DEAL COMMUNICATION CENTRE
NEWSLETTER
2/2008
October 2008

LITERACY AND AUGMENTATIVE COMMUNICATION:
Useful Websites and Software

Tar Heel Reader
www.tarheelreader.org

Tar Heel Reader is a collection of free, easy-to-read, and accessible e-books on a wide range of topics.  Each book can be read aloud in a child’s, woman’s or man’s voice and accessed using multiple interfaces (i.e. switches, alternative keyboards, touch screens, and dedicated AAC devices).  The books may also be downloaded as slide shows in PowerPoint, Impress, or Flash formats.

As well as books for young children, the site includes books suitable for teenagers who are just learning to read, with cool titles like Tattoos and When I win Lotto.

You may also write and publish your own books as Tar Heel readers using pictures from the huge collection at Flickr or pictures you upload.  This is a great activity for students or wannabe authors.

The site is a result of a collaboration between Center for Literacy and Disability Studies and the Department of Computer Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Enchanted Learning
www.enchantedlearning.com

Enchanted Learning is a site suitable for students from kinder up through middle school.  It includes both online and printable activities for most subject areas, and has excellent links to other sites. 

Enchanted Learning is a great resource for children who have had limited access to regular academic education.  It contains simple printable books and fact sheets on many topics at a wide range of levels, together with a host of related worksheets and art and craft activities.  After reading about Leonardo you can paint your own Mona Lisa just using your mouse!

While anyone can access the site, and most of the pages, membership  ($20 US a year for individuals) is worthwhile if you want to print much of the material.

AAC Tech Connect
www.aactechconnect.com

AAC Tech Connect is a site assembled by a group of private therapists who specialize in augmentative communication.  While they sell fee-for-service online products for use in AAC evaluations, there’s a lot of useful free information on the site including contact details for many AAC device manufacturers and links to Fact Sheets about specific devices.   As the therapists don’t supply devices, they cover a wider range than many commercial sites, though they tend to neglect manufacturers from outside the USA and do not cover low tech systems.

BuildAbility Software

from the Attainment Company -

www.attainmentcompany.com

BuildAbility is an authoring tool for creating multimedia activities which is both Mac and Windows compatible.  You can build projects or e-books by drawing or adding pictures, writing text, recording sound and setting page transitions. 

It’s possible to print projects for off-computer use or to share e-projects with both Mac and Windows users, regardless of whether they own a copy of the software.  Teaching assistants can build build lessons that correspond to general curriculum topics.  All presentations are touch screen and single switch compatible.

Of course students can also learn to create their own presentations – this may be an acceptable strategy for non-speaking students to use in meeting goals involving oral presentations.

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