Basic Signs for First Responders

California State University, Monterey Bay

IST626 Advanced Instructional Design

Dr. Gary

July 25, 2023

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Emergency Sign Language for First Aid Responders

The Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) within Federal Emergency

Management Agency (FEMA) and the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind (AIDB)

have identified the absence of a single microlearning that gives a simple explanation of

signs that responders should know when communicating with members of the deaf

community. This project is focused on creating a microlearning strategy and product for

first responders (particularly general domestic first responders such as firefighters and

law enforcement). The training will be created to help first responders with utilizing basic

American Sign Language signs to communicate with those within the deaf and hard of

hearing community.

The need for an online training video/product was identified as a need due to the

repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although most of the CDP training occurs in-

person, the need for online training became vital during COVID-19 closures. Our clients

also see an opportunity for growth and the desire to share knowledge with the public to

continue sustaining a prepared nation. Additionally, YouTube and other media platforms

offer tremendous opportunities for spreading vital information and knowledge. The

knowledge gap is seen in some first responders' inability to communicate with the deaf

and hard of hearing community. This proposed training product seeks to potentially

bridge that gap.

Client and Organization

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Our client is Dr. Brandie C. Wempe who is the Director of Curriculum

Development and Evaluation at the CDP, and she has identified this solution as important

because it helps achieve CDP’s Organizational Goal 3 which is focused on promoting

and sustaining a ready FEMA and prepared nation. This project’s product will help

strengthen the emergency management workforce. By having knowledge of basic sign

language, first responders will likely have an enhanced communication ability that is

crucial for working with and responding to the emergency needs of a diverse population.

Learner Analysis

The final product will be available on CDP’s YouTube page and made available

to subscribers and anyone on the web. Although the learners will be a broad range of

people from various backgrounds the microlearning solution will be marketed/promoted

through the CDP’s social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn,

etc.). It is assumed that the audience/followers on these platforms are affiliated with the

CDP as current and past students. This means, the microlearning solution (based on the

CDP’s social media following) will likely be useful to first responders that are potentially

affiliated/past students with the CDP.

Primary Learner Concerns, Attitudes, and Motivation

This microlearning solution will not be mandatory for the target audience, so the

promotion and marketing of the final product will be crucial to the success of the product.

Some of the potential challenges involve technology concerns such as inadequate internet

connection or computer access. Additionally, due to the final product being posted on the
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AIDB’s social media platform and affiliates means accessibility may be a central

component in the usage/success of this product. To ensure that we have addressed these

affective issues, we recommend enlisting area experts to encourage adoption of new

skills and adding open captioning to the video.

Data collected from the CDP show that of the over 5000 students that attended

CDP training in 2022 were mainly in the disciplines of Law Enforcement, Healthcare,

Fire Services and Emergency Medical Services. The data listed the top states with

disasters including Texas, California, Oklahoma, and Washington. The top disaster types

include fire, severe storming, flood, and hurricane. In short, the data helps to identify

industries, locations, and types of disasters where users of this training will potentially be

when applying their newfound knowledge.

Project Description
Deliverable
The expected deliverable for this project is the second microlearning video

included in the ongoing series of YouTube videos to prepare first aid responders. The

subject video for this project is a 3–5-minute video preparing first aid responders with

basic American sign language vocabulary that will be ready to upload on the CDP

YouTube Training Channel.

Design Decisions

Through the completion of this project’s deliverables the client requested

potential changes and some changes were required to be made. The most notable change

made is the inclusion of Mexican Sign Language (LSM), in addition to the ASL. Our
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client and team identified (through data) that it would be beneficial to include the LSM

translation of words after the ASL version. Our client brought attention to this need after

we identified most natural disaster emergencies in the United States occurring in areas

that have large Spanish speaking minorities (Mexican being the largest group).

Additionally, after researching LSM it was found that some of the words that we initially

wanted to go over were not present or there was not enough information to translate the

words. For example, the word “follow” was clearly found in ASL, however, the Spanish

version of the same word or a similar word (come) was not found. Therefore, the phrase

“follow me” was eliminated and replaced with the word “where” (which was also

identified as an important word by subject matter experts).

The number of words that we covered also changed due to the required length of

the video being about 2-3 minutes long and the inclusion of LSM. It was decided that 4

words will be covered in the video, which would be 8 words when the LSM version of

the words are included. Additionally, it was decided by Amanda and the team that the

objectives of the video would be better if made more concise (when identified by agent in

the video) to meet the time limit and to eliminate any unnecessary text. Lastly, the name

of the project was changed to accommodate the addition of LSM (eliminating the word

“ASL”).

