Signing Creatures Workshop

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An innovative union of Cognitive Neuroscience, Robotics, and Avatar scientists are coming together for a NSF "Signing Creatures Workshop" on November 14-15, 2013 at Gallaudet University (Washington, D.C.). The goal of the Workshop is to explore the feasibility of creating Robot and Avatar creatures that can sign and engage in interactive communication with young deaf and hearing children during critical periods of human development. Language acquisition research has established that children must receive early language exposure to achieve language and reading success. Despite research demonstrating the healthy brain benefits afforded to deaf children with early sign language exposure, this is not available to deaf children born to non-signing parents. Signing Robots and Avatar virtual humans can provide sign language to deaf children in communicative toys and games, similar to learning products for hearing children. The Workshop stems from a NSF grant to Cognitive Neuroscientist, Laura-Ann Petitto, PI, (and Science Director and Co-PI of the NSF Science of Learning Center, VL2, at Gallaudet) and Avatar scientist, David Traum, Co-PI, University of Southern California. Joining them is Robotics scientist Paul Oh of Drexel University. Broader Impact: The Workshop brings together deaf and hearing scientists from a broad range of disciplines to address critically important problems for education, learning, and reading in deaf children. The Workshop gives rise to new cross-disciplinary scientific knowledge and exciting explorations into the development of groundbreaking translational learning and reading products for deaf and hearing children. Additional broad applications include language translation, and high school and adult education.