Treehouse Video introduces an exciting curriculum package for ASL teachers and interpreter educators. The full product contains a 476-page Instructor’s Manual divided into 2 Volumes, 5 CD-ROMs for laboratory use, an additional CD-ROM for use by the instructor, and 4 videotapes to use in the classroom. The full product is priced at $699.00. Click here for a printable order form. You will be required to sign a license agreement. Click here to download a printable license agreement form to include with your order form. Other licensing terms are available. Please contact Dan Veltri to inquire. Patricia Lessard is available to conduct training on how to use the curriculum. Contact Patricia at plessard57@earthlink.net to inquire.

In addition, a demonstration version of the curriculum on CD is available for $20.00. The Demo CD has enough material for one class session, and also provides a thorough introduction to the full curriculum. You will receive a $20.00 discount if you purchase the full curriculum within one year of purchasing the Demo CD. The Demo CD (as well as the full curriculum) is available in both Windows and Mac versions. Click here for specific system requirements.

Many hearing signers, from beginners to seasoned interpreters, report having a difficult time mastering the use of classifiers, role shift and other native-like discourse features of ASL.

This curriculum package is designed to teach these skills. The approach treats the signing space as a movie set under the direction of the signer, who is able to choose from multiple camera angles to make the "shot."

The curriculum was unveiled at the Conference of Interpreter Trainers meeting in October, 2000 to rave reviews. It uses interactive CD technology to allow students to see multiple views of ASL narratives: normal speed, slow motion, close-up of non-manuals, English printed text and English spoken text.

When using the CDs, the user can choose to change back and forth to any of these formats at any point during a text. The included CDs and videotapes also contain innovative tests to measure student mastery of the concepts in the course. The lessons are cumulative, building on familiar concepts and skills to reduce frustration.

The curriculum package includes a Teacher's Manual that thoroughly explains the scope and sequence of each lesson. The course is divided into five units:

• Unit 1 - Basic Skills
• Unit 2 - Beginning to See It
• Unit 3 - Point of View
• Unit 4 - Perspective
• Unit 5 - Putting It All Together

Whether you are a veteran sign language teacher or a novice, you will gain a solid grasp of the lastest research and theory on teaching classifiers.

The full curriculum consists of the following:

• a 476 page Instructor's Manual divided into two volumes containing:
• Learning Objectives for each chapter
• Background Information on each videotext for the teacher
• Lesson Plans
• Extended Lessons
• Activities and Tests
• Black line masters for student handouts
• English text
• Highlighted scripts for easy classifier detection
• Checklists for student performance, grading and feedback
  
  6 CD-ROMs containing the following:
• Electronic version of the Instructor's Manual, which includes hyperlinks to embedded movie clips and demonstration lessons modeling how to teach the material
• Interactive presentations of each videotext in the course, with entire ASL texts available at normal speed, close-up and slow motion
• Interactive highlighted texts: users can click on highlighted text segments to see those segments in ASL at normal speed, slow motion, or close-up
• Audio versions of the English texts
• Interactive games and tests
  
  4 Videotapes to use in the classroom or when a computer is not available, containing the following:
• ASL texts at normal speed
• ASL texts in close-up format (with Picture-in-Picture insert of full view)
• ASL texts in slow motion
• a separate videotape with test stimulus material

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
You will need the following to view the both the demo and full curriculum CDs:

• PC: Windows 98, 2000, or Me; Mac: OS 8.1 or later
• CD-ROM drive
• QuickTime player - if you don't have it, you can download it free from Apple Computer at http://www.apple.com/quicktime
• Adobe Acrobat Reader - if you don't have it, you can download it free from Adobe at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat
• 14" or larger monitor capable of displaying millions of colors.

Screen settings should be set to 1024 x 768 pixels minimum.
To check your screen settings on a Windows machine:

• Go to the Start button, then go to Settings>Control Panels
• Double-click on Display
• Go to the Settings tab
• Adjust the slider in the Screen Area box until it reads 1024 x 768

To check your settings on a Mac:

• Go to the Apple menu, and select Control Panels>Monitors
• Select 1024 x 768 in the Resolution box

To order the demo version or the full package, click here for the printable order form, and here for the license agreement to include with your order form.