There are many publications that have been produced in the last quarter of a century related to Deaf Culture and American Sign Language. Most of these texts are college-level readings that our students find challenging. The content is often overwhelming and it leaves our students frustrated.
Deaf Is... is a great website that provides simple introductions to aspects of Deaf Culture that you can expand upon in your classroom discussions. This would be a great website to include in a webquest project. It offers instruction on diverse aspects of Deaf Culture and ASL. The material is straightforward and easy to understand. This is an especially great resource for students in your classroom who are second-language learners because it also contains several pictures that correspond with each discussion.
What are other websites that can be used as Online Textbooks in your ASL Classroom?
Friday, April 22, 2011
Receptive Practice
It is often a challenge to help our students gain receptive skills. We want them to see fluent users of the language besides ourselves. For those of us who teach advanced signing classes, this is especially critical to the advancement of their skills. DeafTV is an excellent resource for our more advanced students to submerge themselves in the Deaf Community.
DeafTV has several channels from entertaining stories to academic presentations. All of the vlogs on this site are created by individuals within the community. Students will be able to see how language is produced by actual users of the language rather than by textbook drawings.
You can have your students select a video to watch and them have them analyze it for different language features that you are discussing in class, like: role-shifting, facial expression, and spatial agreement. You could also have students gloss the video and then copy-sign it on their own vlog.
How else might DeafTV or similar resources be used in your ASL Classroom?
DeafTV has several channels from entertaining stories to academic presentations. All of the vlogs on this site are created by individuals within the community. Students will be able to see how language is produced by actual users of the language rather than by textbook drawings.
You can have your students select a video to watch and them have them analyze it for different language features that you are discussing in class, like: role-shifting, facial expression, and spatial agreement. You could also have students gloss the video and then copy-sign it on their own vlog.
How else might DeafTV or similar resources be used in your ASL Classroom?
A Portfolio of Progress
Often in the day to day trenches students find it difficult to see their progression. Vlogs are a great way to help students practice their language skills an it is also a great way for them to see their progress. Vlogs are essentially blogs on video. The 3D nature of ASL necessitates a more functional type of blogging than is typically done in a written format, therefore, vlogs are very conducive to this type of project.
Vlogging is a great way for students to recap what they have learned in class that day. You can give them a prompt, similar to a writing prompt, and they can create a short daily vlog. This isn't something that necessarily has to be graded for skill.
There are programs available where teachers and students can create channels specific to their class. These channels operate like folders on a desktop. In this way, you can keep your class content organized and students can easily find their work.
One recommended site that is teacher-student friendly is School Tube. This is similar to YouTube, but the content is monitored so that you feel safe using it in your classroom.
Do you have other ideas on how vlogging can be used in your classroom?
Vlogging is a great way for students to recap what they have learned in class that day. You can give them a prompt, similar to a writing prompt, and they can create a short daily vlog. This isn't something that necessarily has to be graded for skill.
There are programs available where teachers and students can create channels specific to their class. These channels operate like folders on a desktop. In this way, you can keep your class content organized and students can easily find their work.
One recommended site that is teacher-student friendly is School Tube. This is similar to YouTube, but the content is monitored so that you feel safe using it in your classroom.
Do you have other ideas on how vlogging can be used in your classroom?
Assessing Receptive Skills
A special thanks to my Cooperating Teacher, Michael Barney, for this innovative idea. Receptive assessments can be a challenge because a fair test requires that you sign everything the same every time you sign it. This is difficult when you test your students and you want them to see what you produce more than one time. It is also challenging when you have to do this for several classes. Then, there is always the question of students who are absent and need to make up the test. Making your assessment into a movie solves all of these issues.
I have actually used this in my ASL classes and it makes life so much easier. I use a movie making program and film myself signing all of the assessment 'questions'. I can sign them several times so that I have several versions to choose from when I do my editing. When I edit, I choose the segment that is most clear and understandable. I allow my students to view the question 2x, so I copy the clip twice. When all of my clips are arranged in the sequence I want, I burn the assessment on a disc.
Having the assessment on a disc is wonderful because I then simply play it for the class on my projector and pause between each clip so the students can record their responses on paper. Each time the students see a clip repeated, it is identical to the first time they saw it. In addition, when students need to make up the exam, I can simply let them put the disc into a computer or a DVD player on their own and take the exam independently. I also like to give my students the opportunity to re-take assessments, so having the exact assessment available is very convenient.
As a bonus, this process also reduces cheating in class because I become more available to observe the students during the assessment process.
Here are some links to help you get started:
For Mac Users: imovie
For Windows Users: Premier Reel or Movie Maker
If you have other suggestions on how these technologies can enhance your ASL classroom, feel free to comment.
I have actually used this in my ASL classes and it makes life so much easier. I use a movie making program and film myself signing all of the assessment 'questions'. I can sign them several times so that I have several versions to choose from when I do my editing. When I edit, I choose the segment that is most clear and understandable. I allow my students to view the question 2x, so I copy the clip twice. When all of my clips are arranged in the sequence I want, I burn the assessment on a disc.
Having the assessment on a disc is wonderful because I then simply play it for the class on my projector and pause between each clip so the students can record their responses on paper. Each time the students see a clip repeated, it is identical to the first time they saw it. In addition, when students need to make up the exam, I can simply let them put the disc into a computer or a DVD player on their own and take the exam independently. I also like to give my students the opportunity to re-take assessments, so having the exact assessment available is very convenient.
As a bonus, this process also reduces cheating in class because I become more available to observe the students during the assessment process.
