Creation of a Bilingual (Sign Language and Spanish) Cultural and Educational Online Platform for deaf children and teenagers

The myriad and variety of resources that we have produced and those that we are designing,  have compelled  us to take our project to new heights through a ground-breaking, inclusive online platform for early childhood and teenage deaf children, their families and teachers, to be accessed both from school and from home.

This bilingual, cultural and educational environment will be a digital cyberspace with a wealth of  materials (in both Spanish and LSA) to learn, play, read and interact.

For Whom?

For Deaf Children and Teenagers that Will:

• Have a platform to find cultural and educational videos in Sign Language and Spanish.

• Starting from early childhood, acquire and expand sign language through encounters with deaf mediators.

• Become literate in Spanish using IC Technology.

For Teachers that Will:

• Have educational resources to use with their deaf students from their first years of life.

• Share and design materials, to be part of the platform’s continuous construction.

For Families that Will:

• Find information that facilitates their deaf children’s upbringing.

• Enjoy a safe and trustful virtual environment for the whole family.

• Have the opportunity to hold their children’s hands throughout their school education.

• Use Sign Language to communicate with their children.

And for Schools and Society that Will:

• Commit to the development of innovative materials for digital linguistic literacy.

• Gain awareness of the right to and value of accessing information through Sign Language.

Target population

It is estimated that in Argentina there are approximately 950,000 people with hearing disabilities, of which 30% are under 18 years of age.

The platform is mainly intended for that 30%, their families and their teachers.

The platform DESIGN contemplates:

• A friendly interface that includes a Kids and Students profile to guarantee fluid navigation.

• The organization of content into categories such as education, entertainment, culture, games, information and encounters for families and training for teachers.

• Filters to search for specific content and navigate according to one’s preferences.

• Feedback for users to review content, ensuring constant improvement, inter-community engagement and user satisfaction.

• Access to content management

• Subscription process

• The possibility of downloading for use in areas with no Internet

The CONTENT of the Platform includes:

• Literature in LSA and Spanish aimed at various age groups

• Classes for teachers on topics related to deaf education: bilingual education, teaching Spanish, specific teaching methods, etc.

• 360 Group Talks  for parents about parenting and development

• Inclusion of materials and best practices in bilingual education in both schools for the deaf and schools with educative inclusion in Argentina

• Inclusion of materials and best practices in bilingual education from other countries

• Bilingual educational videos for different levels of primary and secondary education

• Video material for language immersion in LSA for early childhood and their families

• Textbooks for teaching Spanish as a second language from the LSA

• Tutorials to teach filming and editing (as a way to read and write in LSA) for adults and children