Monday, May 20, 2013

Signing Savvy's First Newsletter! Check it out!

Welcome to the first Signing Savvy newsletter! We're excited to announce new animated lessons featuring sign language.
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Signing Savvy: Your Sign Language Resource

New animated lessons featuring sign language

You're going to love using sign language inside these valuable animated lessons! 

WonderGrove Kids VideoSigning Savvy is proud to announce our collaboration with WonderGrove Kids to bring you animated lessons supported by American Sign Language (ASL). Check out these new, fun, and very effective animated lessons featuring sign language.
We are pleased to offer an exclusive discount on a WonderGrove Kids membership for Signing Savvy users only. Sign up before June 1, 2013 and receive 50% off membership!


Go to the WonderGrove Kids offer page and use the Promo Code SAVVY at the checkout page.
Why WonderGrove Kids? The American education system is focused on children achieving excellence in academics. The WonderGrove philosophy is to focus on critical areas of learning, like: Citizenship, Nutrition, Health, Safety, Fitness, and Home Skills that slip through the cracks. WonderGrove uses engaging animated characters to model appropriate behavior for children. Research shows that it works! You will love the outcome of sharing these lessons with your child.

Now with Signing Savvy, the animated lessons are not only closed captioned, but the key concepts presented throughout the animations are reenforced with sign language videos - making them great for children (and adults) who want to pickup and practice sign language vocabulary.

Here is what parents and teachers are saying about WonderGrove animated lessons with sign language:

"After watching Stay Seated in a Restaurant, my son never tried to leave the table. This was a first! Thanks, WonderGrove!"

"Thanks to WonderGrove, we now sing the 'Click It' song together each time we buckle up. It works great!"

Don't miss out, go to wondergrovekids.com/savvy-offer and use the promo code SAVVY at the checkout page - hurry this limited-time offer ends June 1, 2013!

Updated Member App now available on Apple, Android, and Kindle

If you are already using the Signing Savvy Member App, make sure you're using the most up-to-date version! 

Signing Savvy Mobile AppThe Signing Savvy Member App has been updated and is now available on the the Apple App Store for iOS devices, Google Play for Android devices, and Amazon App Store for Kindle Fire devices. The Signing Savvy Member App is for Signing Savvy full members. It allows full members to search and browse signs and word lists, create word lists, and use digital flash cards.  If you are not yet a full member, you can still use the app to easily check the Sign of the Day on your mobile device.

In the News

Local to World News on Sign Language and Deaf Culture

May 2013
 

Welcome to the Signing Savvy Newsletter!
This is our first edition! Thank you for creating an account and supporting Signing Savvy. Don't worry, we won't email too often and we never share your contact information.

In this Issue:

  • New Partnership with WonderGrove Kids to bring you Animated Lessons with American Sign Language
  • Updated Member App now available on Apple, Android, and Kindle
  • In the News
  • Special Offer
  • Sign Language Fact
  • Deaf Culture Tip

Special Offer:


50% Off!
Membership for WonderGrove Kids new learning animations with Sign Language.

PROMO CODE: SAVVY
Offer expires June 1, 2013

Fact:


Sign Language is the 3rd most studied language in the U.S.

Tip:


Do NOT use the words hearing impaired, disability, or handicapped. 

These terms are offensive to the deaf population and viewed as a very negative way of looking at deafness. Say “deaf or hard of hearing” instead.

There is a difference in the way those that are deaf and hard of hearing communicate, but it is not a handicap or disability.