Here are some links to help you get started:
For Mac Users: imovie
For Windows Users: Premier Reel or Movie Maker
If you have other suggestions on how these technologies can enhance your ASL classroom, feel free to comment.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Keeping Parents & Students In the Loop
Twitter is a great way to give parents short updates on what is going on in class each day. This also reminds the students about things they should be reviewing and also informs them about upcoming tests and due dates. This also allows them to communicate back with you in an efficient manner any concerns or questions they may need clarification on. This is one of more than 30 ways that Tom Barrett suggests that Twitter can be used effectively in the classroom.
Do you have more ideas on how Twitter can be used in your ASL Classroom?
Do you have more ideas on how Twitter can be used in your ASL Classroom?
Using Technology for Assessment
VoiceThread is an incredible tool for assessment purposes in the ASL classroom. I learned about this tool as a student in the ACIPP program as we used it to improve our interpreting skills. Students can record themselves on a web cam and it is archived online. The great thing about this tool is that both you as a teacher and other classmates can be given access to this video. With access you can watch the video, pause it and give feedback at specific points. This feedback can be written, voiced, or signed. These avenues for feedback offer great flexibility especially when you want to clarify how something should be signed, or when you are working with novice signers who would be more comfortable giving feedback in their native language.
This is also a great tool for you to post your own videos that students can watch online and leave specific comments or questions at specific locations in the video. This eliminates the need for the student to retain their question or confusion until they have class with you again; they can address it immediately in a relevant manner.
One drawback for this tool is that you must have an account, and that costs some money... although not excessive.
Please mention any other suggestions you have for using this tool in your ASL classroom.
This is also a great tool for you to post your own videos that students can watch online and leave specific comments or questions at specific locations in the video. This eliminates the need for the student to retain their question or confusion until they have class with you again; they can address it immediately in a relevant manner.
One drawback for this tool is that you must have an account, and that costs some money... although not excessive.
Please mention any other suggestions you have for using this tool in your ASL classroom.
Off Site Student Collaboration
I have been introduced to a new website, TinyChat. This is a great tool for taking ASL outside of the classroom and bringing the Deaf Community into the classroom.
TinyChat allows for students to interact with up to 12 people using a web cam device. Introducing students to this technology allows them the ability to have the 3D communication that ASL requires outside of the classroom. Therefore, they are able to do group work, practice, and review material from class off site.
TinyChat would also open more windows of opportunity for the Deaf Community to participate in your ASL classroom. It eliminates the need for a Deaf person to actually make a visit, which means that you could potentially invite Deaf people from all over the country to meet with your class. It also allows that Deaf individual the ability to chat with several students simultaneously if they have access to a web cam, perhaps in a lab environment.
The potential for language development using a technology like TinyChat has great implications. Please comment if you see other ways this technology could be used in the ASL classroom.
TinyChat allows for students to interact with up to 12 people using a web cam device. Introducing students to this technology allows them the ability to have the 3D communication that ASL requires outside of the classroom. Therefore, they are able to do group work, practice, and review material from class off site.
TinyChat would also open more windows of opportunity for the Deaf Community to participate in your ASL classroom. It eliminates the need for a Deaf person to actually make a visit, which means that you could potentially invite Deaf people from all over the country to meet with your class. It also allows that Deaf individual the ability to chat with several students simultaneously if they have access to a web cam, perhaps in a lab environment.
The potential for language development using a technology like TinyChat has great implications. Please comment if you see other ways this technology could be used in the ASL classroom.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
How Does Technology Enhance the ASL Classroom
Let's face it, when American Sign Language is confined to a classroom it is hardly a language at all. It might be more accurate to call it a secret code. If we can help our students bring the classroom into the community, and the community into the classroom, the language becomes a living, breathing thing. After all, to be defined as a language, it requires a community of users (Baker-Shenk, & Cokely, 1980).
So, how do we do this? Technology.
It is often unrealistic to bring actual members of the Deaf community into our classrooms, although when possible this is definitely adventitious. But, we can bring them into our classrooms through video, vlogs, and real time chat interfaces. This allows our students to interact with the Deaf community where language becomes a tool for communication instead of a written log of unused vocabulary words (Lane, Hoffmeister, & Bahan, 1996).
Technology also enhances how we work with our students in the actual classroom (Sheingold, 1991). We can use technology for receptive and expressive testing. Using technology in this manner reduces the amount of error in testing and increases the ability to give accurate feedback. It also gives our students the opportunity to use testing as a learning opportunity.
References:
Baker-Shenk, C. (1980). American sign language: a teacher's resource text on grammar and culture. Washington DC: Gallaudet University Press.
Lane, H, Hoffmeister, R, & Bahan, B. (1996). A journey into the deaf-world. San Diego, CA: Dawn Sign Press.
Sheingold, K. (1991). Restructuring for learning with technology: the potential for synergy. The Phi Delta Kappan, 73(1), Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20404550
So, how do we do this? Technology.
It is often unrealistic to bring actual members of the Deaf community into our classrooms, although when possible this is definitely adventitious. But, we can bring them into our classrooms through video, vlogs, and real time chat interfaces. This allows our students to interact with the Deaf community where language becomes a tool for communication instead of a written log of unused vocabulary words (Lane, Hoffmeister, & Bahan, 1996).
Technology also enhances how we work with our students in the actual classroom (Sheingold, 1991). We can use technology for receptive and expressive testing. Using technology in this manner reduces the amount of error in testing and increases the ability to give accurate feedback. It also gives our students the opportunity to use testing as a learning opportunity.
References:
Baker-Shenk, C. (1980). American sign language: a teacher's resource text on grammar and culture. Washington DC: Gallaudet University Press.
Lane, H, Hoffmeister, R, & Bahan, B. (1996). A journey into the deaf-world. San Diego, CA: Dawn Sign Press.
Sheingold, K. (1991). Restructuring for learning with technology: the potential for synergy. The Phi Delta Kappan, 73(1), Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20404550
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