Gifs have played a very important role in internet humour over the years but now they may serve an educational purpose, too.

Among other things, these short animated clips can now teach you sign language as well – all thanks to Giphy, which has created a library of more than 2,000 words and phrases in American Sign Language (ASL).

Sign with Robert GIF – Find & Share on GIPHY

The database was created from Sign with Robert tutorial videos, which feature ASL consultant Robert DeMayo, who has been deaf since birth.

To see the gifs, all you need to do is type in “Sign with Robert” in the search option and you are ready to go.

Sign with Robert GIF – Find & Share on GIPHY

The team at Giphy edited the video clips from Sign with Robert – which is used to teach sign language in classrooms – and sent them to DeMayo for approval before uploading them on the site.

The move comes after Nasa created a database of its gifs on Giphy a few months ago to serve as educational material.

Sign with Robert GIF – Find & Share on GIPHY

There are close to 37.5 million people in the US who are deaf and hard of hearing. ASL is the third most used language in the US so the hope is the gifs could serve a purpose in helping bridge a communication gap.

It’s certainly a great starting point.

Sign with Robert GIF – Find & Share on GIPHY