Nursing Portfolio
Diversity:
CSD465: Sign Language & Deaf Culture I
This course was intended to be an introductory course to American Sign Language. Through this course we explored the grammatical structure and use of American Sign Language as well as the culture of the Deaf Community. I used this course mainly as a refresher as I had taken 3 years of sign language in high school as my foreign language.
This course was one of my favorite courses I was able to take while at Old Dominion University and I am happy to have an opportunity to share it through my portfolio. I chose this course as a refresher course for 3 years of American Sign Language I had taken in high school.
It is important to me to be able to communicate through Sign Language because there is an entire portion of the population that uses that as their sole method of communication.Through this course we learned that there can be a lot of feelings of isolation and frustration within this community because they cannot communicate easily with the general population. I strive to make every person I encounter feel comfortable and I believe that through learning American Sign Language it opens the door for communication and inclusion.
Due to the nature of this course, and the nature of the language, all of my assignments and assessments were conducted in person and I have no coursework in the form of papers or projects to share here. To demonstrate what I have learned, I have created a short video of my introducing myself and signing the national anthem. I hope you will watch it and gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for this unique language and culture.
Here I highlight the important skill that this course has prepared me with.
Hover over the skill to find out more!
Demonstrate Technical Knowledge
The technical skill I gained through this course was a higher level skill in American Sign Language, which is a very technical language consisting of its own syntax and grammar with individual hand movements to express almost any concept or word you wish.
Future Goal Development
I expect that the skills I have learned in this course will be beneficial no matter which way the future takes me. Currently, with my goals in healthcare I am excited to be able to communicate directly with my patients that may require a translator otherwise. I anticipate that this will make them feel more comfortable and less anxious, especially when already anxious about being hospitalized. American Sign Language is not as widely used or taught as languages such as Spanish and French are. I believe that gives me an additional edge when job seeking and moving up in the workplace.