Sign School
Concept for an educational tool that uses face and hand tracking to assist in learning American Sign Language. My goal for this application was to combine (seemingly abandoned) ASL tracking technology with an accessible format condusive to learning.
American Sign Language is an important form of communication for those who are hearing impaired and unfortunately only .1% of the US population is fluent. Resources for learning ASL are limited and often unreliable if not taught by a professional. My first question before starting this project was “How can I make learning ASL accessible?”
-
Hand Tracking
Obviously, an important part of sign language is gestures. Whether it be finger spelling or full sentences, getting the gesture down correctly is crucial to proper communication. By tracking hand movements, users can practice with precision.
-
Facial Tracking
Did you know that an important part of accurate signing is facial expressions? The wrong expressions can drastically change what you mean. Tracking facial movements helps users know if what they're saying is coming across properly.
-
Practice
At SignSchool, we believe that practice makes perfect. So in addition to our lesson plan, users will also be able to practice alongside experts in Sign language as well as fellow users in virtual classes.
Quotes from User Testing
"Sometimes with language you don't necessarily know where to start, you just kind of want to start. So as much as you can100% go find what you're looking for in this app, it also gives you a place to start. It gives you a path to take."
— Maia (Student, 20)
“The hand tracking would solve all the shortcomings on online asl dictionaries and the facial tracking would be a quintessential part of learning the languages sentence structure/grammar and intonations.”
— Callie (Student, 21)
"[When learning ASL] there was no help from the internet. We would do the work in class, but we were warned that online ASL dictionaries and other resources are not comprehensive enough and can be counter productive”
— DREW (Student, 21)
