Community Resources

Dear Bus Driver wanting to learn ASL, 

First I would love for you to check out this Tiktok! https://www.tiktok.com/@jasegervase/video/7221310400195759406  

I really love how Jason approaches teaching ASL, I think overall it sets you into the right mindset and makes it easier to remember than learning from an English focused approach. If you want to, he also has a course you can register for: https://www.aslpinnacle.com/about/ but that is the only thing on this list that costs money. If you want to pinch your pennies then you can try the other resources instead. However, I feel like ASL Pinnacle might be worth the fee if you can manage it. It might make it easier over time for you. 

My favorite website of all time is https://www.signschool.com/signin/ 

Because they have a full curriculum that is completely free and actually from Deaf people, so they know what they are talking about 

But unfortunately the curriculum that I love is only accessible online, on a computer. They do have an app: https://www.signschool.com/  But the app only has a list of signs, and is not a curriculum that teaches you lessons. So if you can find a computer it is totally worth it. The good news is that this site is relatively new, only within the last few years and they are working hard on getting it off the ground so it might get better soon. But for now that is what's up for Sign School. 

If you want something that resembles a college curriculum for free there is: https://www.lifeprint.com/  

A college professor put his entire curriculum online and will walk you through several lessons in video format. Very trustworthy site. I like sign school a bit more, but you can't go wrong with life print. 

An app that will definitely be useful on the bus is https://www.spreadthesign.com 

There is an app for this one as well. This one is great in the moment when you need to try to communicate something because it will show individual words and signs for you. So if you need to say "you, in the bus please" you can search for the words, look it up, and then try to communicate word by word in the moment. Now your language won't be perfect, because ASL has its own grammar and a dictionary will never be a replacement for studying a full language like Sign School, but Spread The Sign can save you in a pinch.  

Another app that is great in the moment is https://www.handtalk.me/en/app/

This one is an AI tool, so...it does a job, it's not always a comprehensible job, but it can be better than nothing. I wouldn't expect students to be able to comprehend everything this app does, it's a little odd, but if it's nothing, or this app, I would definitely give it a try. It's kind of like when you take a google translation, plug it into multiple languages and then see what the English is at the end 😅 But again, it's quick, and easy to use, so I would keep it as a tool in your pocket for emergencies. 

Going back to learning one of the most common tools I, and other staff, often will use is google search when we are unsure of a sign. "ASL for __". One rule of thumb, if the person is speaking in the video, don't trust their advice. Hearing people teaching ASL is considered cultural appropriation and the community has asked and begged for them to stop. If someone is speaking they are taking advantage of a minority group for their own profit and don't deserve to be seen. Also if someone is speaking, while teaching ASL, almost always their language skills are terrible and untrustworthy. Some of mine and my peers favorite online dictionaries are https://www.handspeak.com/ , https://www.signingsavvy.com/  , https://www.signasl.org/ 

I hope this helps! Best of luck on your learning journey! 😁