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About Signing Savvy:
Signing Savvy is the most comprehensive online sign language resource for educators, interpreters, students, or anyone interested in American Sign Language. Signing Savvy includes a sign language dictionary containing several thousand high resolution videos of American Sign Language (ASL) signs, fingerspelled words, and other common signs used within the United States and Canada. It includes the ability to view large sign videos, build your own word lists and share them with others, create virtual flash cards and quizzes, print signs, build sign phrases, and more.
Thank you for your support!
Thank you for being part of the Signing Savvy community of users. We hope that you find great value in the services that Signing Savvy provides. If you are not yet a full member, we encourage you to check out the full member features. In addition to accessing the full member features, membership also helps us continue to add more sign videos, content, and features to the site.  With the support of our members, we aim for Signing Savvy to be the best sign language learning resource.
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Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Sound off: Should Deaf students be forced to mainstream?

What did you think of the latest episode of Switched at Birth?
Is this a sign of things to come?
See previous post of episode synopsis where
 the Carlton students stage an uprising
mirroring Gallaudet's "Deaf President Now" fight...
What is going on in your town, state, or nearest Deaf school?
Do you think this is just a tv show? I THINK NOT!
There are political agendas here, HUGE political agendas!
There are so many valid issues on both sides; as I see it anyway,
because I would love the opportunity to attend and immerse myself
 in Deaf culture, at least for a time.
BUT certainly NOT at the expense of their culture
or of their extracurricular programs.
Share your thoughts please...
Thank you:D

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Switched At Birth' To Do Entire Episode In American Sign Language

How cool is this gonna be? It's about time they did one in all ASL; and I hope the ratings SOAR!
Make your ASL voice be heard... write or blog your cable provider, the Switched at Birth website, the ABC Family website, or the series actors/producers/directors... whatever you can do... do it!
We need more ASL on prime time TV as well as at major concerts/speaking events!
Below is a synopsis of the AWESOME episode and poignant comments by Katie Leclerc, Marlee Matlin, et. al. Plus a challenge to Steven Spielberg (ie. all great producers) to use more Deaf actors!

