SignWriting List
February 25, 2002
SIGNBANK 2002 SCHEDULE
1. BETA TESTING April-September, 2002
TESTING IN DEAF EDUCATION
https://www.SignBank.org/about/education
Hodgin Elementary School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the
Osnabruck School for the Deaf in Osnabruck, Germany will beta test
SignBank in classrooms with born-deaf children ages 5-12. Testing
will be on the Macintosh and Windows. It is hoped that the beta test
version will be shipped March 25 to the teachers, so that the
children can play with SignBank from April-September, 2002.
TESTING IN LINGUISTIC RESEARCH
https://www.SignBank.org/about/research
The Forschungszentrum für Gebärdensprache (Center For Sign Language
Research) in Basel and GS-MEDIA in Zurich, Switzerland, both directed
by Dr. Penny Boyes Braem, will test SignBank for use in linguistic
research. The Zurich Group is already using FileMaker for a Swiss
National Science Funds research project developing a multimedia
lexical database for Swiss German Sign Language. It now hopes to
incorporate SignBank into this research.
TESTING IN THE DEAF COMMUNITY
Stuart Thiessen, who is Deaf, will test SignBank with Deaf members of
his Deaf church in Des Moines, Iowa, providing us with "reactions"
from Deaf adults new to SignWriting.
TESTING IN SIGN LANGUAGE DICTIONARY PUBLISHING
Charles Butler and Marianne Stumpf will provide feedback on
publishing dictionaries with SignWriting in SignBank. They are
working on a dictionary between American Sign Language and Brazilian
Sign Language, and until now, had no printing program for the data.
SignBank has the ability to print their multi-lingual dictionary.
TESTING IN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
Dr. Antonio Carlos da Rocha Costa will test SignBank for use with
SWML, the SignWriting Markup Language, which is his development in
Brazil. It is hoped that SignBank can combine with SWML, to make it
possible to convert SignWriter 4.4 dictionaries automatically into
SignBank. Some SignWriter dictionary files already hold 8,000 signs,
so the ability to automatically convert those dictionaries to
SignBank is sorely needed.
TESTING IN TYPOGRAPHY
Unicode developer and typographer Michael Everson in Dublin, Ireland,
will test SignBank for efficacy with a Unicode based typing system,
and/or a series of True Type fonts for typing SignWriting symbols.
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2. IMPROVEMENTS MADE IN PROGRAMMING AND DESIGN
Based on the feedback from beta testing, improvements will be made to
SignBank. Todd Duell, FileMaker programmer, will implement the
changes. The first re-design should be delivered March 18th, 2002.
_______________
3. VIDEO DOCUMENTARY
Video footage will be taken while the deaf children work with
SignBank in Albuquerque, and they will be interviewed in Sign
Language, along with their teachers and parents.
_______________
4. QUICKTIME CD PRESENTATION
A CD-Video Documentary in QuickTime will be made from the video footage.
_______________
5. A DATABASE IN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE
Data will be added, until the database is rich with vocabulary for
deaf children.
_______________
6. SIGNBANK 2002 OFFICIAL RELEASE: September, 2002
The program will include the SignBank American Sign Language
database, plus the QUICKTIME presentation documenting deaf children
using the program, which will also include instruction in American
Sign Language on the CD, plus information about SignWriting,
SignBank, and FileMaker software. The 2002 release will include
samples of signs from 17 other Sign Languages around the world. It
will also give other countries the ability to start their own
databases.
_______________
7. SIGNBANK 2002 PUBLISHED ON THE WEB: Projected Posting: Spring 2003
Working with FileMaker Server software, and MacroMedia's special
software for publishing databases on the web, it is hoped that the
current SignBank Web Site (www.SignBank.org), can become a true web
database that is searchable...
_______________
8. A GIFT TO FILEMAKER USERS
A mini-version of SignBank 2002 will be included as a free program,
on the FileMaker CD, when people purchase FileMaker. Initial approval
of this from FileMaker has already been received. They want the
publicity of providing a "FileMaker based application" like SignBank,
that services Deaf education.
For more information, contact:
Valerie Sutton
https://www.SignBank.org
SignBank 2002
SignWriting Online Dictionary Database
Deaf Action Committee For SignWriting
sponsored by the
Center For Sutton Movement Writing
a nonprofit educational organization
P.O. Box 517, La Jolla, CA., 92038, USA
tel: 858-456-0098...858-456-0020 fax
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