedS iNteractive eveNtS caleNdar coNNect with your commuNity oN NeighBorhood PageS
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