Sueli Fernandes

Sign Language Writing Acquisition -- Technology for a Writing System

The Deaf use Sign Language for intellectual development, communication and other language dependent tasks, including the learning of the oral language in which they are immersed. However, Deaf children should no longer be expected to access academic learning using the oral language [1][4][6]. Rather they need to have access to a writing system in/for Sign Language. Writing systems (sequence of characters to represent a language) store and retrieve vital information for literature, science, knowledge creation, information dissemination, communication etc. SignWriting is a writing system deemed adequate to the spatial-visual nature of Sign Languages. However, the existing learning methodologies and computational technologies fail to help the Deaf (they lack usability, and/or are one-to-one translation from the oral language etc.). This article proposes a new, more natural approach: that of using screen and stylus, in context. It also presents a framework with which to develop tools for written literacy in Sign Language.

Deaf Culture and Sign Language Writing System -- A Database for a New Approach to Writing System Recognition Technology

The Deaf have been denied their natural language for over a hundred years, with dire consequences for their health, citizenship and culture. Sign Language is the natural language of the Deaf, used for intellectual development and other human traits that are language related. Writing Systems (sequence of characters to represent a language) store and retrieve information for literature, science, knowledge creation, information dissemination, communication over time and space etc. Sign Writing is a writing system deemed adequate to the spatial-visual nature of Sign Languages. However, current computational technologies fail to provide the Deaf with effective tools for their writing needs (they lack usability, and/or are one-to-one translation from the oral language etc.). This article proposes a new, more natural approach: that of using screen and stylus for online handwritten recognition of Sign Writing. This research makes available a database to be used by computer vision/character recognition to inform design of Sign Writing editors.

A framework to support development of Sign Language human-computer interaction: Building tools for effective information access and inclusion of the deaf

Sign Languages are tools the deaf use for their communication, education, information access needs, among others. Information Systems, whose role should be to facilitate those processes, still do not present a natural interaction for the deaf. There are many attempts by Computer Vision researches that are limited in their approach, their object of study, their lack of end use results etc. The challenge is to devise a framework with which to work towards addressing those shortcomings. The present study presents such a framework to support sign language recognition and interaction to serve as “de facto” standard that should be used by Computer Vision in order to claim back the fields noble task of developing effective technological services that take the deafs needs into consideration towards social inclusion.

Evaluation of a computational description model of Libras (Brazilian Sign Language): Bridging the gap towards information access

Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) is a complete linguistic system the deaf use for their communication, education, literacy needs. Information Systems fail to support such endeavors mostly due to limitations and inadequacies in using sign languages, thus precluding the deaf from social inclusion and citizenship. A computational model to describe the sign languages is needed to build effective technological artifacts for the needs of the deaf. This study presents an evaluation of a computational description model in Libras. Thus validated, the model addresses as challenge for the Information Systems community the development of technological tools to bridge the gap towards inclusion and citizenship of the deaf.

Pedagogical Architecture -- Internet Artifacts for Bilingualism of the Deaf (Sign Language/Portuguese)

Deaf children born to non-Deaf parents have little to no exposure to Sign Language acquisition. Sign Language, the natural language of the Deaf, is a complete linguistic system, different from the oral language, and it is necessary for intellectual development. There is a lack of educational tools for/in Sign Language and few researches to inform designers on how to build computational tools to provide the Deaf children and their parents with Literacy: the effective appropriation of knowledge, via bilingualism. Such goal can be achieved by the use of Sign Language as the first language for the Deaf and as a second language for the parents, and by the use of the written modality of the oral language for the Deaf. This paper presents a pedagogical architecture and a computational process that allows for scientific-based design of Artifacts. A case study is presented to discuss the development of a prototype.

Challenges of knowledge management and creation in communities of practice organisations of Deaf and non-Deaf members: requirements for a Web platform

This study analysed the role of knowledge management (KM) tools used to cultivate a community of practice (CP) in its knowledge creation (KC), transfer, learning processes. The goal of such observations was to determine requirements that KM tools should address for the specific CP formed by Deaf and non-Deaf members of the CP. The CP studied is a formal knowledge organisation based on learning and the evaluation of socio-linguistic aspects pertaining to the Brazilian Sign Language (Libras). Non-Deaf and members of the Deaf community cultivated such knowledge organisation through specific collaborative meetings and the use of Internet-based tools for KM. Knowledge was created to validate an intellectual artefact (a computational description model of the phonetic structure of Libras (PSL)) to be used as basis in the development of tools to aid the Deaf community in their learning, communication, informational, educational and other needs necessary for full exercise of citizenship. The Internet-based KM tools were paramount for the cultivating of the CP. Nevertheless, additional requirements for the KM tools emerged, such as: video-conferencing, video manipulation features, better management of asynchronous communication, among others.