LOS ANGELES -- "Until hearing people walk a day in our shoes, they will never understand," says a guidance counselor at a high school for deaf students in "Switched at Birth."
Such insights are a staple of the ABC Family drama, a TV rarity that puts deaf characters, played by deaf or hard-of-hearing actors, at the center of the action.
But Monday's episode takes it a bold step further: Save for a few spoken words at the beginning and the end, it is silent. The actors' hands do the talking with American Sign Language, even rapping together in one gleeful sequence.
Subtitles, which are typically sprinkled throughout "Switched at Birth" episodes, keep the viewer clued in. But when a deaf character is confused because she can't hear something vital, the audience is too. It's powerfully disconcerting.
The cast, including Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin as the school counselor, are excited about what they see as a grand experiment and eager for viewer reaction.
"This is an opportunity for the hearing person to watch at home and try to experience it," said Katie Leclerc, who stars as deaf teenager Daphne Vasquez. "It's not exactly the same, but maybe you can try to imagine what your everyday life would be like."
"It's a risk," added Leclerc, who has an inner ear disorder, Meniere's disease, that can cause hearing loss and vertigo.
"A big risk," Matlin said through a sign language-interpreter. "But it's going to be an eye-opener. I'm very proud to be part of this risk-taking, history-making episode."
Matlin knows about making history. She was the first – and remains the only – deaf person to receive an Academy Award acting trophy, honored as best actress for 1986's "Children of a Lesser God."
The "Switched at Birth" episode pivots on another key moment for the deaf community: A 1988 student protest at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., that ended the unbroken succession of hearing presidents at the school for the deaf.
For fictional Carlton High School (inspired by real-life LA school, Marlton), more is at stake: The school faces closure because of funding cuts, which means its students will be "mainstreamed" with hearing teens.
(It mirrors a real-life trend caused by budget constraints, Leclerc said. There's also an increasing number of children being given cochlear implants to counter hearing loss, itself a controversial issue, according to series creator and executive producer Lizzy Weiss.)
The prospect is dreaded by the Carlton students, either because they've felt the sting of being an outsider or because they treasure being part of a deaf-oriented school.
"Deaf people feel that moving into the mainstream chips away at their community, which is about language and culture," said Jack Jason, Matlin's longtime interpreter and the series' on-set arbiter for correct sign-language use.
With Daphne as the driving force and invoking Gallaudet, students mobilize to take over the administration building and demand Carlton's survival. The conflict's ending will wait for the March 11 season finale.
The uprising panics parents and puts relationships at risk, including that of Daphne and Bay Kennish (Vanessa Marano), the switched-at-birth characters of the title who have come together as teenagers from two very different households.
"We started in the pilot with just one scene that was pure ASL," involving Daphne and Emmett (Sean Berdy), said Weiss. As the series developed, she and her writing team began pondering the "what-if" of an all-sign language episode for the second season.
Then ABC Family approached her with the same idea, and the challenge was on to find a logical and engaging way to realize the ASL-only goal and a big enough story to make the most of it.
Last year, a "CSI: NY" episode took a stab at a nearly silent episode, using music by Green Day for most of its storytelling before reverting to dialogue in the final act.
The solution for "Switched at Birth" was to make sure every scene included a deaf character: "The truth is, when you're around people who are deaf, it's considered rude not to sign if you know how," Weiss said.
To avoid overloading viewers with subtitles the story was designed to be highly visual, including scenes of the student protest complete with picket signs and a defiant "Take Back Carlton" banner unfurled from the occupied school building.
Although some moments depict the pitfalls of being a deaf person in a hearing world, Weiss said, that's balanced by positive aspects.
"If you have been anything that's in the minority – gay, Jewish, a woman, anything – you have some piece of your identity that brings with it a lot of baggage and hardship, but also a lot of pride," Weiss said. "That's what we're trying to connect with."
The episode also highlights the beauty of ASL and its "coolness," such as being able to sign across a crowded theater and have an essentially private conversation, she said.
As with a silent movie – last year's Oscar-winning "The Artist" the latest case in point – "Switched at Birth" includes music intended to reflect the characters' internal lives. A viewer could add to the silence by muting it, but Weiss said that misses the point.
The episode "is not about silence, or `absence of' sound. It's about language and culture and seeing the world from the point of view of a deaf person, and our perspective is that deaf people's inner lives are not silent," she said.
Matlin, whose counselor is a recurring character on "Switched at Birth," said the episode is an emotional and professional high point for her, one she would like to see exceeded.
"I never thought in my life I would see this happen. But I want to go further in terms of using deaf actors. ... I want (Steven) Spielberg to say, `Hey, we want to use deaf actors.' Why not? And, hey, let's have the same respect for actors who are deaf as for those who are hearing.
"I don't know if we'll ever get there, but never say never," Matlin said.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

A Must Read: Columbine Student's Father 12 Years Later

COLUMBINE STUDENT'S FATHER 12 YEARS LATER!!

Guess our national leaders didn't expect this. On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful.
They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness. The following is a portion of the transcript:

"Since the dawn of creation there has been both good &evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.
"The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart.
"In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder I would be their strongest opponent
I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy -- it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best. 
 
Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air.
You've stripped away our heritage,
You've outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question "Why?"
You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!

"Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. 
What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. 
Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts. 
 
"As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America , and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. 

To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA -- I give to you a sincere challenge.. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone! 
My daughter's death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!"
- Darrell Scott 

Do what the media did not - - let the nation hear this man's speech. Please share this with your FB friends!
COLUMBINE STUDENT'S FATHER 12 YEARS LATER!!

Guess our national leaders didn't expect this. On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful.
They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness. The following is a portion of the transcript:

"Since the dawn of creation there has been both good &evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.
"The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart.
"In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder I would be their strongest opponent
I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy -- it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air.
You've stripped away our heritage,
You've outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question "Why?"
You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!

"Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact.
What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws.
Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.

"As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America , and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him.

To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA -- I give to you a sincere challenge.. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone!
My daughter's death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!"
- Darrell Scott