Final Product

I created a video of Emma using sign language as my final product. I took small videos of various signs and used Windows Movie Maker to bring them all together into a video that tries to reflect a typical day of signing with Emma. I incorporated pictures of how to make the ASL signs so that you could see the actual way to form the sign.  Initially children do not have the dexterity to make the signs correctly. As you will see some of Emma's signs are not exact replicas of the actual sign; however, they are close approximations that are easily understood by her accompanying verbal word or the context.  Though this is a fun way to see baby signing in action I decided that it needed something more to make it complete. I created a slide show in Google Docs Presentation.  Most of the information about baby signing I have posted in my blog.  However, to make this an independent slide show, that could be used to share the information through programming or outside the context of the blog, I took the major points of my inquiry to make the presentation.  My inquiry focused on benefits and teaching methods of baby signing.  I listed these and also incorporated videos as examples of the three baby signing programs I studied. If I was actually giving this presentation I would provide more information as I explained each slide. I did not narrate it as the participates and instructor of this class already have this information through the blog. The video of Emma is the final slide and lets you see what she has learned in a short time.


You will see that some of Emma's signs are similar. Her sign for "eat" and "water" look almost identical. However, when she wants water she also says, "wawa" so it is very clear whether she wants a drink or to eat. There is also some footage of her making animal sounds. These are animals that I sign to her but are difficult to make, I included this so that you could see how she has learned to communicate even though she cannot yet make the sign.  You will also see that some of the signs are approximations as she cannot yet form the sign correctly.  Please pardon my amateur cinematography. It is quite difficult to have the camera ready when the active, independent toddler decides to make the signs!


Brown, Bryan and Brown write that "...technology supports powerful literacy instruction and offers multiple opportunities to collaborate with more knowledgeable learners." By creating my presentation in Google Docs I have the chance to work with others on the project later. It also allowed me to use graphics, pictures, text or videos to create an engaging multimedia presentation.  As I embedded videos from YouTube I realized how many video resources there are about babies signing. I have never explored YouTube as a source for this information. So even as I am concluding this information inquiry I am returning to the "wondering," "webbing," and "wiggling" phases (Lamb). I have answered some questions but still have additional resources and questions to explore in the future as this cyclical process continues.


View my presentation below: It will advance to the next slide every 5 seconds. Click the box next to the "Slide1/10" to view a larger version that will allow you to view the included videos.