American Sign Language Elementary-Level Teaching Certification
New for Spring 2026!! Application deadline: Dec. 1st
Ohio State’s 100% online American Sign Language (ASL) Elementary-Level Teaching Certificate prepares fluent signers and current instructors to teach at the community or college level. Taught fully in ASL, the program combines formal study and hands-on training in linguistics, intercultural competence, and effective teaching methods. Graduates gain practical experience, career insights, and access to Ohio State’s resources to meet the growing demand for skilled ASL educators. Note: this certificate does not lead to ASLTA certification or teaching licensure
Why choose Ohio State's ASL Elementary-Level Teaching Certificate?
World class faculty: Courses are taught in ASL by faculty with extensive teaching experience in one of the nation’s largest university-level ASL programs, serving approximately 1,500 students per semester in a program that offers general education courses, a minor, and a forthcoming major.
Top-ranked education: Ohio State, ranked #15 among public universities, is a leader in higher education. Earning a certificate opens doors to new opportunities and a powerful professional network.
Career-focused learning: With no residency requirement, you can earn your certificate from anywhere. Take one course at a time while balancing your personal and professional commitments and complete the entire program in less than a year. This program also includes a unique course to equip you with the tools to successfully obtain and retain employment in academic settings.
Click here for more information!
Co-Presence, Information Source, and Reciprocity: A Framework for Inclusive DeafBlind Education
Sat. Feb. 7, 2026
9:00am – 1:00pm
500 Morse Rd. Columbus, OH 43214
The Ohio State University’s Buckeye Sign Language and Multimodal Collaborative is inviting local PK-12 educators to attend a free workshop, Co-Presence, Information Source, and Reciprocity: A Framework for Inclusive DeafBlind Education.
Hayley Broadway M.A.: DeafBlind educator and protactile specialist with extensive experience supporting tactile access and autonomy for DeafBlind learners
As co-Principal Investigator for the Protactile Kids research project, she works directly with children, families, and educators to enhance tactile communication and early protactile language use. Her approach emphasizes student-led autonomy and exploration, reciprocity, and creating spaces where DeafBlind children can fully participate through touch.
Deanna Gagne Ph.D.: Developmental Psychologist and faculty member in Linguistics at Gallaudet University. Her work focuses on early language acquisition and its relationship to cognition over the lifespan. As co-Principal Investigator for the Protactile Kids research project, she partners with DeafBlind research collaborators to document protactile language development and inform practical strategies for classrooms.
The website, deafblindkids is a good starting resource for those who are seeking to learn about Protactile and utilize Protactile to connect with their child and members of the DeafBlind community.
The website includes a video resource series offering an in-depth exploration of Protactile, providing insights into its various aspects and how it can be used effectively in tactile communication. Each video offers a different aspect of how Protactile works and how it can benefit parents, children, as well as others in the DeafBlind community.
Workshop requires advance registration by invitation. Contact Kristin Wickham-Saxon for more information: wickham-saxon.1@osu.edu.
This opportunity is generously provided by funding from the Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme grant and workshop space provided by the Ohio School for the Deaf.
Past Events by the Collaboratory:
"The Accessibility Mindset: Building Pathways to Success for All Students”
Justin Perez – Visual Vernacular Performance
Octavian Robinson (he/him)
Octavian Robinson is associate professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at The Ohio State University and Director of the Buckeye Sign Language and Multimodal Collaborative. He earned his Ph.D. in history from The Ohio State University with fields in women’s, gender, and sexuality, African-American, and modern U.S.
Trained as a historian, his interdisciplinary work is situated in disability studies and explores a wide range of topics from linguistic exclusion in the historical archives to explorations of deaf onto-epistemologies through queer theory. His work highlights respectability politics, linguistic protectionism, and lateral ableism in deaf community spaces in the United States.
He is co-author of the original crip linguistics manifesto with Jon Henner. He identifies as deafdisabled; he is a proud graduate of the California School for the Deaf Riverside and Gallaudet University (B.A. 2002, M.A. 2004).
Contact Dr. Robinson for inquiries related to the ASL Elementary-Level Teaching Certificate the Buckeye Sign Language and Multimodal Collaborative, and outreach/workshop requests.
Kristin N. Wickham-Saxon (she/her)
Kristin Wickham-Saxon is Assistant Professor of Professional Practice and Director of Undergraduate Studies in The Ohio State University ASL Program and serves as Assistant Director of the Buckeye Sign Language and Multimodal Collaborative. Kristin’s introduction to sign language began with a desire to communicate with her Deaf cousin.
After earning her master’s in Deaf Education from OSU, she enjoyed a decade-long career teaching deaf and hard of hearing high school students in central Ohio prior to teaching ASL at both the high school and college-level. Her teaching centers on innovative pedagogy, distance education, and mentoring.
She currently serves the ASL Instructors Network as the ASL Teaching Proficiency Coordinator and holds Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf National Interpreter Certification, with experience in community and video relay interpreting.
Contact Kristin Wickham-Saxon for inquiries related to courses within the ASL Studies minor and the ASL Applied Communication and Community Studies major (ASL 2104 and above), study abroad, the ASL Elementary-Level Teaching Certificate, and the Buckeye Sign Language and Multimodal Collaborative. wickham-saxon.1@osu.edu