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Lots of people come here in the hopes of finding someone to practice ASL online with them. Or someone to help them with their ASL.
The idea seems simple enough, but there are some things to make sure of before you attempt a video chat.
1: Do you have all the stuff? Does your computer (or whatever you're using) have a good webcam? If not, you can buy a separate webcam. I got mine at a cheap department store with a computer peripheral section, and it works great. You'll also need to download a program for videochat. Skype, Oovoo, Tinychat, Google Hangouts- Maybe you'll want to download all of them. People have their preferences, and the important thing is that you have the same program as the person you want to chat with. Finally, you need a good internet connection - it has to facilitate all this data streaming back and forth. If you can't get enough data through fast enough, you'll get choppy video, which is a disaster for trying to read someone's signing.
2: Have you actually set everything up and checked it all out? Did you set up an account on the program you're planning to use? Have you looked at the video? (These programs generally let you check what your video looks like. You should use this feature to make sure of a number of things. You want to make sure you're sitting far enough from the camera so that your signs aren't getting cut off. You want to make sure your signs are clearly visible. That means you need enough lighting but not too much glare - you may have to play around with your light sources. And it means you need contrast. You might want to hang a dark sheet over the background if it's distracting (Or a light sheet if you're dark-skinned. Contrast is the goal. Solid colored clothes are helpful, and not in a color that matches your skin.) Flutter your fingers around a little. Did the video catch the detail of your movements? Or did it get blurry? These are things you want to find out *before* starting a real chat.
3: Think about what you're asking and who you're asking it of. If you know the alphabet and 25 signs, well, yes it's true that we all benefit from interacting with native or fluent signers, but it's going to be exhausting for them. When I started out I practiced with someone who was also a beginner. We both knew the other would make mistakes, and not to assume everything they did was correct, but we got practice in the activity of trying to take information in visually, and trying to express thoughts manually. It was lots of fun for both of us. From where I'm at now, though, if I try to sign with someone who's at that level, it can be pretty excruciating. It's not like you're looking down on the person, it's just massively tiring. So. If you're asking someone who is well beyond you to give you some of their time and patience, be super sure of all the stuff in 1 and 2. And be clear about when you'll be ready to do the chat, then be prompt. Basically don't add any extra stresses. It might even be worthwhile to try out the software with another person, even a non-signer, just to make sure everything works right and you know how to work the program.
There's more. I know there's more. They seemed to be on the edge of my brain but for the moment they're gone. If they come back, I'll add to the thread.
The idea seems simple enough, but there are some things to make sure of before you attempt a video chat.
1: Do you have all the stuff? Does your computer (or whatever you're using) have a good webcam? If not, you can buy a separate webcam. I got mine at a cheap department store with a computer peripheral section, and it works great. You'll also need to download a program for videochat. Skype, Oovoo, Tinychat, Google Hangouts- Maybe you'll want to download all of them. People have their preferences, and the important thing is that you have the same program as the person you want to chat with. Finally, you need a good internet connection - it has to facilitate all this data streaming back and forth. If you can't get enough data through fast enough, you'll get choppy video, which is a disaster for trying to read someone's signing.
2: Have you actually set everything up and checked it all out? Did you set up an account on the program you're planning to use? Have you looked at the video? (These programs generally let you check what your video looks like. You should use this feature to make sure of a number of things. You want to make sure you're sitting far enough from the camera so that your signs aren't getting cut off. You want to make sure your signs are clearly visible. That means you need enough lighting but not too much glare - you may have to play around with your light sources. And it means you need contrast. You might want to hang a dark sheet over the background if it's distracting (Or a light sheet if you're dark-skinned. Contrast is the goal. Solid colored clothes are helpful, and not in a color that matches your skin.) Flutter your fingers around a little. Did the video catch the detail of your movements? Or did it get blurry? These are things you want to find out *before* starting a real chat.
3: Think about what you're asking and who you're asking it of. If you know the alphabet and 25 signs, well, yes it's true that we all benefit from interacting with native or fluent signers, but it's going to be exhausting for them. When I started out I practiced with someone who was also a beginner. We both knew the other would make mistakes, and not to assume everything they did was correct, but we got practice in the activity of trying to take information in visually, and trying to express thoughts manually. It was lots of fun for both of us. From where I'm at now, though, if I try to sign with someone who's at that level, it can be pretty excruciating. It's not like you're looking down on the person, it's just massively tiring. So. If you're asking someone who is well beyond you to give you some of their time and patience, be super sure of all the stuff in 1 and 2. And be clear about when you'll be ready to do the chat, then be prompt. Basically don't add any extra stresses. It might even be worthwhile to try out the software with another person, even a non-signer, just to make sure everything works right and you know how to work the program.
There's more. I know there's more. They seemed to be on the edge of my brain but for the moment they're gone. If they come back, I'll add to the thread.