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.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
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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