Assistive Technology

I have found many of the assisted technologies very interesting and I had no idea I could use so many things to help me out in the classroom! I decided to talk about the Virtual Sign Language Interpreter. IBM came out with a program that can identify a person's voice or take written words and translate it into American Sign Language (ASL) on a digital screen. The Program is called SiSi (Say it Sign it) and can be a really useful tool in the classroom. I plan on teaching Music in school and I know there are going to be many different situations where I might be involved with a deaf student or deaf parents. I am actually fluent in ASL, but in a classroom setting (especially in younger classrooms) I know that signing while I talked could be very distracting. So while in class and in a lecture type section, I could use this wonderful Signing Avatar to interpret for me. We as teachers could get kids involved in music even if they are hard of hearing. The program is readily available to people and can be ordered online.