Project: John Rennie High School

Listen EVERYWHERE Brings Clear Audio to those with Hearing Loss

Equal access matters, and for those with hearing loss, assistive technology like Listen EVERYWHERE makes the sound accessible to those with hearing loss. Assistive listening systems make school assemblies, theater productions, musical presentations, and community events inclusive.

John Rennie High School (JRHS) is a secondary school located in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada. Opened in 1955, JRHS offers one of the most diverse curriculums available at the secondary level. Boasting widespread access to technology, including a robotics lab where students learn to program robots for competitions. John Rennie High School also has a beautiful theater. During a recent renovation, the audio in the Louise Chalmers Theater was evaluated for an upgrade.

Challenge

The theater at JRHS also needed assistive listening technology to accommodate and include those with hearing loss. The Montreal Oral School for the Deaf (MOSD) Iterant Educational Specialist Tracey Green, and JRHS math teacher Chris Webb both accessibility advocates, started looking for an assistive listening solution for the school’s theater.

Solution

Oreille Bionique recommended Listen EVERYWHERE as a Wi-Fi streaming assistive listening solution. They even provided JRHS with a demo unit to test in the theater before purchasing the system. The experience with the demo system was a success over the 30-day trial period, so the school started the procurement process.

Result

Now, JRHS students and other Louise Chalmers Theatre patrons who would like to use the Listen EVERYWHERE assistive listening system, use their smartphones to download the Listen EVERYWHERE app (available in both the GooglePlay and Apple App Store), select their channel, and tune into the sound in the theater and listen using their own headsets, earbuds, or hearing aids or cochlear implants to stream the audio.

“This means that anyone in the theatre who wishes to use assistive listening can access what is being said on the stage with increased ease, enjoy the sound effects, listen to music being performed or played, as well as participate in a presentation. By having the audio sent directly to the listener we can provide a clear audio feed which overcomes a poor acoustic environment for anyone listening, no matter their needs.” – Tracey Green (MA, LSLS cert. AVed)