title: Sign language Web pages.
abstract: The WORLD WIDE WEB has changed the way people interact. It has also become an important equalizer of information access for many social sectors. However, for many people, including some sign language users, Web accessing can be difficult. For some, it not only presents another barrier to overcome but has left them without cultural equality. The present article describes a system that allows sign language-only Web pages to be created and linked through a video-based technique called sign-linking. In two studies, 14 Deaf participants examined two iterations of signlinked Web pages to gauge the usability and learnability of a signing Web page interface. The first study indicated that signing Web pages were usable by sign language users but that some interface features required improvement. The second study showed increased usability for those features; users consequently couldnavigate sign language information with ease and pleasure.
authors.affiliation: School of Information Technology Management, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Deborah I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Fels
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hardman
authors.forename: Daniel G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction; D060345:Education of Persons with Hearing Disabilities; D018961:Educational Technology / Q000295:instrumentation; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012813:Sign Language; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D014741:Video Recording