Webinar: "Idioms, puns, and interesting signs"
PowerPoints: idioms-webinar.ppt
Video recording: (beta) Pre-workshop rehearsal video: https://youtu.be/BbfY0WdPpJU
Notes: Here at the Lifeprint Studio, Chey (Cheyenne Davis an ASLU Intern) and I did a Pre-Workshop rehearsal. It was a good way to see which slides needed fixing and to measure the length of time needed to present the material. Rather than throw the video away I decided to post it to Youtube for those who might find it of interest. Chey is an Interpreter Preparation Program (full time) student (in addition to holding down a time consuming job). In our "studio audience" was another intern: Lynneah (who appears in several other recently posted videos). I'm grateful to Chey for making the time to help out since this session helped the "live" session go more smoothly the next day.
Updated: The official workshop video has been posted to: https://youtu.be/CL7BrCY4vJ8
Worldwide invitation: All students, teachers, interpreters, and others interested in ASL welcome!
Webinar: "ASL Idioms, Puns, and Interesting Signs" with Dr. Bill
Prelude: "English Idioms to ASL" with Sean Benson, MA, CDI
Event: University of Northern Iowa: American Sign Language Seminar Series (2023)
Date: Monday, November 13, 2023
Time:
PST: 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
MST: 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.
CST: 7:30 - 8:30 p.m.
EST: 8:30 - 9:30 p.m.
Registration Link: https://csus.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_YLov6Y2vRQalBmsEpto2aw
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Main Presenter: William G. Vicars, EdD
Co-presenter: Sean Benson, MS, CDI
Q&A Moderator: Bee Vicars, MFA
Event Sponsor: University of Northern Iowa
Zoom hosting: Sacramento State University
Event Sponsor / Coordinator: Katie O'Brien, M.Ed., ASLTA-Master
Format: Presented in ASL
(with English interpretation provided)
Cost: Free!
(Donations welcome at https://Lifeprint.com/donate )
Presenter Bio:
William G. Vicars, Ed.D., is a former full-time, tenured, full-professor, and researcher at a Sacramento State University where he served as coordinator of the American Sign Language and Deaf Studies bachelor degree program. He is Deaf. He holds an earned doctorate in Deaf Studies / Deaf Education from Lamar University in Texas, and has over 30 years of experience instructing and providing workshops in a wide variety of settings including internationally (Singapore, Guyana, etc.). He is the director of Lifeprint.com -- one of the world's most popular web destinations for learning about sign language and Deaf people. Through his YouTube channel at https://YouTube.com/@sign-language he shares ASL instruction with over 400,000 subscribers. He is married to Deaf culture pundit Bee Vicars, MFA.
Description of the Webinar:
Dive into the fascinating realm of ASL idioms, puns, and intriguing signs with Dr. Bill of ASL University. This interactive session will explore the rich depth of American Sign Language by shedding light on numerous idiomatic expressions that don't always have a direct translation in English. Discover the humor and wit embedded in ASL puns and delve into some of the most captivating signs that are bound to enhance your signing repertoire. Whether you're a novice looking to expand your knowledge or an experienced signer aiming to refine your skills, this webinar will amuse you. Don't miss out on this opportunity to have Dr. Bill deepen your appreciation for the language as he guides attendees on a memorable journey through the nuances and charm of ASL.
(About 45 minutes)Co-presenter Bio:
Sean Benson, MA, is an educator, videographer, and Certified Deaf Interpreter. As a full-time Lecturer at Texas Tech University, he brings a wealth of experience from teaching at Sacramento State University, University of Nevada-Reno, and the University of Utah. Sean holds a Master's in Criminal Justice and a Bachelor's in Film Studies. His dedication to the Deaf Community also includes twelve years working in the Video Relay Service (VRS) industry which connects Deaf/hard of hearing individuals and hearing people through interpreters. During that time, he produced videos in ASL, collaborating closely with numerous Deaf leaders and influencers to increase awareness of approaches to strengthening communication between the Deaf and hearing communities.
Description of the prelude:
Join Sean Benson, MA, for a brief but enlightening session in which he will help demystify the often challenging process of translating English idiomatic expressions into ASL. Drawing from his extensive background in ASL education, filmmaking, and as a CDI -- Sean will help you peer through his lens and gain a deeper understanding of how to bridge the gap using several key examples of these two distinct languages.
(About 10 minutes)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Attendee Information:
1) Attendees are not seen or heard in a Zoom Webinar. When you attend a Webinar, you should be able to see the presenters and (if you are Hearing) hear the interpreters. You will not be able to see or hear other attendees and they will not be able to see or hear you. The Webinar hosts will see your name on the attendee list and you will be able to post questions. If you cannot hear the interpretation, check to make sure that your speakers are not muted and that the volume is set high.
2) For this webinar you will probably enjoy it best by watching it in the "Speaker View." The View Setting can be changed in the upper right corner of your screen. You can toggle back and forth between Gallery View and Speaker View.
3) Use the Q&A Feature – Zoom Webinars offer a Question & Answer feature (found on the toolbar at the bottom of the window). Please use this feature to ask a question of the presenters. Questions may be shared with the group or hidden.
