ORED Small GrantEvaluation of Beginner Sign Language Through Virtual Reality
• Pretest-posttest design with ASL 101 students
• VR sessions teach ASL fingerspelling in an
interactive environment
• Zoom sessions with researchers using
personalized VR Google Cardboard headsets
• Measure ASL knowledge/retention and motivation
• Analyze pre-post test differences in the mean
scores of study measures
• We anticipate VR will provide an improved learning environment for the complex characteristics of ASL as a visuo-spatial language
• Motivation for learning will increase due to the novelty of a VR environment and personal use features
• Retention of fingerspelling will increase due to increased motivation
• VR has 3D signs that textbook modalities compress to 2D
PROJECT TIMELINE
• IRB approved – March 30, 2021
• Software developed – August 2021
• ASL 101 student sample – Fall 2021
• Complete data collection – Oct 2021
• Analyses – Nov 2021
• Project completion – Dec 31, 2021
• Final Report submitted before March 2022
Darrin Griffin, PI; Sydney Burkhart, MA student, Univ. of Memphis; Fareed Bordbar, Post-doc Researcher; Elizabeth Tagg, MA student
Figure 1. Software Logo
Figure 2. Google Cardboard Headsets
Figure 3. VR Environment Prototype
• American Sign Language (ASL) is the 3rd most taken foreign language in US universities – there are few resources for learning ASL and fingerspelling
• Meta-analytic research has demonstrated the effectiveness and usefulness of Virtual Reality (VR) for learning achievement, motivation and retention
• The ultimate applied goal of this study is to provide students with Dactylo software (Figure 1 & 3) developed by this team that is compatible with Google Cardboard VR (Figure 2) to aid in educational achievement, motivation, and language fluency development for learning ASL
PURPOSE & OBJECTIVES
RESEARCH DESIGN
ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES