Rosie's Walk
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Rosie’s Walk is the first children’s book adapted into an interactive CD-ROM for children of deaf and hard of hearing. The story’s illustrations are organized into frames, and each frame provides captions in American Sign Language and Signed English. Almost every object in a frame is clickable. When clicking an object, it provides an animation with accompanying sounds, and a sign language interpreter dressed as a farmer can be seen in one corner. The CD-ROM includes over 120 QuickTime sign language movies as well as five vocabulary and language pattern games. Not only does the box set come with an original Rosie’s Walk book but also a Spanish-translated version of the story.
Dr. Gerald Pollard of the Texas School for the Deaf developed this CD-ROM in collaboration with language/reading specialist, Denise Hazelwood in 1995. This project was funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and the prestigious Christa McAuliffe Fellowship. Dr. Pollard was inspired by the award-winning children’s CD-ROM for Grandma and Me. He chose Rosie’s Walk for its simplicity. The story was written as one long sentence, and Dr. Pollard combined this with repetition within the games to enhance the learning experience. Author Pat Hutchins created Rosie’s Walk in 1968, and it became an American Library Association Notable Book. Hutchins was awarded the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal in 1974 for The Wind Blew. In her lifetime, Hutchins wrote five novels and more than 30 picture books. |
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History of Education for Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Before the 16th century, deaf and hard of hearing children were considered uneducable in most of the world. It wasn’t until a study conducted by Italian physician Girolamo Cardano that people realized the hearing of words was not necessary for the understanding of ideas. The first successful efforts to educate deaf and hard of hearing children were made through private tutors for children of wealthy families throughout Europe. Public education of this population did not develop until the 18th century, with origins in France and Germany.
In Paris, Abbe Charles Michel de l’Eppe founded the first public school for the deaf in 1755, incorporating the earliest methods of teaching deaf students through basic sign language and manual alphabets that laid the foundation for manual methods still employed today. Present-day systems of sign language based on oral language are derived from Abbe de l’Eppe’s commitment to refining and developing a full, usable form of communication. In contrast, approaches focusing on teaching a deaf or hard of hearing child through speech and speechreading are known as oral. Samual Heinicke’s development of these methods in Germany relied heavily on lip reading, insisting that students should speak and understand language as it is used in society, and not through sign language. The discussion between the methods employed by the oral and manual systems is still a source of controversy for education of the deaf and hard of hearing today.
In 1817 the first school for the deaf in America was founded by Dr. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, intending to combine the oral and manual methods of education that he studied in Europe. Gallaudet’s techniques, with slight variations, are still used across America today. In the public school system, the passage of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act in 1975 gave equal rights to public education for all students, including those with hearing loss. With over 75 percent of present-day deaf or hard of hearing students in public school programs, academic integration through the use of interpreters is a vital instrument in the classroom environment. Appropriate support, visual access, and communication between parents and school personnel make a profound impact on the ability of deaf and hard of hearing students to learn at the same level as their peers. Advances in technology and the internet now allow a larger range of resources open to public school teachers in classrooms, as shown by the CD-ROM of Rosie’s Walk.
Before the 16th century, deaf and hard of hearing children were considered uneducable in most of the world. It wasn’t until a study conducted by Italian physician Girolamo Cardano that people realized the hearing of words was not necessary for the understanding of ideas. The first successful efforts to educate deaf and hard of hearing children were made through private tutors for children of wealthy families throughout Europe. Public education of this population did not develop until the 18th century, with origins in France and Germany.
In Paris, Abbe Charles Michel de l’Eppe founded the first public school for the deaf in 1755, incorporating the earliest methods of teaching deaf students through basic sign language and manual alphabets that laid the foundation for manual methods still employed today. Present-day systems of sign language based on oral language are derived from Abbe de l’Eppe’s commitment to refining and developing a full, usable form of communication. In contrast, approaches focusing on teaching a deaf or hard of hearing child through speech and speechreading are known as oral. Samual Heinicke’s development of these methods in Germany relied heavily on lip reading, insisting that students should speak and understand language as it is used in society, and not through sign language. The discussion between the methods employed by the oral and manual systems is still a source of controversy for education of the deaf and hard of hearing today.
In 1817 the first school for the deaf in America was founded by Dr. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, intending to combine the oral and manual methods of education that he studied in Europe. Gallaudet’s techniques, with slight variations, are still used across America today. In the public school system, the passage of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act in 1975 gave equal rights to public education for all students, including those with hearing loss. With over 75 percent of present-day deaf or hard of hearing students in public school programs, academic integration through the use of interpreters is a vital instrument in the classroom environment. Appropriate support, visual access, and communication between parents and school personnel make a profound impact on the ability of deaf and hard of hearing students to learn at the same level as their peers. Advances in technology and the internet now allow a larger range of resources open to public school teachers in classrooms, as shown by the CD-ROM of Rosie’s Walk.
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American Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, is a natural language used in the Deaf* community, with its own grammar, morphology, and syntax—quite distinct from English—or Signing Exact English. Although ASL is believed to have its roots in French Sign Language, signs originating in the Deaf community in the United States are thought to have also contributed to the evolution of ASL as a distinct language. The syntax (“word” order) is unlike English, as is the morphology (meaningful units such as tense and plurals). Because ASL is not only visual but spatial, tense and plurals are handled spatially. Even the face is a component of the language, adding meaning to signs through facial expressions. * Note that “deaf” refers to someone who is unable to hear; “Deaf” refers to the deep-rooted culture or community of deaf and hard of hearing people who use ASL as their first or primary language. |
Signing Exact English
Signing Exact English, or SEE, is an artificial language created to visually mimic aural English. Based on a combination of (often-modified) ASL signs and using the grammar, morphology, and syntax of English, this is not the language typically used in the Deaf community. It is one type of communication used in education as well as often when Deaf and hearing cultures meet. The creators of SEE have suggested that learning SEE may help deaf and hard of hearing people to learn to read and write English. SEE has been quite controversial by those who feared it was created to replace ASL, but the creators have encouraged use of both. See the difference for yourself in this 2-1/2 minute video: “ASL vs. SEE Comparison | ASL – American Sign Language” video by ASL THAT on YouTube (October 19, 2016) |
Donor
Rosie’s Walk was given to the Museum of Teaching and Learning in 2006 by educator/university instructor Deborah Hamm, a tireless advocate for deaf and hard of hearing students. Deborah provided exceptional support for her own daughter, who became a high-achieving student and college graduate despite her inability to hear.
Rosie’s Walk was given to the Museum of Teaching and Learning in 2006 by educator/university instructor Deborah Hamm, a tireless advocate for deaf and hard of hearing students. Deborah provided exceptional support for her own daughter, who became a high-achieving student and college graduate despite her inability to hear.
Learn More!
If you would like to learn more about the book. the author, or sign language, we recommend the following:
If you would like to learn more about the book. the author, or sign language, we recommend the following:
- "Rosie's Walk: An Interactive Story in ASL" by Tracey Galya (n.d.)
- Pat Hutchins author biography, Harper Collins. (n.d.).
- “Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students in the Mainstream” by Shirin Antia (October 23, 2013), Oxford University Press
- “American Sign Language Is Not English on the Hands” by Collin Matthew Belt (July 18, 2013)
- “A Look at American Sign Language,” Dictionary.com’s Everything After Z.
- “Signing Exact English,” About SEE. (n.d.)