To See Every Sign

by Kimberly Smith-Whetter, Teacher

In my American Sign Language (ASL) class students are learning to use signs made by moving their hands in combination with their facial expressions to communicate. Having my students participate in group discussions allows me to assess their signing skills, gives me an insight into their thought process and their understanding of the academic content I am teaching. I wanted to ensure that all my students could participate in a class discussions even if they still did not feel comfortable signing. TodaysMeet allowed me to create a hybrid interactive environment where the virtual online environment merged seamlessly with the physical classroom without missing a “sign.”

I opened my ASL discussion by typing a question related to a movie whose central theme is around deaf culture on TodaysMeet. Allowing students to engage in the collaborative discussion using TodaysMeet first, gave all my students an opportunity to participate, process the question and express their opinions and comments in writing before the discussion was open to signing. I monitored and participated in the the live discussion. This was a silent activity in which all of the discussion was done in real time online.

The discussion was then opened for students to communicate their thoughts and opinions directly with their classmates using ASL. I facilitated the classroom discussion and provided students with side-coaching to help them with their sign clarity. As some students signed their comments in ASL, the rest of the students silently leveraged TodaysMeet as a backchannel to capture their thoughts and opinions on the live discussion that was taking place. The classroom sign language interpreter, Ms. Elaine Gannon, voiced the students’ signed interactions, her interpretations provided students with immediate feedback and allowed them to get the real-time opportunity to self correct their sign production after hearing whether the signs were used correctly or incorrectly.

TodaysMeet provided me with the opportunity to read student comments before the discussion and to follow up with students who used ASL to share their thoughts and opinions. I seized the opportunity to model the correct ASL sign production for the students who signed while TodaysMeet enabled English Learner students to practice English and ASL at the same time.

This was my first experience with TodaysMeet, but it will certainly not be my last. This is an easy to use platform that will help me bridge many of the language gaps for my ELD and ED students. Using this online discussion platform allows my students to engage in the discussion at their own pace, provides models for writing and creates a safe environment in which they can engage in a non-verbal discussion with other students. Through TodaysMeet I am able to make strong connections with my hearing students. I am able to see their voice and their personality through their style of writing. This helps to strengthen the connect we have with each other. Incorporating this platform can help make ASL classes inclusive, especially when ASL students are sometimes reluctant about their expressive skills as well as their receptive skills. TodaysMeet gives every student, despite their level of ASL fluency, full access to signed discussions, which is an ideal application for ASL classes.

Two quotes from students
“I think that having this discussion really helped us all to connect more, people who don’t like to sign still had the option to communicate through the technology.” -- Aryanna Peralta

“This helped all of us to connect with you” --Rebecca Brown-Morales