Creating an Interactive Light Studio for the American Sign Language and English Lower School

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melody Baglione ◽  
Nicholas Wong ◽  
Hannah Clevenson ◽  
Bridget O’Meara ◽  
James Baker
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Kindergarten Students ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Science And Art ◽  
Diverse Student ◽  
Diverse Student Population

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art created an Interactive Light Studio for pre-kindergarten students at The American Sign Language and English Lower School (P.S. 347) in New York City. Specific goals included designing a space for science exploration and creating ways for both deaf and hearing students to explore light and sound. Deaf and hearing impaired students, in particular, benefit from the design of a sound-to-light installation that uses microphones to provide visual feedback. Another installation includes a network of circuits, which imitate the interaction of fireflies when placed in various configurations by the children. The Interactive Light Studio promotes science to young children and engages a diverse student population in science and engineering. The project offers undergraduate engineering students an opportunity to improve their technical and professional skills and develop a broader appreciation of the role of engineers in bettering society.

Developing Installations and Activities for an Interactive Light Studio at the American Sign Language and English Lower School

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melody Baglione ◽  
Dale Short ◽  
Caitlin Correll ◽  
David Tan
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Computer Software ◽  
Kindergarten Students ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Educational Mission ◽  
Projection System ◽  
School Year ◽  
Science And Art

Students from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art created new installations and activities for an Interactive Light Studio for pre-kindergarten students at The American Sign Language and English Lower School (P.S. 347) in New York City. The studio creates ways for both deaf and hearing students to explore light and sound while simultaneously promoting science and technology to students at a young age. Improvements to the studio in the 2011–12 school year strove to further the educational mission of the project while introducing new and exciting interactive multimedia installations. A digital projection system was created using easily assessable sensors, electronics, and open-source computer software creating an interactive play and learning environment that encourages self-driven discovery. The project engages young children, including minorities, girls, and disabled children, in active science learning while providing Cooper Union students with an opportunity to work on a real world project in their community.

scholarly journals The unexplored role of handshape similarity in processing numbers on the hands

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-171
Author(s):  
Ilaria Berteletti ◽  
SaraBeth J. Sullivan ◽  
Lucas Lancaster
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Numerical Information ◽  
Finger Counting ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Native Signers ◽  
The Relationship

With two simple experiments we investigate the overlooked influence of handshape similarity for processing numerical information conveyed on the hands. In most finger-counting sequences there is a tight relationship between the number of fingers raised and the numerical value represented. This creates a possible confound where numbers closer to each other are also represented by handshapes that are more similar. By using the American Sign Language (ASL) number signs we are able to dissociate between the two variables orthogonally. First, we test the effect of handshape similarity in a same/different judgment task in a group of hearing non-signers and then test the interference of handshape in a number judgment task in a group of native ASL signers. Our results show an effect of handshape similarity and its interaction with numerical value even in the group of native signers for whom these handshapes are linguistic symbols and not a learning tool for acquiring numerical concepts. Because prior studies have never considered handshape similarity, these results open new directions for understanding the relationship between finger-based counting, internal hand representations and numerical proficiency.

Identity, Ethics, and the Deaf Community

2019 ◽  
pp. 53-71
Author(s):  
Teresa Blankmeyer Burke
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Vantage Point ◽  
Deaf Community ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Philosophical Approach ◽  
Deaf Identity ◽  
Language Representation ◽  
Per Se

From the vantage point of philosophy, this chapter discusses identities using a philosophical stance with specific focus on the ethics dimension of what deaf identity means. The author, a deaf philosopher, explores the American Sign Language representation of the word philosophy and briefly describes the role of philosophy per se in exploring the roles of metaphysics and epistemology. She introduces an analytical philosophical approach to the topic of ethics and deaf identities that involves concept clarification, analysis of brief examples, and posing specific kinds of questions that are typical of this discipline. The chapter ends with a plea for academics and community participants to continue exploring explicit identification of beliefs about the nature and meaning of deaf identity.