Evaluation
This project's scope did not require the team to create an evaluation. The project

focused mainly on developing a storyboard with key sign language words that can be

useful for first aid responders, for the making of microlearning video. With the advice

from Dr. Rauchfuss, we have recommended that to determine the effectiveness of the
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video, the team and SMEs could benefit from having additional evaluation material. The

evaluation could assess the effectiveness of the video for the first aid responders, their

transfer learning to their job, and, overall, evaluate the storyboard.

Since no deliverables were created that allowed us to conduct an evaluation, we

recommend making a Pre-Survey and Post-Survey that will help indicate the impact of

the microlearning YouTube video. The surveys could be linked in the video description

for the learners to complete. Additionally, making short questionnaires for first aid

responders, can provide us with feedback on their learning and give insights to the SMEs.

They can use this feedback in their future videos, they can find what was helpful and

what needs improvement.

Teamwork

This project only had two members to balance all the tasks. Supporting and

keeping each other accountable was essential to complete the project. Even though this

was not a highly complex project that required a big team of designers, holding each

other responsible for our assigned sections made this project run smoothly. We both took

on the roles of project managers. As we both have taken most of the courses for our

master’s program, we can communicate with each other about key concepts to develop a

successful project as the client wishes.

Ahmed kept communication with SMEs by sending the weekly Zoom meeting

links. He checked and replied to emails. During meetings, he created agendas to cover

during our meetings with SMEs. He provided great ideas to split the work and used his

design skills to develop and modify documents. He often started documents and shared

them with the team, asking SMEs and Dr. Rauchfuss questions to clarify any doubts
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about how to proceed with the project. He has demonstrated his knowledge during the

storyboard, additional documents and has been great at communicating and keeping the

team organized. Furthermore, he used his research skills for the storyboard to help find

the key words, finding the clipboards and translating the words from ASL to LMS.

Member 2 developed the team's Google Drive and the timeline to rely on and store

the project documents. The drive was later shared with the SMEs for them to check and

review our work. She provided options and frameworks for the title of the team and the

projects, for the team to decide on and approve. She submitted the assignments and asked

for the approval of all members before submitting them to fix things if needed. She

discussed with Dr. Rauchfuss how to evaluate the project as the project scope did not

require an evaluation, yet it was a requirement on our documents for class; she also added

recommendations on the design paper. She took upon the suggestion of SMEs to add

Spanish words to the project. She demonstrated her knowledge making the

recommendations to improve the storyboard by targeting a larger population and

translating ASL words to LMS words for the first aid responders. She created a list of

Spanish words that later were cut off to stay within the 2-3 minutes video mark. She

delivered support by sharing clipboard images with the team to use for their key words.

Both members demonstrated leadership in the project. We stayed in contact via

Zoom meetings, emails, and phone to stay afloat in the project. We helped each other get

things done when we were stuck by clarifying and offering time to discuss parts of the

projects. We agree on the material in the documents before sending them to SMEs and

submitting them in class. We shared tasks as appropriate as we could to help each other

complete the tasks.

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Challenges

This project was short, and there were a couple challenges like further clarification

from SMEs, Dr. Rauchfuss, and the team, to move on to the next stage of the project. We

experienced great support from SME’s, communication for us was essential since there

were only two of us in the group. During our meetings, we felt heard, and we are grateful

that we could discuss suggestions for the project. Reading our feedback and talking to Dr.

Rauchfuss helped us clear our concerns.

While working on the Design Document, we had to make recommendations that

could be helpful in the future of the microlearning videos. The recommendations were

challenging as the project's scope was simple, yet it did not require us to do additional

materials to evaluate the project. Another challenge we faced in the team was during the

Storyboard. We had to search the sign language vocabulary as we are not familiar with

ASL or LMS. Also, we had to narrow down the words that we were going to use in the

storyboard, and make sure that we had a translation of the words. We had to find the

clipboard images and provide the steps on how to make the words with your hands. As

we faced a couple of challenges, the team was able to work pass them and be there for

each other to create the best storyboard possible.

Advice for Future Students

1. Whether working in a small or big team, we advise frequent communication with

your team members and client. Considering that most people have a job or other

responsibilities besides working on the project, choosing a medium to talk and a

time and day for meetings will keep the project organized.
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2. Be open to everyone’s feedback and ask for help when needed. Your professor,

SME’s and your team are there to help you. Don’t rush to finish; this is a learning

experience, and sometimes you find things confusing and need to ask for help and

be resourceful.

3. Make sure the work for the project is divided equally. Everyone should contribute

to the completion of the project equally. Seek assistance from the professor if not.

4. Have a positive attitude that motivates others to improve and work hard.