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