A Framework to Inform Design of Learning Objects for Teaching Written Portuguese (2nd Language) to Deaf Children via Sign Language (1st Language)

Bilingualism is the philosophy of choice for deaf education and literacy: deaf children should learn Sign Language for intellectual development, and the written form of the oral language. Unfortunately, educators are still influenced by the clinical view of deafness as a deficiency to be removed, and that view influences their pedagogical praxis that lack proper pedagogical tools. Additionally, there has been a political setback: special schools for the deaf in Brazil are being closed. Mainstream schools are not able to cope with the demands and the deaf are thus further marginalized. This research presents a pedagogical framework that educators have used successfully to prepare classroom-teaching materials. The framework was implemented into a system that guides educators in the design of Learning Objects.

Conceptual meta-environment for Deaf children Literacy challenge: How to design effective Artifacts for bilingualism construction

In Brazil, most Deaf children (approximately 90%) are born into non-Deaf families. These children suffer prejudice in social situations and within their own families. They have few chances to get exposed to Sign Language (SL), the natural language of the Deaf, thus being deprived of adequate language acquisition and age-appropriate intellectual development. Libras, the Brazilian Sign Language is a complete linguistic system to be used by the Deaf as a tool for communication, development, social inclusion, citizenship exercise among others. This paper presents a Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) conceptual meta-environment framework to construct computational Intellectual Artifacts in SL to promote bilingualism (Libras/Portuguese) via Intellectual Interactions (computer-mediated systems based on cognitive theories for mind development). A storytelling environment illustrates its use in order to increase family bonding activities and effective bilingualism for Deaf children and non-Deaf parents.

Políticas de educação bilíngue para surdos: o contexto brasileiro

Este artigo propoe-se a apresentar um panorama das politicas educacionais para surdos, desde a decada de 1990, demarcando as inumeras disputas ideologicas que influenciaram diretamente os campos da politica linguistica e das politicas de educacao inclusiva para esse grupo de estudantes. Assumimos como elemento determinante de analise a gestao publica das linguas adotadas na educacao de surdos para avaliar a efetividade das politicas de educacao inclusiva, considerando que a complexa situacao de bilinguismo dos surdos esta diluida ao, nao menos complexo, processo de inclusao de pessoas com deficiencia na escola comum. Assim, demonstramos que ha um desvio de foco (derivado de um desvio na concepcao de sujeito surdo) no conjunto de textos oficiais que constituem as diretrizes filosoficas e legais para a educacao desses estudantes, cujo impacto central e nao assegurar o direito a lingua de sinais brasileira (Libras) como lingua materna na infância, conforme reivindicam os movimentos surdos e esta assegurado na letra da lei. Aponta-se a politica linguistica como uma variavel determinante no debate da conjuntura nacional da educacao de surdos brasileiros, ainda que nem sempre a ela seja dada centralidade pelo poder publico, na atualidade. Ao analisar a politica linguistica refletida no percurso historico da educacao de surdos, realizamos uma analise critica sobre os avancos e dificuldades no processo de escolarizacao (dito) bilingue de surdos no contexto da educacao (dita) inclusiva.

Comic Books: A Learning Tool for Meaningful Acquisition of Written Sign Language

Deaf people use Sign Language (SL) for intellectual development, communications and other human activities that are mediated by language—such as the expression of complex and abstract thoughts and feelings; and for literature, culture and knowledge. The Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) is a complete linguistic system of visual-spatial manner, which requires an adequate writing system. The specificities of Libras pose a challenge for alphabetisation/literacy in the educational process of the Deaf, which allows for meaning attribution by the Deaf learner only when the SL is the central pedagogical tool. This process vastly differs from the pedagogical strategies used to teach the written form of the oral languages. The alphabetisation relies heavily on the phoneme-grapheme relations—therefore, not accessible to the Deaf learner. SignWriting is a writing system deemed to be adequate represent Libras, and has been used in literacy processes of Deaf learners. This article presents a visual pedagogical tool, a narrative in the genre of a comic book, to be used for meaningful learning and acquisition of SignWriting. The methodological approach of this research involved the creation of a comic book tool to provide the context and communicational situation where the enunciation in Libras occurs, thus presenting an opportunity to introduce SignWriting. The utterances are then presented in the form of writing activities. Results show that the use of the proposed Visual Narrative approach is an adequate educational strategy to inform the design of pedagogical practices for teaching the writing system of SL.