Language Contact Considering Signed Language

2020 ◽  
pp. 678-693
Author(s):  
David Quinto-Pozos ◽  
Robert Adam
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
American English ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Signed Language ◽  
The World

Language contact of various kinds is the norm in Deaf communities throughout the world, and this allows for exploration of the role of the different kinds of modality (be it spoken, signed or written, or a combination of these) and the channel of communication in language contact. Drawing its evidence largely from instances of American Sign Language (ASL) this chapter addresses and illustrates several of these themes: sign-speech contact, sign-writing contact, and sign-sign contact, examining instances of borrowing and bilingualism between some of these modalities, and compares these to contact between hearing users of spoken languages, specifically in this case American English.

scholarly journals Adjusting the Margins: Harnessing the Foundations of American Sign Language for VR

Frameless ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-36
Author(s):  
Luane Davis Haggerty ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Performance Support ◽  
Movie Industry ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Verbal Language ◽  
Performance Technique ◽  
Movement Study ◽  
Historical Fact

Del-Sign is a physical approach to acting that uses elements of Francois Delsarte mime techniques with the foundations of American Sign Language. This acting and presentational technique uses cross-cultural physical communication as a way to deepen an actors’ performance, support a presenter’s lecture, or can be used as a format from which to create animations that communicate with or without verbal language. It is a historical fact that Deaf actors using the foundations of Sign Language influenced the movie industry (Higgins). In silent movie infancy Deaf performers were brought in as consultants to ensure that the gestures, relational positions, facial expression, camera angles and body language of the actors could have the strongest impact and the clearest meaning (Albert Ballin). At that time the standard acting technique was a codified movement study begun and refined by Francious Deslarte (1870-1890s Paris, 1880-1915 Steele MacKaye New York). By blending these two structures we find that an outline is gained for creating movement, posture and gesture (MPG) that easily communicates meaning. The applications of this performance technique are many and varied. From the obvious acting for stage application to lawyers, teachers, priests or other presenters. Del-Sign can now bridge into adding technology to the mix allowing for this approach to be used when creating characters and movement for VR, AR or MR.

A formal analysis of phonological contrast and iconicity in sign language handshapes

2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra Eccarius ◽  
Diane Brentari
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Formal Analysis ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Phonological Contrast ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Communication Modalities ◽  
Feature System

This paper discusses the role of iconicity in sign language phonology by utilizing recently developed tools available in the areas of phonological contrast and feature distribution. In particular, we explain the degree to which iconic elements of handshape interact with the feature system of sign language handshapes in different components of the lexicon, by making specific reference to handshape features that specify joint position. We then discuss similarities and differences between signed languages and spoken languages and the implications for a theory of features that might adequately capture phenomena in both communication modalities. Although cross-linguistic data have been collected and analyzed in this regard, we focus on data from American Sign Language in this work.

scholarly journals The Role of Enactment in Learning American Sign Language in Younger and Older Adults

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Alison Fenney ◽  
Timothy D. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
American Sign Language ◽  
Learning And Memory ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Age Cohorts ◽  
Motor Information ◽  
The Mind

“Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand” (Confucius, 450 B.C). Philosophers and scientists alike have pondered the question of the mind-body link for centuries. Recently the role of motor information has been examined more specifically for a role in learning and memory. This paper describes a study using an errorless learning protocol to teach characters to young and older persons in American Sign Language. Participants were assigned to one of two groups: recognition (visually recognizing signs) or enactment (physically creating signs). Number of signs recalled and rate of forgetting were compared between groups and across age cohorts. There were no significant differences, within either the younger or older groups for number of items recalled. There were significant differences between recognition and enactment groups for rate of forgetting, within young and old, suggesting that enactment improves the strength of memory for items learned, regardless of age.

Mainstreamed Deaf/HH Students' Online Learning in K-12

2021 ◽  
pp. 69-89
Author(s):  
Millicent Malinda Musyoka ◽  
Zanthia Yvette Smith
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Deaf Students ◽  
Teaching Online ◽  
The Us ◽  
Changing Roles ◽  
K 12

The population of deaf/hard of hearing students attending mainstream K-12 programs continues to increase in both the US and UK, with almost 85% reported in mainstreams. With COVID-19, schools shut-down, and social distancing efforts, K-12 programs turned to online teaching. Online teaching changes both the role of the teacher and the parents. A case that is unique in the new changing roles of online teaching is that of deaf students. Education of D/HH students involves the use of English and American Sign Language (ASL). Most families with D/HH students do lack ASL competency and cannot communicate with D/HH students. This chapter gives into cognizance language barriers and academic performance when discussing mainstreamed D/HH students' online teaching. The author discusses the challenges and proposes possible solutions to improve online teaching for this population.

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