The number of apps available these days is overwhelming. We’d like for you to know what to expect from the Deaf Kids Connect app.
Does this app teach ASL?
No, or, not directly. All* of the actors are using ASL, and most of the videos have English voiceovers and captions in English and Spanish. Some learning will happen, especially if one decides to focus on repeated phrases such as greetings. Teaching ASL is not our goal, but you may find it a nice side-effect of using the app.
*Hearing, non-signing actors are included in the Finger Food Cafe videos. These are deliberate casting choices and all spoken lines have subtitles.
Does this app teach Speech Reading?
No. We teach faith foundations, that each child is loved and understood by God and He wants a relationship with them, no matter what language they use. Videos are presented in American Sign Language with English voiceovers and captions in English and Spanish. The complexities of reading and understanding verbal communication is outside of our scope and mission.
Does this app teach Deaf Culture?
No, or, not directly. All* of the actors are Deaf and they interact with one another according to the norms of Deaf Culture. Some learning will happen, especially if one decides to focus on repeated interactions such as getting someone’s attention. Teaching Deaf Culture is not our goal, but you may find it a nice side-effect of using the app.
*Hearing actors are included in the Finger Food Cafe videos. Some follow Deaf customs, others follow Hearing customs. These are deliberate casting choices for the stories being presented.
Does this app teach Bible Literacy?
Not exactly. We present Bible Stories and include scripture references, but these are delivered within the context of life application lessons. The sequence of events or their placement within the sequence of books isn’t addressed. Biblical literacy towards discipleship is a goal we’d like to explore in the future, but it’s not part of the app at this time.
Does this app teach Denominational Doctrines?
No. We’ve been very careful to stay with the basic essentials of the Christian faith. (Jesus is God, He came to earth as a human baby, grew up as we do, died on the cross, rose from the dead, and welcomes to His family and Heaven all who will trust Him alone for removing the sin that separates us from God.) Anything beyond that, we leave to parents and the faith leaders in each child’s personal community. Universal character goals such as honesty, diligence, respect, and love are taught by examples, object lessons, and selected Bible stories.
Why So Many Videos?
At first glance, the list of videos can look daunting. Seems it would be easier just to have one video for an episode with the option to display English or Spanish captions. We agree. But that’s not available at this time. Instead, we have three videos for each piece of content (or, most of them).
The answer to “why?” lies in the origins of this app. We’re using a platform designed to publish weekly sermons for local congregations. Most churches don’t caption their sermons, much less provide captioning in two languages. Meanwhile, the content we have available was deliberately captioned in English and Spanish to make it accessible to the widest variety of children in America and around the world, starting with Deaf children.
We’re also providing individual segments of the show such as Bible stories, sign songs, and object lessons. This way, users can select specific content or even groups of content that revolve around one scripture or one topic.
We hope you enjoy the content we have, and we hope you’ll soon find it easy to locate exactly what you want to watch.