The Best Online ASL Class for High School Credit
My daughter and I have been using the Mr. D Math ASL 3 course since January of this year. We have completed the two prerequisites as well: Mr. D Math’s ASL 1 and ASL 2 online courses. Read on for a review of the Mr. D Math ASL 3 course and learn how to count it for foreign language credit on the student’s homeschool high school transcript.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. I was compensated for my time reviewing this product and writing this review. All opinions are my own. I get commissions for purchases made through affiliate links in this post.
How to Use the Mr. D Math ASL 3 Course
A couple of days a week during our Morning Time, my daughter and I viewed the Mr. D Math ASL 3 lesson of the week on my laptop and practiced our signs together.
We love learning from Thia, the ASL teacher for Mr. D Math. She’s a lovely young lady who is very knowledgeable and a great teacher!
The course is divided up into 32 pre-recorded lessons. Most lessons contain a video assignment to be reviewed by the teacher. In other words, the student sends in a video of themselves signing something for Thia to grade. We didn’t participate in this feature because my daughter isn’t in high school yet. There are also one or two help sessions by Zoom per month, which are recorded to watch by replay if you can’t make it live.
The Mr. D Math ASL 3 course provides year-round learning, and you may start your course any time of the year.
What’s Included in the Online ASL Class
Each lesson (generally) includes a lesson video by Thia showing the new vocabulary signs to learn and a “quiz” where the student is asked whether they spent 2-3 hours working on the lesson (that is the expectation).
Sometimes other helpful information is included such as:
- something to read
- more video examples by Thia
- a YouTube video to watch
- printables
- another type of quiz where you watch her sign something and determine what she said
Here are the titles/topics of each lesson:
- Welcome to ASL 3
- Deaf Profile
- Opposite Signs
- Verb Signs
- Sign the Time
- Yes/No Questions
- Name Signs
- Phone Numbers
- Negations
- De’VIA (Deaf View/Image Art)
- Mini Dialogue
- Requests
- Signs to go with a Scenario
- More Yes/No Questions
- Film Yourself Signing These Sentences
- Midterm Prep
- Midterm
- Learn about Andrew Foster
- Signs to Use with “Which” Questions
- Simulation of an ASL Interview/Conversation
- Signs Related to Rooms in a House
- How to Function Appropriately as a Member of a Deaf Community Group
- Signs Related to Distractions
- Health Related Signs
- What it Means to be an ASL Interpreter
- Watch the film “Through Deaf Eyes”
- Watch an ASL story called ‘The Hitchhiker”
- Watch the video of the ASL story “Busted”
- Signs from the ASL Story “The Motel Story”
- Pick One of the ASL Stories Above and Sign It, part 1
- Pick One of the ASL Stories Above and Sign It, part 2
- Final Exam Prep
- Final Exam
Benefits of Learning ASL Through an Online Course
Learning ASL in high school is a wonderful way to prepare for a job as a sign language interpreter or a teacher. It’s also helpful if you’d like to work any type of job in the deaf community or be a missionary. See this post from HSLDA: More than a Language: Teen’s ASL Studies Connect Him with Deaf Community.
The absolute best part of the Mr. D Math ASL 3 course is the weekly feedback from Thia and the Zoom help sessions each month. You aren’t just learning on your own through the self-paced online course (although that’s a benefit in itself), it’s also wonderful to be able to talk back and forth with the teacher to make sure you’re learning everything correctly and to getting your questions answered.
What I Loved About the ASL 3 Class
First of all, I love Thia, the instructor. She’s very personable and easy to follow and learn from.
The Zoom help sessions are designed to be engaging for the high school students, as well as to teach and answer their questions. For example, one in December taught how to sign “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” and one in February included pdfs of ASL Valentine’s cards (drawings of the signs “Happy Valentine’s Day”.
Not only does the course teach ASL signs, but you are also learning about deaf culture, famous people, how name signs are created, and about De’VIA (Deaf View/Image Art).
How to Count ASL for High School Credit
Many states have legislation that says something to the effect of “If a course in American Sign Language is offered, the course shall be given credit as a foreign language.” That means you can use the Mr. D Math ASL courses for foreign language credit on the homeschool high school transcript! Each course (ASL 1, ASL 2, and ASL 3) equals one credit, so completing all three will provide three credits.
Which students will benefit from learning ASL? Students who are more kinesthetic learners, have ADD or ADHD, and those with dyslexia are just some who might be more successful with ASL over a different type of foreign language such as Spanish, Arabic, or Chinese.
Will the college your student plans to attend accept ASL as a foreign language requirement? Every college is different, and things change each year. Contact the college’s admission office to find out.
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What Other Online Courses Does Mr. D Math Offer?
Specifically for ASL, there are four options from Mr. D Math:
- ASL 1 for Elementary
- ASL 1
- ASL 2
- ASL 3
The Math courses:
- Preparing for Pre-Algebra
- Pre-Algebra
- Algebra I
- Geometry
- Algebra II
- Pre-Calculus with Trigonometry
- Calculus I
- Math Readiness
- Math SAT Bootcamp
- PERT Test Prep Math
- ACT Math Bootcamp
Other courses include:
- Training Like an Olympic Runner
- College and Career Readiness
- Economics
- American English Grammar
- Flamenco Dance
- Flamenco Guitar
- 8 Steps to Powerful Studying
- Computer Technology
- Information Technology
- Computer Science
Click here to see the Mr. D Math Course Catalog!
Other blog post reviews I’ve written about Mr. D Math ASL online courses:
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