As homeschoolers we have the flexibility to pick some of the things we want our children to learn, and also offer our children choices as to what they want to learn. As the years roll on the number of resources available online increase exponentially. Things that might not have been an option before become available to homeschoolers. One such thing is the availability of online ASL Courses.

ASL or American Sign Language is the visual-gestural language used by most of the deaf community in the United States and Canada. Learning it just from photos in a book can be difficult because a photo lacks the three dimensional depth to see the whole hand and its motions, as well as to thoroughly demonstrate facial gestures and body language used while signing. For this reason it can be so helpful to either have in person instruction, or video based ASL courses to learn this language.

One option for video based ASL instruction is the Mr. D Math Self-Paced ASL courses.

{Disclaimer: I received free access to Mr. D Math Self-Paced ASL 1 and was compensated for my time in writing this review.  All views are my own and I was not required to write a positive review. Please see my full Disclosure Policy for more details.}

ASL Courses Offered at Mr. D Math

ASL 1 for Elementary School – Students learn signs that will allow them to participate in basic signing conversations.  The video lessons are engaging and fun for students.  They have worksheets, coloring pages, and more fun activities to help their learning!  

ASL 1 Beginner American Sign Language – Students learn signs that will allow them to participate in basic signing conversations. In addition to learning signs, students will learn the history of Deaf culture and etiquette when conversing with a Deaf person. There will be a Deaf guest who will share his/her experience and sign with the students. This class gives you 1 of 2 of the second language credits needed to graduate high school. 

ASL 1 Full Immersion – Full Immersion has the same lesson plans as traditional ASL 1 but it is taught only using ASL!  This means I don’t say ‘this is the sign for this’ and show it, instead, I teach without speaking and dive straight into ASL! Students will learn signs that will allow them to participate in basic signing conversations. In addition to learning signs, students will learn the history of Deaf culture and etiquette when conversing with a Deaf person. There will be a Deaf guest who will share his/her experience and sign with the students. This class gives you 1 of 2 of the second language credits needed to graduate high school.

ASL 2 – Students build upon the skills they learned in ASL 1 by increasing their signing vocabulary; practicing their perceptive skills (seeing a sign and knowing what it means); and using their receptive skills with more “hands up” assignments.  Students will learn more about Deaf culture and the Deaf community through their homework.  They will have the opportunity to converse with a Deaf person and hear about their personal experiences in the Deaf world!  

ASL 3 – Students are expected to put in the effort to learn above and beyond what is required for their second language credit.  This course is designed for students who have an interest in ASL; either as a possible future career or just out of the love of learning it!  The students will learn more signs to allow them to converse at a higher level and do more assignments where they get their hands up!  

A Look Inside the Self-Paced ASL 1 Course

A Well Organized Online Platform

If you have read my previous Mr. D Math Reviews you will know how much we appreciate the layout and organization of his courses. The Self-Paced ASL Courses are no different. When you open to your course all the lessons are listed on the left side of your screen. You can expand each lesson to see what tasks are included, and the program marks each task with a green check when you have completed it.

Quality Video Lessons

Each lesson begins with the video lesson. (You can see the brief clip above.) We had Thia as our instructor and really loved her.

When you are learning ASL from a book, or from random video clips, or with many resources piecemealed together, I think one of the things that lacks is the importance of facial expressions in ASL. So many courses do not start out doing this right from the beginning and I think that makes it hard for it to become a natural thing as you progress through the stages of learning ASL. THIS COURSE DOES! Thia not only introduces but demonstrates and reinforces often what facial expression goes along with the words you are signing.

Also what I love about this ASL course is that there are Vocabulary Tabs within the lessons where each new vocabulary word for that lesson is labeled and contained in its own video for quick reference. That way students don’t have to scroll through the whole video lesson to find signs they are needing to see again.

Homework Instantly Graded

The homework is done in an online format where you watch a brief video and then answer the question online. These are graded immediately when you submit them which is nice because your students don’t have to wait for feedback.

Monthly Live Class Meetings

While this ASL 1 course is considered a self-paced course, it also includes monthly Live Class Meetings so your student can ask questions and interact with others who are learning ASL too!

More From Mr. D Math

Whether you’re looking for self-paced or live math curriculum options, high school Economics, College and Career Readiness, or Test Prep, (and more!) be sure to check out all the great options at Mr. D Math!

Also check out Dennis DiNoia’s homeschool podcast, A+ Parents.