Where creative literature meets digital technology to create immersive learning experiences


Contact motionlightlab@gallaudet.edu if you, your school, or your organization is interested in our training program!

Advance Your Digital Skills:
Create + Develop New Bilingual Storybook Apps

CURIOUS ABOUT APP DEVELOPMENT? INTERESTED IN FILMING, EDITING, DRAWING? ASL STORYTELLING? HAVE A STORY TO TELL?

We offer a training program to teach you the inner workings of app development, using our VL2 Storybook Creator, to make your own bilingual storybook apps! Our training program offers you the opportunity to learn new skills, and if you are an educator, an opportunity to involve students in app development and storytelling.

YOU WILL LEARN:

  • VL2 research foundations on literacy development and language acquisition

  • Research-based design of Storybook Apps: How do the apps support reading development?

  • Story Creation: storyboarding, script development (using Keynote or Google Slides)

  • ASL Literature, Children Literature

  • Production: Filming, Editing, Post-production (Using video cameras, studio lighting, editing software)

  • Animation

  • Art Production (from drawing to scanning, using Photoshop)

  • Xcode & Storybook Creator

  • App Submission

  • Storytime Sessions & Community Engagement

  • Classroom Use / ASL Literacy Activities

Our training program is designed for creatives & educators - storytellers, artists, filmmakers, animators, writers, ASL specialists - who are interested in developing their digital skills. Educators working with Deaf children — looking for more bilingual resources in English & ASL for your classrooms? You’ve come to the right place.

 
 

TRAINING ROADMAP

Click me to preview the online modules

Click me to preview the online modules we offer.

 

want to see what
the 2020 cohort created?

Check out some of their work!

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TRAINING PROGRAM FAQ

1

Are there any requirements for me to join the training?

You must be Deaf or Hard of Hearing. We are especially encouraging digital-savvy people, filmmakers, artists, storytellers, and educators to consider this. If you would like to develop your skills in those areas, consider signing up! Most importantly, we want people with curious minds with a zest for learning new things!

2

What qualifications do I need to have to participate in the training?

None. This is the point of the training - if you have an interest in creating bilingual ASL/English content - this is for you. We hope to teach you the technicalities, so you can take off with your ideas.

3

Who is this training for?

Creatives. Educators. Storytellers. Filmmakers. Animators. Artists. A mix of all the above. Or if you want to be one of the above but need to learn how to, then you've come to the right place. In other words, if you are a recent college (or high school graduate) with digital skills you want to improve to pursue a career in the creative/digital fields - this is a great opportunity for you. This is also geared towards educators/ASL specialists at programs and schools for Deaf children - who want to create ASL bilingual resources for students and support their growth. We are interested in impact. We want to equip you with tools that make your students excited to create with you in the classroom. Please talk to us if you have thoughts, and questions.

4

Will I earn a certification after participating in the training?

Yes! We will be providing all participants with a Certification of completion to show that you have completed our training session and have learned how to use Storybook Creator.

5

Where will the training be?

We are flexible! We can do it in-person or online. We can come to you or you can come to us.

6

How long is the training?

That depends! We do have self-paced online modules. For in-person or video conference training, let’s meet to discuss. Generally, we schedule three days in-person training. Varying details may impact this timeline.

Our program is designed to support and build your capacity, skills, and knowledge to best maximize our resources and tools.

7

Do I need equipment? What is required?

The minimal required equipment to start will be a Mac desktop or Mac laptop that can run Xcode. iPads are optional, but it's nice to have. However, iPads are not mandatory for the training.

8

Do I need to know how to code?

No, you don’t have to be a programmer or developer to be able to participate in this. Our VL2 Storybook Creator platform has coding built-in, and we will show you how to use it. You will see some lines of code, but you don’t have to know how to code to use this program! (Isn’t that super cool?)

9

Can I train others on VL2 Storybook Creator after I receive this training?

Absolutely. We hope you would be able to do your own app development, with your students or your team of choice. We aim to build a network of creatives creating and adding more stories for our Deaf children!

10

Is there a fee to participate?

This depends on whether if we meet online, in-person, and the length and depth of the training requested. Please email us to discuss.

11

Are there a limited number of participants in a session?

We believe training will be more effective with a smaller group of participants. Our maximum number of a group at a time is 20.

12

Will I be able to create a new storybook app?

That is the goal!

13

Why are we doing this?

Deaf children need strong and rich sign language exposure, to build foundations for literacy development. Our goal is to build a large library of bilingual apps, where Deaf children can access and learn, and thrive. We also want to strengthen our Deaf creative ecosystem with more artists, storytellers, filmmakers, digital content creators, and educators. We believe this program will push for quality content, and we know change is possible together. This is a Deaf community effort, collectively. Are you in?