Hello Again, EDTC!

As the Jackson 5 famously said, “A-B-C, easy as 1-2-3,” but learning the sign alphabet, and everything that comes with ASL, hasn’t always been that simple! 

I’m excited to share my progress with you. 

In my last post, I mentioned wanting to brush up on my ABCs after realizing my foundation needed some work. To build confidence and improve my speed, I decided to take a step back and focus on the basics.

Being open about feeling behind was a little bit scary but to my surprise, the support from my peers was amazing. Their kind words and encouragement truly meant a lot to me. This perfectly reflects Wesch’s idea that technology helps us connect with people from all over. Even though I haven’t met many of my classmates in person, I love learning alongside them, celebrating their progress, and cheering them on, just as they have done for me.

Let’s Talk Learning: Without Further Ado…On With The Show This Is It:

The Resource I used this week was Youtube, but more specifically I learned from the channel “Learn How To Sign”. 

YouTube-ITube-WeShouldAllTube: 

Since I already use YouTube all the time, it felt super natural to turn to it for learning ASL. Right away, I loved how easy it was to find exactly what I needed. The channel I used even had a navigation menu built into the video, so I could quickly jump to specific letters I wanted extra practice with. Plus, the video started with helpful tips that set me up for success before I even got into signing. (Just a heads-up: I’m not saying every YouTube video has this feature, but I’ll include a picture to show how this particular resource organizes its navigation menu.)

Why I Loved Learning ASL on YouTube

 It’s Free! – Unlike some learning apps that lock content, YouTube lets you access everything for free (on this channel). No subscriptions, no cost, just ASL lessons that are clear, helpful and useful. 

 Learn at Your Own Pace – I really appreciated that I could skip past letters I already knew and focus on the ones I struggled with. No lesson plans I needed to follow in order or unlock, just me, learning what I needed and/or wanted extra practice with, and nothing extra. 

 Rewind, Replay, and Pause Anytime – Sometimes I needed to see a sign five or six times before it clicked, and YouTube made that easy. I could pause, rewind, or replay sections as often as I needed, this was so helpful for someone who is a visual learner. 

Adjust Video Speed – Slowing the video down helped me catch every little hand movement, while speeding it up was great for review. This was one of the most used features of YouTube for me, I found myself constantly changing the speed of the video throughout my learning. 

Quizzes to Test Knowledge – The channel I used included little quizzes at the end of their videos, which was such a cool feature! It made learning feel interactive and helped me see my progress in real time. Getting quiz answers right (like In any learning experience) was such a confidence boost.

So Many Videos to Choose From – YouTube is packed with ASL content. Whether you want to learn individual words, full conversations, or even ASL storytelling, there’s a video for that. I love that I could pick and choose what to learn based on what I needed or wanted to learn at that moment in time. 

The Only Downside? Ads.

If I had to pick a con, it would be the ads. They’re a bit annoying, but honestly? For a free learning resource this good, I can’t complain too much.

Final Thoughts

I highly recommend YouTube for anyone looking to learn ASL! The flexibility, variety, and ease of access make it an amazing tool, and I can’t wait to keep exploring more ASL content. If you’re looking for a place to start, definitely check out some ASL channels, the one I linked was great, you won’t regret it!