Hello, Week Seven! I’m back with another update on my ASL learning journey, and this time, I’ve been exploring a new resource: SignSchool. It’s a free app available for download in the App Store, and after spending some time with it, I’m excited to share my thoughts with you. In the video below, you can watch me try out the features, but let’s break it down here with an in-depth review, covering both the highlights and a few drawbacks.

What I Love About SignSchool

                                     User-Friendly Navigation:                                 Right from the start, the layout of the app impressed me. The homepage is organized with easy-to-navigate categories, such as:

– Dictionary

-Sign of the Day

-Topics

-Lessons

-Games

-Settings

                                                 One Sign A Day:                                           For someone like me, who enjoys having a bit of freedom in their learning, I found the “Sign of the Day” feature quite useful. It introduced me to new signs I might not have come across on my own, like “natural.” It’s a great way to expand your vocabulary, especially when you’re unsure where to start next.

Dictionary and Phrases
One of my favorite features is the Dictionary. It doesn’t just teach you individual words, but also useful phrases. For instance, in my video, you’ll see me learning how to sign “signing well but not fluent,” which is way more practical than just learning isolated words. I also really appreciate the ability to slow down the video and replay it as many times as needed. For me, this flexibility is key when learning ASL, as it allows me to take in the information at my own pace.

 Hand Positioning and Demonstrations
Another great touch is how the app demonstrates signs using both the dominant and non-dominant hands. It also shows you the correct starting and ending positions for each sign. This attention to detail helps ensure you’re practicing the signs accurately (which is especially important when learning ASL).

Topics for Themed Learning
The Topics section is very helpful for structured learning. You can pick a category, and the app will show you related signs. For example, since I’m thinking about how this will benefit my future students, I explored the “School” category and learned how to sign “teacher.” It’s a nice way to connect signs to real-life contexts, especially if you’re aiming to use ASL in specific settings, like a classroom.

A Few Drawbacks

                          Challenging Games for Beginners                       While the app does have a Games section, I found the games a bit challenging as someone still in the early stages of learning ASL. The Fingerspelling Game shows you letters of the alphabet, and you spell out words. The problem? The letters flash by quickly, making it tough to keep up if you’re still learning the ABCs.

The second game, a multiple-choice signing game, asks you to watch a sign and then guess its meaning from a set of options. It’s tough when you’re still learning basic vocabulary, and the randomness of the words can make it harder to connect the signs to specific contexts.

 Limited Lessons
Under the Lessons section, there’s only one available course: the ASL ABCs. While learning the alphabet is crucial, I felt a bit limited by this, especially if I were to rely on this app alone to continue my journey. More in-depth lessons would be a great addition to keep learners progressing further into ASL.

Final Thoughts

Overall, SignSchool offers some great features, particularly for beginners who want to learn at their own pace and get a solid introduction to ASL. The dictionary, hand positioning guides, and topic categories are all helpful, but the games and limited lesson options might not be ideal for those looking to deepen their skills. There are other apps out there that offer more features and a more comprehensive learning experience, but since SignSchool is free, I’d definitely recommend giving it a try. Its topic sorting and hand placement guides are useful, and it’s a great tool for supplementing your learning. Check out my YouTube video to see the app in action and decide for yourself if it’s a good fit for your ASL journey.