Bilingual Storybook App Designed for Deaf Children Based on Research Principles

The Baobab is the first bilingual storybook app for touchscreen tablets that was designed and developed based on research in visual learning, visual phonology, bilingualism, and Deaf children’s cognitive development by the National Science Foundation-funded Science of Learning Center on Visual Language and Visual Learning (VL2) at Gallaudet University. Developed by an all-deaf team, this VL2 storybook app is designed for early and emerging readers, bridging design principles in ASL storytelling and English text to research foundations, in order to facilitate reading and language acquisition for children who rely on the visual modality for learning.