Week 3 Reflection (January 25)
This week our class was focused on learning how to screencast and create interactive videos. I found this class to be very interesting and I learned a useful new skill. This is something that I am excited to be able to take into my teaching one day! Below I have attached my very first screencast video. It is a tour of the All-trails website, which is one of my favourites for finding new hikes near me.
Before I dive in to why and how ASL can be used in a classroom setting I decided to try and learn some of the basics for myself. This week I tried to learn the alphabet, numbers 1-10 and colours. I still don’t know all of these things from memory, but I have made lots of progress.
Alphabet
My first step to learning the alphabet was watching and following along with the Know Your ABC’s video on The ASL App. At first I had to play the video in slow motion to practice and get to know the letters, but eventually I was able to follow along at full speed and even remember some of the letters without having to watch the video! Once I had a bit of a grasp on the alphabet I decided I wanted to learn how to sign my name. To do this, I turned to the Marlee Signs App. Using the spelling feature on this app I followed along with a video to learn how to sign my name. Below I have attached a video of myself signing my name!
Numbers
The second thing I wanted to learn were numbers 1-10. To do this, I found a video from the Learn To Sign YouTube channel called Learn How To Sign Numbers. Initially I was only planning on learning to sign numbers 1-10, but I felt like I understood them fairly quickly so I continued up to 20. My biggest challenge in learning the numbers was remembering when you need to face your hand towards you and when you need to face it away from you but after lots of practice I think I have them down.
Colours
To learn some colours in ASL I once again used a video from the Learn To Sign YouTube channel. I found this video especially helpful because after you are showed the sign for a specific colour the spelling of the colour is also shown. This helped me practice my alphabet while learning the colours. I found it interesting that some of the signs for the colours use the first letter of the colour. For example, the sign for the colour blue is made by forming the letter B with your hand and then twisting/shaking your hand from the elbow.
Thanks for reading, come back to follow my progress!
Week 2 Reflection (January 18th)
In the second week of our class I have been working on completing my blog posts while trying to learn more about how to create a website. I have gotten a lot more comfortable and confident, but I still have a lot to learn.
In class this week we discussed digital footprints, intellectual property, and copyright. My biggest takeaway was the many rules of copyright. In high school some of my teachers briefly touched on the rules of copyright, but I never learned about them in depth. I was mainly just aware that I could not take something from the internet and claim it as my own. Now however, I feel like I have a much better grasp on the rules of copyright and know how I can use and post content online. The other important point from this lecture was the reminder about our digital footprints. As aspiring teachers we have to remember to stay mindful of our digital footprint and what we post online.
After only two weeks of class I feel like I have already learned so much, I am excited to see what’s next!
For the first week of my inquiry I have decided to look into some resources that can help me start developing my ASL skills. I am so excited to use all of these new resources to start my learning journey!
Apps
The first place I chose to look for resources was the App Store. After looking into the different apps a little bit I chose to download three that I felt would best help me start learning ASL.
1. Lingavano→ This is an interactive app that is accessible across all of your devices. It aims to teach ASL in small lessons so that you can build your knowledge by learning for just a few minutes at a time. This app is structured similarly to DuoLingo with its small lessons, reviews, and quizzes. So far I have only tried the introduction module, but this app seems like it will be very helpful.
2. The ASL App→ This app was created to teach conversational ASL. It is full of videos that are organized by category so it is super easy to find information on whatever you want to learn. In the app you are able to control the speed of the videos and save signs that you may want to review again. I have just looked through this app a little bit, but I am excited to explore it more, I think using the videos will be super helpful.
3. Marlee Signs→ In this app, deaf actress Marlee Matlin teaches ASL fundamentals. The app has an awesome spelling feature where you can type in a word and it will show you how to spell it in ASL. It also includes a slow motion feature on videos so you can see all of the details. I have tested out the spelling feature of this app and it has worked great.
YouTube Channels
Another great resource for learning ASL is YouTube videos. There are a lot of videos out there that can be used to learn ASL, but I have found a few channels that I think are going to be especially helpful.
1. Learn how to sign → This channel is full of ASL lessons. They have posted videos on ASL basics, number signs, food signs, school signs, and many more. The first video I watched from this channel was the Learning ASL? Learn This FIRST!!! (10 Things You Need to Know About ASL) video.
2. ASL Meredith→ This channel is a great starting resource. It is meant for people who are just starting to learn ASL. The videos feature basic vocabulary, phrases, and grammar. The first video I watched from this channel was the Channel Intro – Welcome to ASL Meredith!
Websites
The last resource I found was the LifePrint website. This website features many lessons for ASL beginners. Most of the lessons are 20-45 minute videos guided by Dr.Bill who is a Professor of ASL and Deaf Studies at California State University. This website also includes many other resources for people who are learning ASL.
Thanks for reading, come back to follow my progress!
Week 1 Reflection (January 11th)
The first week of Technology Innovation has been slightly more overwhelming than I would have expected. This week we explored our class website and got started creating our own websites. I have no previous experience with website creation so this task seemed very daunting at first. However, I was able to follow all of the steps outlined on the course website and successfully created my own personal site!
Now that I have my website set up and understand some of the basics of creating posts I feel much more confident. I am looking forward to exploring more features of website creation and technology in general. I am so excited to continue this course and really explore how technology can be used in the classroom!
Why Did I Choose This Inquiry Topic?
When I first started trying to choose a topic for this inquiry I was feeling fairly uninspired and couldn’t think of any topic that I wanted to commit to. Eventually I turned to the We Are Teachers website in hopes of finding a topic that sparked my interest. After scrolling through a few articles I came across one about using ASL in classrooms. This immediately caught my eye and I began to dig a little deeper into the use of ASL in the elementary classroom. I had finally chosen my inquiry question: How can ASL be taught to elementary students and used in the classroom in a meaningful way?
How will I Explore This Inquiry Topic?
Since I have no previous knowledge of ASL I will be trying to learn simple things such as the alphabet, colours, numbers, and important words. Along with this, I would like to learn how and why ASL is used in classrooms by teachers. I am excited to start exploring my inquiry and learn a skill that I can take into my teaching practice in the future!
Sources:
Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén