 Communication Access Real-Time Translation, also known as CART, is available to deaf and hard of hearing people who seek an alternative to American Sign Language Interpreting or ASL or Reliance on Assisted Listening Devices. CART is an advanced and accurate translation method that uses a human captioner assisted by computer-based captioning technology to transcribe spoken dialogue word for word into written sentences. CART is widely used in a variety of educational, professional, and personal settings. For example, here at the University of Washington, CART is often used to enhance students' ability to learn in a classroom setting and communicate with instructors, mentors, and peers. CART provides real-time word-for-word translation, transcribing each word as it is being spoken. University of Washington, I was part of the first summer academy here. What CART does is it actually types that exact word and leaves up to you whether you know it or not. Like, you can ask the question, what does that mean, or if you do know what that word means, you're understanding what it's saying. If you have verbatim word by word print right there in front of you, you're able to understand more and, like, have a less chance of misinterpreting what they're saying. CART is noted for its accuracy, speed, and wide variety of practical applications. These qualities enable CART users to follow dialogue more efficiently and precisely. CART has been really helpful, like, for example, in a really long classroom, and it can be really noisy, especially when everyone's just talking on afterwards, so CART has really helped me understand my classmates, what they're talking about, and not better. CART providers are able to customize their services to accommodate each user's needs and preferences. Text font size and text color can be modified to fit each CART user's preference. When working in a live setting, providers will try to position themselves so that they can clearly hear a speaker and simultaneously watch the transcription they are producing in order to correct any mistakes. There are different display options to fit different settings. These include personal computer screens, projection screens, television monitors, and mobile devices. If CART is being used in a group setting, a larger display can be very beneficial. In classroom or workplace situations where a user needs to follow and understand complex vocabulary, CART can be very advantageous. In certain settings, such as math and science classrooms, CART's word-for-word translation is a useful resource. CART can be used in a variety of settings and can be flexible according to each user's needs. CART technology allows it to be used in a mobile setting, such as a tour or site visit. This flexibility enables users to engage in real-life situations in which participation might otherwise be challenging. Upon approval, at the end of a CART session, a written log of the transcription can be sent to you and saved for studying or record-keeping purposes. For ASL users, there are different ways to utilize CART in a classroom setting with other hearing individuals or instructors. If an ASL interpreter is not available using CART, an option is to type replies on a laptop computer for the CART provider or your seatmate to voice. CART can also be used in a teleconference setting, allowing a user to join a conference call using a remote CART provider. In this situation, the CART provider and user both remotely join the conference call, and the user receives a live transcription of the teleconference on their internet-enabled computer. There are other speech-to-text services available. Seaprint is a real-time speech-to-text translation service. It uses a meaning-for-meaning translation system. This allows it to summarize a large amount of information very quickly. TypeWELL works in a similar fashion to Seaprint, providing meaning-for-meaning transcription. Both services can be useful depending on the situation, but do not provide word-for-word transcription as CART does. Automatic Speech Recognition, or ASR, uses an electronic device to capture speech and then internally translate it into text. It promises to become an effective independent translation source, but at the present time variables such as noise, pronunciation, pitch, volume, and accents can disrupt the automatic translation process and make the transcript difficult to read. CART and other similar transcription services provide many benefits, including equal communication access and independence, while fostering full participation in a variety of settings. Students, professionals, and others that are deaf or hard of hearing can benefit from diversity and comprehension offered by real-time transcription services. With CART, I'm able to be active and be engaged fully in whatever the subject is.