What is DDISLER?
Digital Database of Indian Sign Language (ISL) and Educational Resources (DDISLER) consist of a Sign Bank (a glossary of signs) commonly used in North-East India and Educational Resources containing school materials translated into ISL. The Sign Bank attributes to the collection of varieties of ISL operating in the North-East region. The DDISLER is a web-based app consisting of topics related to the understanding of sign language ranging from basic words for daily communication and words pertaining to different semantic categories such as terms related to kinship, food habits, socio-cultural terms, grammatical categories, geographical locations, educational terms, etc. In this web-based app, the variations of sign languages that occur across the Deaf communities in the states and within the state are also incorporated in the Sign Bank. The app also consists of Educational resources comprising textbook materials such as prose, poems from NCERT textbooks, and folktales of the NE region that have been translated to ISL which both teachers and students can make use of in inclusive classrooms. This web app tries to cater to the needs of teachers particularly those with no training in sign languages, enabling access to information on words that are pre-requisite classroom transactions. All these materials are being constantly updated and revised. A section pertaining to teacher education, an online course is currently under development and needs to collaborate with the office of the Rehabilitation Council of India. The aim is to provide a platform for teachers to register for 6 months online course and to access learning materials of the same.
