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Work in Progress -ASL Aspire, an Online Educational Tool for STEM Vocabulary

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Conference

2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Minneapolis, MN

Publication Date

August 23, 2022

Start Date

June 26, 2022

End Date

June 29, 2022

Conference Session

Student Division Technical 2: Instruction & Learning Delivery

Page Count

10

DOI

10.18260/1-2--40836

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/40836

Download Count

140

Paper Authors

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Mona Jawad

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Mona is a bioengineering student with a computer science minor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is passionate about combining education and accessible technology.

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Aminah Hussain University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

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Ayesha Kazi University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

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Ryan Martin University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

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Reilly Brennan University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

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Abdullah Baali University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

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Khatija Syeda University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

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Shams Alshabani University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

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Ethan Gaughan University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

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Amy Lee University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

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Amy P. Lee is an undergraduate bioengineering student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Sri Medisetti University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

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Parima Michareune

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Luisa-maria Rosu

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Abstract

As modern technology expands STEM fields, new American Sign Language (ASL) words are continually developed by deaf professionals. However, a lack of instructional tools makes it difficult for K-12 educators to disseminate existing ASL STEM vocabulary to young deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students. This is a major roadblock to student performance. K-12 educators are always in search of instructional online tools to supplement their curriculum and help their students utilize the proper STEM ASL vocabulary for conceptual understanding. Using digital games to teach students is an approach that has been successfully used to enhance learning across a variety of subjects. Developed by undergraduate students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, ASL Aspire is a game-based educational platform that teaches STEM terms to DHH students. For a growing number of STEM subjects, students can play minigames that teach them ASL vocabulary that aligns with national standards. These minigames incorporate videos of ASL signs and allow the students to engage with questions alongside their chosen characters. Through both repetition and conceptual learning, students will become more familiar with foundational words and their meanings. The games can either be played at students’ convenience or as part of their coursework. Students can also access a HD video gallery of signs to reference in a “flashcard” format. Teachers have the option to track their student’s progress through the educational dashboard. This allows them to view statistics relevant to student learning, such as commonly missed words between students in the class. In the future, a feedback survey and demo of the application will be sent to educators of the deaf to assess usability, engagement, and future improvements. 5-point Likert Scale questions as well as open-ended responses will be gathered to determine student and teacher satisfaction, quantification of new vocabulary, and effectiveness of the platform. A small beta-testing group of middle school students aged 12-14 will also answer a student version of the survey during a live demonstration. Results will be discussed and used to iterate future versions of the platform.

Jawad, M., & Hussain, A., & Kazi, A., & Martin, R., & Brennan, R., & Baali, A., & Syeda, K., & Alshabani, S., & Gaughan, E., & Lee, A., & Medisetti, S., & Michareune, P., & Rosu, L. (2022, August), Work in Progress -ASL Aspire, an Online Educational Tool for STEM Vocabulary Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--40836

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