In response to Mark Williamson.
I have evaluated beta versions of the sign avatar programs that are
available and there are some problems at the moment.
1- their vocabulary is very limited
2- adults I have shown the avatars to don't like them, kids seem to
3-- they cannot clearly express much of the facial grammar and body shifts
that are of importance for ASL
4- the user must be sophisticated in translating between English and ASL to
assemble the appropriate text that the avatar will turn into ASL
5- They are expensive - about $3500 for each copy of the software. (a
person can now add video from their camcorder to a computer, edit ,
compress and upload it for much less, digital video is becoming a common
tool for all to use, Sign Avatars are not)
Someday the avatars may be a viable solution but not now