Updated Version with better usability

I have just published a new version of the Fingerspell Flashcards. This version should be easier to use than the previous version.

Improvements include:

• Controls to display a random word or a word of your choosing have been moved to the top
• New Button to Hide and Show the text as it is spelled out
• Preferences moved to the bottom
• Scaling is now properly supported - if you have an 800x600 screen, just use the Page->Zoom (on ie7) or View->Text Size->Decrease (on Firefox) until the window fits in your screen.

As before, there are direct links to:

• ASL — American Sign Language
  
• DGS — Deutsche Gebärdensprache/German Sign Language
  
• DSGS — Deutschschweizer Gebärdensprache/Swiss German Sign Language

I have tested the new version with Firefox 2.0 on Windows and Mac, Internet Explorer 7, and Safari and it seems to work everywhere. (I don't have access to Internet Explorer 6, so if you have problems, please let me know!

Special Thanks to usability specialist Angie Born of Zeix for her helpful suggestions!

German Version Finished, Browser Testing Completed

The Fingerspell Flashcards (or Fingeralphabet-Lernkarten as they are known in German) is now available in English and German. This includes not just the fingerspelling alphabets, but also the language for the entire website.

You can use the site in English or German. You can Fingerspell using German (DGS), Swiss German (DSGS), or American (ASL) alphabets. The dictionaries are dependent on the alphabet chosen. So Swiss German uses Swiss German first names and place names, ASL users US-American names and place names, etc.

The Flashcards have been tested with Firefox 1.5 and 2.0, Safari and Internet Explorer 6.0 and 7.0, and all seem to work properly. I also tried it out on an iPhone, where it also worked perfectly on the on the first try — and it was really cool to boot! If I get enough feedback saying people want it, I'll do an optimized port.

So here are the direct links to the various versions:

• Fingerspell Flashcards ASL
• Fingeralphabet-Lernkarten DGS
• Fingeralphabet-Lernkarten DSGS

Any problems, just let me know. Otherwise, Have fun!

Special Thanks to Elena, Claus, Noel, Ben, Denis, Bruno and Haydar, all colleagues at namics, for their help in in fine tuning the look and tracking down those last pesky CSS bugs.

FingerSpell Flashcards Now Online

The hard part of learning to fingerspell is not learning the forms, but learning to read and sign them at the speed that a native speaker would actually use.

Fingerspell Flashcards is a new online flash card system to learn and build proficiency in Fingerspelling, both spelling out words and reading words that other people sign to you.

With Fingerspell Flashcards, you can

• Learn fingerspelling.
• Practice in your language.
• Practice with or without displaying the corresponding text
• Learn the signs. You can display the entire alphabet. Position the mouse over a letter and see the corresponding sign. Complex signs, like j and z are displayed with an animation
• Build proficiency - you can see a random word finger spelled. If you understand it, show a new word. If you are not sure, repeat it. If you need confirmation, display the word as text.
• Build speed - chose from Beginner (Each character is displayed 1.5 seconds) to "Deaf" (each letter is displayed about 1/2 second)

Presently the FingerSpell Flashcards support:

• ASL — American Sign Language
• DGS — Deutsche Gebärdensprche/German Sign Language
• DSGS — Deutsch Schweizer Gebärdensprache/Swiss German Sign Language
• LSF — Langue des Signees Française/French Sign Language is in preparation.

Others languages can be supported on request.

You can find out more about it on the website or just try it out.

In any case, have fun!