ECE Bilingual Conference Part 2 ASL iBooks

Using Technology for Literacy of ASL & English Bilingual Deaf Children

That's another handful of words!  Basically, if you're teaching your deaf (or hearing) ASL/English bilingual child to read, there are some amazing tools out there to enrich that experience.

At the conference, several different people presented on the topic of technology and ASL ebooks.

VL2 Storybook Apps
Check out their "About" page, too.
Click here to get the book in the App Sto

"VL2" stands for "Visual Language, Visual Learning" a Science of Learning center funded by the National Science Foundation and hosted by Gallaudet University.  The work they are doing is SUPER exciting for parents like me!

Right now, there is only the Baobab book, but two more books are in the works.  Each book, priced at a bargain $6.99, is packed with a rich literary experience for your bilingual child.  As the website says, "Every child loves and deserves a great story."  Each story has a "Watch" "Read" and "Learn" section.  "Watch" to see the story signed in ASL.  "Read" to see the English text (see photo).  Certain words and phrases are highlighted; when clicked, a video of the ASL sign, fingerspelling of the word, then again the sign, pops up on the screen.  Finally, "learn" opens an ASL dictionary.  Again, the signs are coupled with the fingerspelling of the word.  The fingerspelling is strategic as studies have shown what we've known anecdotally: fingerspelling aids in a Deaf child's reading skills.
"Read" view of the storybook.
Adam Stone, and ASL/English Bilingual Kindergarten teacher in Manhattan, shared his favorite iPad apps.  His presentation was one of my favorites.  Not only was the material presented beautifully, but the content he shared got me super excited to get home and use some of the apps with the boys.  Lucky for you, he's made his Keynote public!  You can view it here.

Pointy Three
Zoey Goes
These are all ASL and English storybook apps you can download on your iPad!  I can't wait to get each one of these stories, then blog about each individually.  They look fun!

Suppose you want to produce your OWN ASL ibook. Well, it's super easy with the iBook Author (free) app!  The kids and I tested the app today and loved it.  If you know how to put together a Keynote or Power Point, then you can create your own ASL ibook!  I plan to use this app to create lifebooks for the boys.  Not only will the books contain photos and text about their life, but Ken and I can sign the story to them and even ask friends to add their own thoughts.  What a treasure!

Not until I reached the end of this blog did I follow Adam's link to "FoundInBlank."  Here he provides links to these books, plus more! Thanks, Adam, for making it easy to find all these invaluable resources!

Yesterday, a friend of mine, Sheena McFeely, posted a blog sharing her opinions about eBooks and apps.  Be sure to check out her blog.  She also has an excellent YouTube site showing her bilingual Deaf and hearing girls. 

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 1, 2013 at 10:24 PM

    Hello There
    I too was at this wonderful conference. Great information and research sharing through out the weekend.
    I have been following your blog, and had no idea, you were at the conference as well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rachel BBApril 4, 2013 at 3:19 PM

    Thank you so much for sharing our book, Zoey Goes to the Dog Park! :) Stay tuned for the second book!

    ReplyDelete
  3. mgueyeMay 15, 2013 at 11:49 AM

    Thank you, I wish they were free though. I don't have money to spend on anything other than free apps. But I do think I can ask people for an itunes gift card right?

    Other than that Schoolastic makes a great set of DVD stories with ASL that we just love. Including the popular "Goodnight Moon." Just FYI

    ReplyDelete

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