Inspiration
I’ve always wanted to learn ASL but never actually did, due to myself being not a very motivated person, lacking time and also failing to find resources that were helpful for me. So with this project, I hoped to make a simple app for everyone, even the most unmotivated people, to learn basic ASL such as the alphabet, important phrases and other basic vocabulary.
My goal was for the app to be simple and enjoyable enough for kids to be able to use it, as well as still being useful for adults to learn from. Furthermore, because of how busy most people are in their everyday lives, I hoped to make PocketASL very simple, intuitive and quick for people to use.
What it does
The app has a few different functions, such as learning from lessons, creating goals, and receiving notifications and reminders.
In the learning aspect, there are different levels and lessons to aid the user in learning in a way that is simple and easy. The design is meant to be easy for the user to navigate and understand the lessons, since it was meant for children as well. The concepts are also split into small, consumable chunks (eg. the alphabet is split into 3 chunks) to allow the user to repeat lessons and fully understand the concepts. It’s also meant to be easier for kids to follow along, since their attention spans are not that great.
As well, another function of the app is the goals. The user has the ability to set their own goals, which is stored in the SQLite database in the app for them to edit, check off, or delete. The user has full liberty on what goals they want to set, so it is very easy to use, although it may also be too loose-ended. The final aspect is the notifications. Although there is currently a tab for it now, there is no actual code. In the future, I hope to add an ability for the app to send reminders and notifications for the user to remind them to practice and celebrations for when they complete a level.
How we built it
I used Android Studio and in it, Java, to build the program.
Challenges we ran into
I struggled a lot with most every aspect of coding, especially the debugging process. Because I have hardly any patience or skill, I really had to spend a lot of time trying to figure out errors.
I also found it difficult to put my ideas into actual practice, since I really have no knowledge whatsoever in Java and very very minimal practice in coding and Android Studio. I’m still a beginner and so I really had no idea what I was doing. And the time I spent searching through Stack Overflow for aid is laughable.
Another problem I had was my computer being extremely uncooperative and being unable to handle the large amount of resources that I had in Android Studio. The application kept crashing which made this very challenging. Because of this, I was unable to add any more lessons than the first three, since whenever I tried to add more, the program simply crashed. This was really disappointing for me since I really wanted to add more features.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
I worked with a lot of new stuff and developed a lot of new skills in this project, such as design, or using a new language, etc. I am really happy with the final project, and the learning that has come out of it.
I’m proud of finishing this, and my final product, even though it isn’t very fleshed out and very elementary. I struggled with a lot of things, but I’m so proud that I actually managed to not give up after the struggles and complete this!
What we learned
A major thing I learned that isn’t related to coding is the basics of ASL! While researching for this project, I found myself also learning ASL. This was finally my first push to actually start learning the basics of American Sign Language, and in the future, I will be continuing to learn ASL.
In terms of the design and the actual programming, I did just start learning to code in the past two months or so, so I have no knowledge of most programming languages. This was my first time coding with Java, so I learned a lot about the language. I had to completely learn the basics of Java to be able to build this, and while I still barely know anything in comparison to actually skilled programmers, I’m excited to use Java in the future.
As well, it was my second time working with Android Studio, so I learned more about utilizing it and believe that I have a much better understanding of how to use the program. Although obviously, everything I’ve built is extremely basic and I have miles more to learn. I really hope to use these tools in the future, and I have learned a lot through creating PocketASL! :)
What's next for PocketASL
I hope to finish the rest of the project, since there’s a lot of things that are still incomplete, such as the rest of the lessons and levels. I also hope to add in more levels, so that I can completely cover all the basics of ASL, and make this app more helpful for those that might use it. There are also quite a few bugs, which I hope to fix in the future. As well, I hope to add more features, such possibly a login feature, a progress tracker, and work more on the design! Another goal would be translating the app to allow for people who speak languages other than English to utilise this app as well, as well as offering not only American Sign Language, but other types as well.
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