Miriam Walsh – now teaching content coordinator for Cork VEC’s iTunes University education platform – joined the Sound Advice team in 2009, as a graduate in journalism. Here’s her story.
What did you like best about working with Sound Advice?
Sound Advice gave me independence to research articles I wanted to write, with guidance as needed. I met many new contacts, and learned about the Irish education system. I saw the challenges of students who’re deaf and hard of hearing and was encouraged to learn new skills like video-captioning.
The three biggest skills I learnt working with Sound Advice
- Online writing. I had just finished my degree, but the course’s focus was print media. I had never experienced social media or online writing. Sound Advice helped me move from writing for print, to learning to communicate online.
- Captioning. Before working with Sound Advice, subtitles in a movie would put me off watching. Since learning the benefits I now caption videos, and encourage others to caption. I experienced online captioning early on, when captioning second by second was expensive to do. Today’s free options are faster.
- Technology. I was always into technology, but never knew what difference a device like a hearing aid or cochlear implant can make. Now with smartphones, tablets and apps, childrens’ lives and the education system can be transformed.
What did you find most challenging about working with Sound Advice?
Having no prior knowledge of deaf or hard of hearing people. I didn’t realise the challenges in the health and education systems. I didn’t know about cochlear implants, or what visiting teachers did. I had no idea of sound-field systems, or where sign language is used. It was a new world to adjust to.
Did working with Sound Advice shape your work after moving on from here?
When I started at Sound Advice, I was just out of college, ready to take on the world of journalism. Since then, I have learned about the Irish education system and new technologies. Now I teach at St. John’s Central College in Cork and co-ordinate content for City of Cork VEC’s iTunes U education platform.
(compiled by Miriam Walsh)
Sound Advice’s 2010 highlights
- Sound Advice receives Ireland’s eGovernment (Education) Award
- Sound Advice wins €4,000 With 3 Business
- ITV Animates Sound Advices “A Birthday For Ben” Book Online
- The Sound Advice Team Digitises A Parents’ Audiology Information Pack
Further Reading
The Intern’s View: Moving Into Non-Profit Work