Sponsor info:
Katie O'Brien (she/her)
Instructor, American Sign Language, ASLTA-Master
Communication Sciences and Disorders Department
University of Northern Iowa
319-272-7708 (voice/text)
227 Communication Arts Center / Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0356
This press release is available (until the date of the workshop) at: https://Lifeprint.com/webinar
Questions, further information, or sponsorship queries, email: BillVicars@aol.com
Registration Link: https://csus.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_YLov6Y2vRQalBmsEpto2aw
Q & A:
Question: Will the webinar be recorded?
Answer:The "record to the cloud" box has been checked in the Zoom configuration settings. After which the plan is to post the recording and put a link to it from: http://Lifeprint.com/webinar.The official workshop video has been posted to: https://youtu.be/CL7BrCY4vJ8
Question: Are CEUs available for this webinar?
Answer: UPDATE: CEUs did not work out for this particular workshop. For a deep dive as to why, see: Lifeprint.com/ceus/2023-11-13/
We are working on some possible CEU options.
RID members interested in certification maintenance units can/should check with their local RID organization regarding filling out a PINRA (Participant Initiated Non-RID Activity) application to possibly receive CEUs (or more specifically ".1" (a tenth of a CEU for an hour-long workshop).
Additionally, we have submitted appropriate paperwork to Sacramento State University's College of Continuing Education which might result in approval for CEU's being offered. If and when such approval is granted we will update this page.
Also, there is a chance that ASL University (ASLU) of Lifeprint.com will offer community education based CEU's for a reasonable processing fee that can be used to document participation.
So the official answer is "Not yet, we are working on it, so maybe."
When CEUs are available, we will provide a link and do our best to email the participants.
Updates regarding CEU's will be posted to https://Lifeprint.com/ceus/
As of early January none of the CEU sources came through. (No CEU's so far, sorry).
Question: Where can I view the recording of the webinar?
Answer: https://youtu.be/CL7BrCY4vJ8
Question: Will captions be provided?
Answer: The webinar has been configured to show captions in English.
Correspondence:
Dr. Vicars:
I attended your live webinar "ASL Idioms, Puns and other Interesting Signs" at 6:30pm (Mountain time) and stayed for the entire webinar. CEU's were stated to being offered; however, they have not shown up on my RID (REgistry of Interpreter for the Deaf) transcript as of today's date.
Please look into this matter as soon as possible, as I would appreciate the access to the CEU information on my RID Transcript. It is needed for proof with my personnel file as soon as I can have that information available.
Thank you so much for your attention into this matter and request. I do appreciate any and all assistance that you can provide in response to this email.
Respectfully,
[Name on file]
Response:
Hello [Name on file]
Regarding the sentence in your email: "CEU's were stated to being offered."
I would humbly like to mention that at no point were CEU's ever stated to be offered. At least it was never stated by me.
Rather, you can see exactly what was stated in the Question and Answer section of the event information which, at the time and for the time being was located at:
https://lifeprint.com/webinar/
For your convenience I'll paste the relevant section below in which you can see that we stated we were working on some possible options and the official answer was: "Not yet, we are working on it, so maybe."
At the end of the webinar the PowerPoint displayed stated:
"If you'd like info about how to apply for possible CEU's scan and answer the ?s"
I'd like to point out that a key term in that PowerPoint is "possible."
The local RID chapter did not reply to two separate emails I sent -- one of which was to the person listed as the workshop coordinator. (If they did respond, it didn't get through. I checked my spam folder though.) While I did reach out (twice) unfortunately the local chapter (of RID) is or at least was in a state of disorganization and a process of reorganization (during the time preceding this workshop. Literally, a significant number of the board resigned in 2023 and had not been replaced. So there will not be RID CEUs involved with this workshop.
At least one participant checked with their local RID organization and filled out a PINRA (Participant Initiated Non-RID Activity) form to receive CEUs (or more specifically ".1" (a tenth of a CEU for an hour-long workshop). Whether that is an option for you is up to your local RID organization.
I submitted paperwork to Sacramento State University's College of Continuing Education which may or may not still result in approval for CEU's being offered. If such approval is granted I will update the webinar information page and make an effort to email the people who filed out the form indicating their interest in CEUs to let them know of Sac State CEU options.
The reason why CEU's are / were an afterthought on this particular event is because the webinar was originally just me doing a nice thing for an ASL teacher who asked me if I'd "visit" her ASL class. I said sure, and asked if she was good the idea of opening it up to the public. She and her students liked that idea so we advertised it to the public. A couple weeks later 3,000 people had registered maxing out the Sac State Zoom webinar license) for what was started shortly before as a simple classroom visit.
I did that webinar for free as a service. I honestly put additional hours of effort to make CEU's available (as a further service) but the local RID did not respond and the local college may or may not respond.
While it isn't the same as CEU's and only serves as basic documentation, I have created for you a certificate of attendance. See attached.
Warm regards,
+ Bill
________________________
William G. Vicars, Ed.D.
ASL University (Lifeprint.com)
BillVicars@aol.com