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Open Educational Resources (OER) by Subject

ASL OERs

  • ASL 1 ZTC Curriculum (in Canvas Commons)

    11 modules for use in ASL 1 courses, covering orientation, fingerspelling, resources, numbers, wh-word questions, identifying people, commands, Deaf culture, information about yourself, family members, hobbies, yes/no questions, experience with languages, location commands, basic directions, living situations, residences, spatial agreement, expressing needs, telling how long, activities, and chores. Developed by San Diego City College (led by Melanie Nakaji), this collection of modules is a part of their ZTC Pathways Acceleration Grant project.

    Comments: Requires access to the Canvas platform.

  • American Sign Language Video-Based Curriculum Collection

    Collection of video-based exercises using H5P in Adapt developed by San Diego City College (led by Melanie Nakaji). This collection is a part of their ZTC Pathways project focusing on ASL, with a pilot version of their ASL 1 course currently available in Canvas Commons (use search term “ASL 1 ZTC Curriculum”).

    Comments: Shared via LibreTexts; viewing is open to anyone, and exercises may be embedded using embed codes.

  • Lifeprint.com: “ASL University” (Dr. William G. Vicars) (All rights reserved, free access to all materials)

    Lessons 1 through 15 are listed as appropriate for ASL 1; includes curricular resources such as PowerPoints, practice cards for students, and quizzes; video materials include both recorded lectures and practice sheets with links to video demonstration of phrases; website also contains a comprehensive dictionary of signs and a library of articles on topics covering grammar, Deaf culture, Deaf history, and other topics related to the Deaf community.
    Comments: May contain some regional variation; instructors should review before using; video quality varies, some material relies on photographical depiction instead of video. 

  • ASL THAT on YouTube (Joseph Wheeler) (All rights reserved, free videos)

    Contains ASL vocabulary and grammar lessons covering common ASL 1, 2, 3, and 4 topics.
    Comments: Basic skills mostly captioned or subtitled. Advanced skills may not be captioned. May contain some regional variation; instructors should review before using. Wheeler also curated many other videos via playlists.

  • RMDSCO on YouTube (Jeni Jackerson and team) (All rights reserved, free videos)

    Their ASL Storytelling playlist contains over 80 stories translated into ASL; with the Toddler Program listing 49 stories. Many stories contain use of classifiers, role shift, temporal aspect, and other ASL storytelling conventions.
    Comment: Ideal for practicing comprehension of ASL skills in ASL courses, studying translation choices in interpreting courses, or for deaf educators focusing on literacy instruction. 

  • American Sign Language. Wikpedia. (CC-BY-SA 4.0)

    Article highlighting the history and development of ASL.
    Comment: Ideal for use as supplemental reading in ASL 1 or as a refresher in ASL 2.

  • Black American Sign Language. Wikpedia. (CC-BY-SA 4.0)

    Article highlighting the history and development of Black ASL.
    Comment: Ideal for use as supplemental reading in ASL 1 or as a refresher in ASL 2.

  • Signing Black in America documentary (The Language & Life Project at NC State University) (All rights reserved, free access)

    The description for this documentary on YouTube reads as follows: “Just like spoken languages, sign languages have dialects. Black ASL is the unique dialect of American Sign Language (ASL) that developed within historically segregated African American Deaf communities. Largely unknown to outsiders, Black ASL has become a symbol of solidarity and a vital part of identity within the Black Deaf community.”

  • Garrett Bose on YouTube (Garrett Bose) (All rights reserved, free videos)

    Contains ASL vocabulary and grammar lessons covering common ASL 1 and ASL 2 topics.
    Comments: Videos are subtitled. May contain some regional variation; instructors should review before using.

  • One Fact ASL on YouTube (Tammy Carpenter) (All rights reserved, free videos)

    Contains ASL vocabulary and grammar lessons covering common ASL 1 and ASL 2 topics.
    Comments: Explanatory videos are subtitled. Demonstrative videos contain information separate from visual contents. May contain some regional variation; instructors should review before using.

  • Lifeprint.com: “ASL University” (Dr. William G. Vicars) (All rights reserved, free access to all materials)

    Lessons 31 through 45 are listed as appropriate for ASL 3; includes curricular resources such as PowerPoints, practice cards for students, and quizzes; video materials include both recorded lectures and practice sheets with links to video demonstration of phrases; website also contains a comprehensive dictionary of signs and a library of articles on topics covering grammar, Deaf culture, Deaf history, and other topics related to the Deaf community.
    Comments: May contain some regional variation; instructors should review before using; video quality varies, some material relies on photographical depiction instead of video.

  • RMDSCO on YouTube (Jeni Jackerson and team) (All rights reserved, free videos)

    Their ASL Storytelling playlist contains over 80 stories translated into ASL; with the Toddler Program listing 49 stories. Many stories contain use of classifiers, role shift, temporal aspect, and other ASL storytelling conventions.
    Comment: Ideal for practicing comprehension of ASL skills in ASL courses, studying translation choices in interpreting courses, or for deaf educators focusing on literacy instruction. 

  • ASL THAT on YouTube (Joseph Wheeler) (All rights reserved, free videos)

    Contains ASL vocabulary and grammar lessons covering common ASL 1, 2, 3, and 4 topics.
    Comments: Basic skills mostly captioned or subtitled. Advanced skills may not be captioned. May contain some regional variation; instructors should review before using. Wheeler also curated many other videos via playlists.

ASL Resources

  • ASL-LEX database and visualization (CC BY-NC 4.0)
    Database of 2,723 signs that are categorized by similar parameters (phonological components). Available as a searchable web interface and as raw data in spreadsheet form.
    Comment: May be suitable for lessons covering ASL parameters or linguistics.
  • ASL Signbank (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
    ASL Signbank is a collection of ASL signs linked with ID glosses. It is meant to be used by fluent ASL signers as an annotation tool for ASL videos with ELAN and the ASL SLAASh conventions. Reference: Julie A. Hochgesang, Onno Crasborn, and Diane Lillo-Martin. (2017-2023) ASL Signbank. New Haven, CT: Haskins Lab, Yale University. https://aslsignbank.haskins.yale.edu/
    Comment: May be used for reference and analysis of ASL signs.
  • American Sign Language grammar Wikpedia. (CC-BY-SA 4.0)
    Article covering various grammatical aspects of ASL.
    Comment: Ideal as starting points for readings and lectures focusing on grammatical lessons in ASL 1, ASL 2, ASL 3, and ASL 4.
  • American Sign Language Dictionary by SignASL.org (Free access to site)
    Aggregator containing over 40,000 videos depicting variations in signs from more than 16 sources.
    Comment: Ideal for exploring and analyzing sign variations when studying vocabulary, grammar, or linguistics. Useful with all levels of ASL.
  • Handspeak (Copyright by Jolanta Lapiak, limited resources for personal, non-commerical purposes; links may be shared)
    Subscription-based website with some pricing models; free resources include a dictionary with video entries and some articles.
    Comment: Dictionary signs may be useful for students in ASL 1 and ASL 2.