SWift - A SignWriting Editor to Bridge between Deaf World and E-learning

Abstract

SWift (SignWriting improved fast transcriber) is an advanced editor for SignWriting (SW). At present, SW is a promising alternative to provide documents in an easyto-grasp written form of (any) Sign Language, the gestural way of communication which is widely adopted by the deaf community. SWift was developed for SW users, either deaf or not, to support collaboration and exchange of ideas. The application allows composing and saving the desired signs using elementary components called glyphs. The procedure that was devised guides and simplifies the editing process. SWift aims at breaking the "electronic" barriers that keep the the deaf community away from ICT in general, and from e-learning in particular. The editor can be contained in a pluggable module; therefore, it can be integrated everywhere the use of SW might is an advisable alternative to written "verbal" language, which often hinders information grasping by deaf users.

(D)�crire les Langues des Signes. Une approche grapholinguistique aux Langues des Signes

“…Ce travail n'a malencontreusement pas eu de suite après la thèse de Fabrizio Borgia (FB), et le logiciel ne dispose pas de l'interface nécessaire à une utilisation effective. FB est aussi l'auteur des autres logiciels pour SW développés en collaboration entre l'Université de Rome 1 Sapienza et le LaCAM : SWift, un éditeur de texte (Borgia, 2010 ;Bianchini et al, 2012b ;Borgia et al, 2012) ; et SignManager, un instrument rudimentaire d'annotation (Bianchini et al, 2012c ;. Tous ces logiciels seront présentés au § VII.B2, § VII.B3 et § VII.B4.…”

Optimizing Online Learning Experiences and Outcomes for Hearing-Impaired Art and Design Students

“…On the other hand, Bianchini et al (2019) developed SWift (SignWriting improved fast transcriber), which is a web-based tool and transcriber that provides documents in a written form of any SignLanguage(SLs) transcription.In Bahrain, Fatima Al-Dhaen developed a program that converts scripts from SMS, E-mail or voice messages to sign language codes (Salman, 2017). Pappas et al (2018) recommended that when designing e-learning systems for hearing-impaired people, it is important to consider the following recommendations and guidelines; replace the audio with visual tools like text, subtitles, pictures, and sign language; develop for hearing-impaired students an effective and comprehensible graphical interface that includes educational activities in a sequential manner; minimize the use of text as individuals who have a speech and hearing impairment exhibit clear limitations in reading comprehension.…”

A Concrete Example of Inclusive Design

“…In this section, we introduce SWift (SignWriting improved fast transcriber) (Bianchini et al, 2012b), an editor conceived by a research team of (both deaf and hearing) linguists, SignWriting users, and computer scientists in the field of HCI. SignWriting editors are seldom designed holding usability as the main focus.…”