Summary of Work. With this RDE-FRI project, TERC and Vcom3D will use the SigningAvatar accessibility software to develop an interactive 3D dictionary of science terms and definitions to support access to standards-based science content among elementary and middle-grade students who are deaf or hard of hearing and whose first language is sign; evaluate the extent to which use of the dictionary furthers understanding of science content, interest in science, and the ability to study independently; and create a more robust sign/facial expression/body space library for use in developing subsequent volumes of the dictionary or in SigningAvatar-enabling other science materials. At the end of two years, products will include: robust 3D interactive SigningAvatar-enabled dictionary of at least 1,300 key science terms identified from instructional materials used in elementary and middle grade classrooms; report of findings from analysis of qualitative and quantitative student and teacher field-test data about the effectiveness of the dictionary; addition of new vocabulary of technical signs to the Avatar characters' sign/facial expression/body space lexicon in the areas of life, physical, earth and space science, and scientific inquiry. Intellectual Merits. The project represents a third collaboration between TERC and Vcom3D and leverages findings from two existing collaborations. Founded in 1965, TERC is a not-for-profit education research and development organization dedicated to the improvement of science, mathematics, and technology teaching and learning for all students. Vcom3D is a female owned and managed small business, founded in 1997, and the developers of the SigningAvatar accessibility software. In 2001, working together, the partners combined forces for the first time to SigningAvatar-enable the web activities for three of the elementary and middle-grade science curriculum units called EnViSci Network. (Development of the SigningAvatar software, EnViSci Network, and this first collaboration were funded, in part, by NSF.) Findings show all students who completed the signed units had significantly higher post-test scores compared to those on matched pre-tests; post-test scores were also similar to those for hearing students. Realizing the benefits of the Avatar and that cost and time preclude one-by-one signing of even the most widely used instructional materials, the partners explored alternative means for integrating the SigningAvatar software into science materials on a broader scale. What emerged was the need for an interactive 3D dictionary of signed science terms and definitions that could be used as a universal tool for teaching and learning independent of the curriculum in place or materials being used. With funding from NEC Foundation of America, the partners embarked on a second collaboration and developed a 300-term prototype of such a dictionary. The Signing Science Dictionary project, and third collaboration between the partners, builds on their collected knowledge. Broader Impacts. The proposed dictionary is designed to serve the approximately 50,000 students in the target population who require services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and are required by it and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 to have access to the same content as students with disabilities. The dictionary will offer members of this target population greater access to the same opportunities as hearing students for rigorous science study that can potentially lead to careers in STEM and expand over a lifetime. It will also offer teachers a library of recognized signs for studying scientific ideas with students. Unlike existing dictionaries, this first-of-its kind product will allow users to select from a range of characters with different personalities and facial expressions, to alter the speed of signing, and to sign a selected term and its definition in American Sign Language (ASL) or Signed English (SE). Delivered as a single CD-ROM for use with a Windows operating system, this complete assistive tool will require low bandwidth and can be used with and without an Internet connection. Publication by a major publisher will result in dissemination of the dictionary nationally. Terms in the lexicon will be available through Vcom3D to publishers, developers, and educators to sign other dictionaries or science materials.
