Hot Topics: Literacy and Assistive Technology

Issue: Volume 1, Issue 1
Date: May 2005
Written By: The SWAAAC Professional Development Committee

Welcome to the first of many electronic columns designed to serve the needs of SWAAAC Team members and those who benefit from their services. The information in this publication is categorized according to the topics listed in the "Table of Contents" below. Either scroll down the page or click the links to go straight to the desired heading for information on a specific topic.

Please feel free to send comments, requests, or additions to the advisory committee in care of Maureen Melonis.

Featured Attractions:

Literacy and Assistive Technology

Literacy includes reading and writing and the creative and analytical acts involved in producing and comprehending text. For many individuals with disabilities, these skills can be challenging. Assistive technology offers one strategy to address the challenges. Assistive technology for improving literacy includes both low and high tech solutions. Low tech solutions include simple modifications such as graphic organizers and book modifications. High tech includes computers and more sophisticated solutions. The newsletter content below provides much more content on this topic.

The SWAAAC Conference

This annual regional AT conference will be held June 9-11, 2005 and will feature several sessions on AT and literacy. Follow the links below for more information on these conference sessions (these pages are no longer available).

MEville to WEville: Early Literacy and Communication Program @ 10:30 on Friday
Everyone WYNNs on Summary Street Project: Improve Literacy Skills for Students with Learning Disabilities @ 3:00 on Friday
Using Digital Images and Video Clips with Intellipics Studio @ 1:30 on Friday
Tools to Support Struggling Readers and Writers @ 10:30 on Friday
Tools for Literacy: Assessing and Matching Students with Appropriate Technology @ 1:00 on Saturday

Cool Ideas and Resources:

This section highlights an immediately useable device or piece of info to increase the level of expertise of SWAAAC members. The highlights below feature three useful products to increase literacy: Webbe Books, Intellipics Studio and PixWriter. These are just a few products which may be helpful.

Webbe Book...

A Webbe book is a small, 20 page book which is created on a template downloaded from www.realebooks.com. Its uses are only limited by the creativity of the user! The template which is provided on the web site is extremely user friendly—allowing photos, Boardmaker symbols, clip art and/or text to be placed easily into the book format. As an SLP, I have used these books as home activities targeting specific articulation sounds by importing Boardmaker symbols containing the targeted sound on one page, with the targeted phrase/word on the opposing page. I have made classmate books for my autistic students with photos on one page with students’ names on the opposite page. Some of my preschool colleagues have made personalized books for their students detailing favorite activities or field trips. Most students love them.

Webbe books are available for free off the Realebooks web site. The only “catch” is that only one free download is permitted per school. The user must fill out a short questionnaire, submit it, and will receive the “literacy key” code by the next day. The user is then free to load the program onto a disk, allowing access by multiple users on any computer. There are several sample Webbe books on the site. They will give you an excellent preview of the product!

Creating Books Using IntelliPics Studio 3

IntelliPics Studio 3 is a multimedia software tool. You can create curriculum activities so students of all abilities can interact with their learning. This software has a user-friendly interface that provides intuitive toolbars for program functions. Teachers can easily create new activities based on their own curriculum materials. Younger students can use IntelliPics Studio 3 to draw or paint, complete activities, create storybooks, or simply to answer quiz questions. Older students can create sophisticated classroom presentations with animated graphics and sounds (including MP3s).

If you would like more information on making a talking book, link to a PowerPoint Presentation (908 KB) entitled "Creating Talking Books Using Intellipics Studio 3."

If you are wondering if your computer system is set up for using this application check operating system requirements for using IntelliPics3. Visit intellitools.com and then select "Support" followed by "Tech Support."

PixWriter and Picture It

now have some new features! They now have a Spanish language base. Spanish text can be written in and read back with a good accent. Another new feature is that the pictures that are are in the user set up and in the text part can be turned off and on easily. This can be very useful for students who recognize some whole words without pictures but cannot spell them independently.

Another useful tip - the Slater Software website now has free PDF based documents under the documents tab. They include a number of selections for each month (anywhere from 4 to 21 documents per month). Many of them are literature based including poems, biographies and short versions of literature such as "The Diary of Anne Frank." They even have picture-based classroom labels in both Spanish and English. These are all free and can be printed even if you do not own the products.

Literacy Websites To Explore

These are some of the SWAAAC members favorite internet sites. Check out a few, they are awesome!

www.speechfun.com is a great site for downloadable interactive materials that can be laminated and put together with velcro. It also has a section of downloadable Intellipics programs which work well with a single switch. The woman who puts this site together changes her materials frequently and doesn't seem to archive them so, once they are gone, they are gone.
speech.jppss.k12.la.us is a school district site that has some nice interactive books available for download. It also has a section of AAC overlays for a variety of devices.
www.intellitools.com is the site of the Intellishare Classroom Activity Exchange, a free exchange of programs that are compatible with Intellitools hard and software. The players are easily downloaded allowing access to all activities. You must first apply for a user id and a password (free) and then have full access. Most of the activities are literacy based, including adaptations of popular stories, writing activities and other activities submitted by service providers and parents. There are hundreds of programs available. www.intellitools.com is also the site of the Intellitools activity share--an excellent resource for literacy activities. The activities are free and downloadable. They are accessible using the Intellitools players.
www.meddybemps.com is a preschool/early elementary site that contains activities and games for writing, matching, categorizing, mouse control and much more. The graphics are cute and engaging.
www.news-2-you.com is a weekly downloadable newspaper created for children with special needs. The subscription-only site contains several versions of a topical newspaper: a regular edition containing 16 to 22 pages, including 8-12 pages covering a current event written with both text and Boardmaker symbols, a simplified edition (containing a 2 page version of the topic plus some simple activities and a joke) and a higher edition in which the regular edition articles are presented with limited pictures in paragraph format. Starting in September of 2005, this will also be available in Spanish. In addition to the newspaper, with a separate membership to Joey’s Locker, you have access to 22 pages of additional activities which support the theme of that weeks newspaper. The site offers a free sample paper and free access to one set of Joey’s Locker activities.
www.kizclub.com is a great site with downloadable flashcards, projects, worksheets and games. The best part of this site is under the tab “stories.” This section has three different levels of animated stories which are read aloud (with a Korean accent!) and printable. Also under the “resources” tab, there are pictures/props which match many of your favorite preschool/kindergarten aged picture books. These can be downloaded and printed.
Center for Literacy and Disability Studies is a center at the University of North Carolina focused on addressing the literacy learning needs of students with disabilities of all ages.
LD Resources - Richard Wanderman's collected resources & software for adapting reading, writing and math for students with learning disability. The site contains excellent resources and discussion areas.

SWAAAC Professional Development Committee: Maxine Anderson, Tami Cassel, Ann Gage, Alison Montana, Chuck Schwendeman and Maureen Melonis.