Month: May 2022

This week, I focused on progressing in my ASL Stack Skills course by learning the signs for different colors and animals. After four weeks of using the course, I can attest to the fact that the video tutorials that are provided are easy to understand and I have learned a lot of different signs through using the course.

Our task for this week in EDTC300 was to learn about and use a new type of tool or app to document the progress of our learning project. I had been quite organized and efficient last week so I was able to get a head start on making videos of my progress for this week. Once I saw the expectation for this weeks blog post, I realized that this was the one time I should not have been as productive.

I did not want to redo my videos with a new tool, so I kept the videos that I had already created, however, I was still able to practice using a new tool to display my videos in an e-book form with the tool Book Creator.

Book Creator is a very simple tool that can be used to display different topics, subjects, images, and the like, in a digital book form that you as a teacher can share with your students. You could display the book for your whole class using your own computer and a projector, or you could send a link of the book to your students individually. There is a lot of freedom for how to make it work for you as an educator, but there is also some flexibility in being able to allow your students to use it in their own learning or as a presentation tool for a particular subject or assignment.

In trying to identify where this tool would fit on the SAMR model, I feel like it is hard to specifically identify where it would fit as it is a unique tool. I would guess that it would either be substitution or augmentation as it is a basic tool to display information such as PowerPoint or another presentation, but it also able to allow students more room for creativity in how they present or share information.

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When you are adding text or an image, you always start by pressing the yellow plus (+) sign on the top right. You can add a multitude of things or items. However, there is a limit to what options you can use with the free version. There is still a wide variety of items that you can still use.

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To display my ASL: Colors and my ASL: Animals videos, I made individual pages showing each video along with a brief explanation of the signs that I learned.

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Here is a link to my book: ASL: Colors & Animals

I will also include my videos below for easy access, and in case the book option does not open properly for other viewers.

ASL: COLORS!

(I have tried doing a few different steps to try and embed a YouTube short video, but I still have issues with it. If anyone has figured out a solution, please let me know!)

Goal:

My plan for this upcoming week (as long as no big curveballs are thrown at us) is to start learning about the names of family members and practice the signs for different foods.

This is now my third week of learning ASL (American Sign Language), and I am really enjoying it! I focused on practicing the “Universal Gestures” video provided by The ASL App, as well as the “Handshape Exercises.” Below is a video that shows some quick hand warmups that are good at strengthening your hands and helping you practice some of the more commonly used ASL hand signs.

ASL: Hand Warmups

I started getting more invested in learning new ASL signs after starting the Stack Skills ASL course that I had previously purchased. I have only used the first course that came in the package deal and it has a TON of videos! They are easy to listen to, thorough in the explanations provided for each sign, and it also provides some history behind the creation of ASL which is super interesting.

This week, I specifically focused on learning the “Numbers” portion part of the course that looked at teaching the signs for numbers 1 and up to 99.

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It was a bit of a learning curve to remember how to do 20-29 which have a different set of rules compared to 30 and up. However, after taking time to go over the hand signs repeatedly (even when I was in bed trying to fall asleep), I eventually was able to memorize most of them. With more consistent practice, I anticipate being able to recall the number signs faster and more easily.

This video shows the ASL signs for numbers 1 to 30.

ASL: Numbers 1-30

*It is important to note that certain signs can look slightly different depending on if it originated in Europe or in America, as well as if it is a more formal or simplified version of the sign.

Goal:

My goal for this upcoming week is to work more on the alphabet and numbers to try and remember them more easily, and to start to learn the signs for colors and animals.

This past week, I took the opportunity to focus on learning the ASL (American Sign Language) alphabet. I used an app called The ASL App which provides little video tutorials of different ASL signs. They are easy to understand and the setup of the app is aesthetic and simple. I don’t have full access to everything on the app at this time, but depending on my progress using my other resources, I might potentially buy and work on the additional videos through the app.

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I spent my time playing the “Know your ABC’s” video repeatedly while doing the hand signs until I was able to remember each of the letter signs. I also worked on practicing the signs without the video a few times. My goal is to go through each of the alphabet signs enough so that I could do the signs in my sleep.

Here is a video of my progress with doing the alphabet.

Intro to Learning ASL – ABC’s

Goal:

Along with my goal to keep practicing the alphabet, I plan to move on to practicing the signs provided through The ASL App by doing the “Universal Gestures” video. I also plan to do the “Handshape Exercises” video to keep my fingers and hands flexible.

For my EDTC 300 learning project, I am excited to try and take on the task of learning American Sign Language. I have endeavoured to try and learn different languages before, such as French, German, and Norwegian, but I struggled with memorizing all of the different grammar rules as well as with trying to speak with the proper pronunciation. A few months ago, I had come across a big Master class sale that was offering ASL courses at a hugely discounted price. I took the plunge and bought it; however, I have not yet taken the time to start using it. This project is a great opportunity for me to try and learn language in a more hands on (no pun intended) way.

My own previous experience with ASL is quite limited. As a child, I had two books that provided very simple signs for basic words such as “apple” or “boy.” I can only remember a few of the signs now. More recently, I had briefly practiced learning the alphabet, but I need to do it more consistently to remember it. My hope is to learn basic phrases so that I could communicate if I had the opportunity to talk to someone who was deaf or hard of hearing that knows ASL.

My plan for learning ASL is to start with using the resources that I already have in my possession. I am going to first focus on using The ASL App. I do not have the full version of this app, but the lessons it provides for free will be a good start to get into the practice of moving my fingers and learning the basics of ASL. Alongside using The ASL App, I plan to use the courses I received through the Master class that I purchased through Stack Social. It includes 13 different courses that focus on different elements of ASL such as fingerspelling, emotions, animal & number sentences, and everyday phrases. Once I start working on learning ASL through the use of these two resources, I will potentially look into using different types of avenues depending on my progress. My goal is to remain consistent with what I learn so that I can hopefully finally know how to communicate using a different language.