Abstract:

This paper presents interim outcomes of a European Commission funded project which brings together industry, academics and practitioners in an innovative project to create an international forum of learning through a Bachelor Degree in Deaf Studies. SIGNALL II builds on the successes of SIGNALL I (a Leonardo da Vinci project). It is promoted by Interesource Group (Ireland) Limited, partnered with the Centre for Deaf Studies, Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), Irish Deaf Society (Ireland), Finnish Association of the Deaf (Finland), University of Sussex (UK), the Foundation for the Promotion of Entrepreneurship, Lodz, (Poland) and Grant Advisor, Brno (Czech Republic).

The theoretical content for the ‘Perspectives on Deafness’ (POD) course was created by the Centre for Deaf Studies (CDS) at Trinity College Dublin. CDS has actively engaged in the development of digital learning assets to support traditional delivery of programmes. This course forms part of the new Bachelor’s degree in Deaf Studies which is offered at Trinity College Dublin. POD was traditionally delivered within the Irish context. Now, via SIGNALL II, a European perspective is added, allowing for the exploration of shared - and differing - experiences of Deafhood (Ladd 2003) across Europe as well as notions of d/Deafness as a medical, social, cultural, and historical construct. Particular focus is given to the Czech, Finnish, Polish and British perspectives. Human rights issues are also explored in this wide reaching course.

This paper outlines the background to the development of this course, outlining the rationale, content, creation of multi-modal digital assets in nine languages - 4 spoken and 5 signed languages, the nature of international involvement and the challenges to creating a repository of digital courseware that will be accessible and relevant to Deaf and hearing students and employers across the European Union, and beyond. The paper discusses some issues and obstacles encountered while developing these digital components while also illustrating examples of good practice in sign language filming as well as accessibility of materials via the web.

The presentation explores the backdrop of the new Bachelor Degree in Deaf Studies and will demonstrate the methodological pathway to developing digital learning resources in nine languages along with showcasing components of the digital course.

Keywords:

e-learning, deaf studies, signed languages, accessibility.