implementation model two: ai lep translation Services
Goal: Community Education Using ICT
Digital connectivity is required to access artificial intelligence (AI) text and verbal translation agents. AI agents can help connect people with limited English proficiency (LEP) to translation services and improve access to services for non-English speakers.
Plan: AI for LEP People
Embed multimodal translation services into educational programs to reach and connect isolated LEP persons to social services, telemedicine, and social interaction.
Implementation
Primarily used as an assessment and collaboration tool, the Voiceform and Softbrik platforms will enable people at a meeting to interact in real time via typing or voice-activated translation in their native language. This tool will facilitate and improve dialogue and collaboration between a broad spectrum of people in a community.
Assessment Plan
An assessment tool or survey would be incorporated into each community session to request feedback and suggested improvements from participants. Responsive data would be shared with participants for their further recommendations and assessment of the session process.
voiceform or softbrik as collaboration tools
Implementation Number Two
An interactive communication tool that can be accessed via different methods, including remotely online, via smartphone (QR Code access), and loaner devices (e.g., tablets). The tool would be multilingual for use by persons with limited English proficiency and could be entered via voice or typing. A Google search identified two survey platforms that could satisfy my criteria, with a short description of their key functionality:
“Voiceform: This tool specifically enables participants to answer survey questions using voice messages. It provides real-time transcription of these responses into text and supports surveys in over 50 languages.”
“Softbrik (Surveybrik): This platform allows for the creation of voice-based surveys where participants can record their answers. It features automatic language detection, routing participants to the correct survey based on the language they speak.”
The EdTech tool would be used to communicate with a broad spectrum of community members. The objective or learning outcome would be to survey or engage community members in what services they require or may benefit from. The target audience would include persons who may not have access to the Internet or information and communications technology (ICT), are mobility-challenged (non-ambulatory or reside remotely), have literacy challenges, or have LEP. The EdTech tool would be used to provide a forum for engagement for otherwise disconnected individuals. Even today, a broad digital divide persists, driven by income disparities and geographic infrastructure barriers. In the 2021 Census, it was reported that 13% of rural communities had no access to high-speed Internet (broadband) and that many low-income households relied upon smartphones for their Internet access.
Implementation would require communicating meeting information via various channels, including targeted multilingual email, websites, low-tech fliers, and word-of-mouth. The EdTech tool would enable community members to meaningfully participate in hybrid meetings, either remotely or in person. Remote participants would require either an Internet or mobile connection and some ICT device (computer or smartphone). Persons attending community meetings in person could connect to the EdTech tool via a QR code on their smartphones or be lent an Internet-enabled device (e.g., a tablet) during the meeting and lending ICT devices and instruction on ICT was effective in educating persons unfamiliar with technology. Participants would be tutored on the use of the EdTech and ICT. Thereafter, participants could receive information in real time in their own languages and respond to prompts verbally in those languages, without requiring English literacy.
Immediate feedback from participants would be yielded through the survey tools. A more ambitious goal of this process is to assess and document (record) the participants' expressed needs and objectives. It is hoped that surveying community members themselves and providing opportunities for self-expression and self-advocacy will further the broader goals of community, family, and individual self-efficacy. This EdTech tool would also expose or introduce previously uninitiated persons to ICT and technology, which is a measure of success. Ultimately, however, the success of this approach and the use of EdTech tools may not be accurately assessed except through intangible improvements in the lives of participating individuals.
Implementation Artifact
I opted not to explore a “free trial” of either Voiceform (https://www.voiceform.com/product) or Softbrik (https://softbrik.com/education/) because of automatic subscription charges after 10 days. Based on their descriptions, both platforms would satisfy my functional requirements for enabling participants to collaborate via text or voice input in multiple languages in real time (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gRcXSqdGGs). These survey and communication tools would be integrated into other media, such as embedded presentations (PowerPoint, videos, printed materials, live speakers), depending on the subject matter.