SBIR-STTR Award

Deaf and hard-of-hearing students may lag behind their hearing peers in English literacy and in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Evaluations in classroom and informal environments have demonstrated the efficacy of the dictionaries in increasing student engagement and mastery of math and science content and vocabulary. This project develops a cloud-based service and corresponding browser plug-in, which allows 7th-12th grade Deaf and hard-of-hearing students to access signed translations of science terms and definitions. The plug-in scans an open web page and highlights terms included in the Signing Life Science Dictionary. The student can then click on a highlighted term to see an animated American Sign Language (ASL) or Signed English (SE) translation of the term and its definition. For Phase I, the web browser plug-in and sign language server include approximately 750 life science terms used in grades 7-12. Future phases will include expanding the dictionary to more than 6,000 terms.

This project develops, deploys, and evaluates Embedded Access to Signing of Science Terms and Definitions (EAS): a client-server software system that delivers American Sign Language (ASL) and Signed English (SE) language support to Deaf and hard-of-hearing (Deaf/HH) students accessing any Web page that includes science, math, or healthcare information. The goal of this project is make scientific and technical Web content accessible to Deaf/HH students and adults in their own first language as well as in English, such that they may understand, perform independent research, and make informed decisions based on information available on any Web site of interest, even though the grade level of the content may exceed their English language skills. The objectives are: (1) to increase the science vocabulary and understanding of Deaf middle and high school students, their educators, and interpreters, (2) to more fully engage the students in science and in STEM and healthcare careers, and (3) to prepare Deaf/HH students and adults to make informed decisions based on scientific understanding. The long-term anticipated outcomes include: (1) improved Deaf/HH student engagement, performance, and career opportunities in STEM subjects, (2) improved teacher and interpreter knowledge of scientific terms and their signs, and (3) enhanced capability of Deaf/HH persons to make informed decisions about healthcare, environment, and daily living. The expected products are (1) a cloud-based, extensible lexicon/repository of at least 6,000 signs and definitions for science, math, and healthcare terms, in English, ASL, and SE; and (2) Web browser extensions and mobile apps that automatically highlight any word in any Web page for which signs and signed definitions are included in the lexicon, which, upon clicking, will render signed animations of the terms and definitions. These products will be commercialized for use by individuals, groups of users, and organizations serving the Deaf/HH population.