Hey ASL Teachers,

I just tried a new activity in my beginner ASL class today. I'm pleased with how it went and would like to share with you what I did.  You know the usual thing is to teach students how to spell their names and how to sign "What is your name?" "My name is -----"  and "Nice to Meet you".   Today I gave out an "attendance sheet" and told them they had to write down the names of each student that they met and to be sure they checked they got the spelling right with the other student.  I also taught them the signs for "First name", "Last name" and "preferred name".    This activity went really well - the students were really engaged and focused.  I feel that in the past when the students were not required to write down names, they were more focused on practicing expressive ASL and didn't pay as much attention to receptive ASL.   If you try this activity or have different approaches, let me know!

Hand waves!  Adrian

Great example of using prior knowledge to learn something new!

Check this video out. It's a great example of using prior knowledge to learn something new!

https://gfycat.com/weightyarcticanemone

Does splitting sleep improve long-term memory in chronically sleep deprived adolescents?

This vlog is in ASL. 

Please click on the CC button on bottom right of the video for English Closed Captions .

The Independent: Over-achieving singaporeans second place for most sleep deprived

Article: Does splitting sleep improve long-term memory in chronically sleep deprived adolescents?

Global News: Canada third most sleep-deprived country: study

Brittanica's Definition of Adolescence

Happy Napping!  Adrianzzzzz

Netflix Recommendation: Memory Games

Hi Folks,

Are you excited about learning? I defitenly am! Do I ever have a Netflix recommendation for you:  Memory Games.   The average brain is soooooooo amazing!

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9235070/

Excited Adrian

Creative Commons

Hi Folks,

In case you were wondering if you can use stuff I post on my blog or vlog - please go ahead.   I post this stuff to be shared with the world. Whenever you use my artwork or link to my vlogs - please include this http://adrian4asl.blogspot.com  link so people can have the opportunity to go through stuff I've posted here.

Happy Interneting! Adrian

A Current Trend in Adult Education: Online Learning

Hi Folks,

For my blog post on a current trend in adult education, I am using Faculty Focus website to find articles on online classrooms and online learning.  I am keen to learn more about this topic because I'm doing an online course for the first time and am thinking about the possibility of being an ASL teacher online.

This article "What We Can Learn from Unsuccessful Online Students" caught my eye as if I do become an online teacher - I would at the very least for me to not be the cause of them not succeeding.

My take away from this article is to design the online course in a way that has the students being active learners and remain connected to their instructor & peers throughout the course.  It is the instructor's role to facilitate this experience for the students - not just assign a whole lot of reading and a multiple choice test at end of each chapter.

One thing that may be beyond the instructor's control is a student's technology competency. It's recommended a student assess their suitability for an online course as they would really struggle if they didn't know how to do email, google how to do blogs, and navigate the online course module.

https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/can-learn-unsuccessful-online-students/

In imagining the possibility of being an online ASL teacher - I would not want the students to just watch videos of sign language vocabulary then submit videos of them signing for grading.  I would want to create a community somehow so they can interact with each other in small groups   I need to think how to make  "field trips" possible.

Hand Waves!  Adrian

TRENDING! Why Bill C-81 Matters

The Canadian Deaf community is overjoyed with the milestone of BIll C-81 passing into law on June 24th 2019. Canada now recognizes ASL, LSQ, and Indigenous Sign Languages as the primary languages of Deaf people.

https://www.dailymoth.com/blog/canada-grants-royal-assent-to-bill-c-81-recognizing-asl-lsq-and-isl

To appreciate why this matters so much, one needs to be aware of Language Deprivation Syndrome and its impact on the Deaf community.   Deaf babies that are not given access to a signed language are missing out on a critical time period for language development and eventually become Deaf adults that struggle to communicate beyond concrete concepts.  Deaf babies that are given access to a signed language grow up to be Deaf adults that can communicate complex and abstract concepts.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8yy_K6VtHJw

The Canadian government recognizing signed languages as primary language for Deaf people a huge step in the right direction!  This means greater demand for ASL classes in the foreseeable future.  I hope to be part of the process making those ASL classes readily available and accessible to anybody wanting to learn.  We need more ASL teachers to meet this demand for ASL classes. I’m thinking about what my part could be in creating more ASL teachers..   I’m sure I’ll be writing more about this later.

Have a great long weekend -  Happy Canada Day !  Adrian

P.S For those who are interested in knowing how to sign “trend” in ASL... there’s a few ways to do it!
https://www.handspeak.com/word/search/index.php?id=7078