Book Creator: Create, Read and Publish

Book Creator

Create, Read, and Publish

Students who are developing literacy skills need daily opportunities to use/practice with letters, select words from their AAC systems, read books of their own choice, and write for authentic purposes and audiences.  Book Creator is a great tool for this.  Here are a few websites from those who use Book Creator with students who have complex communication and emergent literacy instructional needs.  

Find the Book Creator sample books by category.  LINK:  https://bookcreator.com/resources-for-teachers/example-books/ 

This post by Diane Brauner, August 2016, provides tips and examples for students with vision impairments.  TITLE: Book Creator App: Create Your Own Accessible Books on iOS, Android and Windows Tablets.  LINK: http://www.perkinselearning.org/technology/posts/book-creator-app-create... 

The image below shows page editing overview in the iPad app.  We added personal images, text and recordings.  You can choose the color for the page and text.  Before adding photos, be sure to markup and modify as needed to draw attention to visual information in the image.

And from Tracy Wilkes, March 2019, we learn even more about sending home books, publishing and making school libraries. TITLE:  Using Book Creator To Make Engaging Literacy Materials.  LINK: http://www.pathstoliteracy.org/technology/using-book-creator-make-engaging-literacy-materials 

Here is an image of a published story written by Alexa, one of our participants in our Out and About AAC in the Community events.  LINK:  https://read.bookcreator.com/iM9O0VXRYMQ6IXWYCkCaLsFee882/S-QK7waLShOaagInaXubJw

Jon Smith posted this on the Book Creator site, January 2014, sharing that not only can you post stories written with and by students who have autism, but you can also track where they are downloaded on a map.  TITLE:  Using Book Creator to support students with autism.  LINK:  https://bookcreator.com/2014/01/using-book-creator-support-autistic-students/ 

WriteOurWorld.org is a US-based charity, supported by Book Creator, that empowers multilingual youth worldwide to embrace their languages and cultures while building skills for their future through digital book authoring.  Explore a growing inventory of multicultural ebooks created by kids for kids. You can read and listen in two languages!

CVI Resources Follow-up to AAC in the Desert 2019

 Compiled by Dorney, Hanser, Sheldon, Musselwhite & Wagner

Following AAC in the Desert, 2019, this list was composed for people who are interested in learning more about how to support the language and literacy skills of students who have Cortical Vision Impairments (CVI).  We have also included links that Kathryn Dorney shared on the Facebook Group AAC for SLPs.

Our Presentations and Publications:

• Hanser & Wagner, ATIA 2018 & 2019.  Using PowerPoint to Adapt Books for Students with CVI 
• Hanser, Tips for 2017. www.aacintervention.com Tip #7:  Making PowerPoint Books for Students with CVI
• Wagner, ISAAC 2018.  Using PowerPoint Books to Support Communication & Literacy for Students with CVI
• Wagner, Tips for 2018. www.aacintervention.com Tip #6: Building Vision for Communication, An Example for PHASE I Applications. Tip # 7: Integrating Vision with Communication, Examples for PHASE II CVI

Resources for Collaborative Input

• Connections Beyond Sight and Sound - Maryland & DC Deaf-Blind Project http://marylanddb.org 

• National Center on Deaf-Blindness 
• Deaf-Blind Network https://nationaldb.org 
• All Children Can Read http://literacy.nationaldb.org

• IDEAs that Work:  Office of Special Ed Programs (TA&D Network) https://ccrs.osepideasthatwork.org

• Cerebral Visual Impairment Society (England/Wales) https://cvisociety.org.uk/about.php 

CVI Webinars & Videos

• Vision Language Learning Communication: An Approach to AAC for Students with CVI webinar by Roman-Lantzy & Blackstone. http://www.perkinselearning.org/videos/webinar/vision-language-learning-communication-approach-aac-students-cvi

• Cortical Visual Impairment: The Everyday Impact on People Who Use AAC, USSAAC video webinar Roman-Lantzy  https://youtu.be/GE23MGY87PQ 

• West Virginia Dept of Ed videos series on CVI Topics by Roman-Lantzy https://wvde.state.wv.us/osp/vi/cvi/cvi-special-topics.html   

• Perkins school for the blind e-learning webinar by Jenna Friedman -  Speech Pathologists and Cortical Visual Impairment: An overview of the SLP's Role in Working with Children with CVI http://www.perkinselearning.org/videos/webinar/cvi-slp

CVI Websites for Continuing Ed, Tips and Ideas

• AAC accommodations and Vision Impairment by Helland https://aaccommunity.net/2018/08/aac-and-vision-impairment/

• Alberta Regional Professional development modules https://arpdcresources.ca/consortia/blind-visually-impaired-bvi/

• Burkhart & Costello, CSUN Presentation 2008: CVI and complex communication needs: characteristics and AAC strategies  http://www.lburkhart.com/lindaJohnCVIhandout.pdf

• CVI Teacher/Advisor https://cviteacher.wordpress.com/2015/09/23/reducing-complexity-in-board-book/

• Drawing from the work of Gordon Dutton, and including ideas and strategies shared by parents, caregivers and those affected by CVI, this website provides information about visual characteristics and profiles for CVI, processing at different levels of the brain, and functional vision.  Language learning emphasis is on the individual, drawing from experiences that are perceivable, meaningful and motivational, in order to build knowledge and understanding https://cviscotland.org/documents.php

• Georgia Sensory Assistance Project shares how Hand under Hand is far superior than hand over hand to support exploration http://gsap.coe.uga.edu/resources/instructional-strategies/hand-under-hand/

• Little Bear Sees   http://littlebearsees.org/category/tips-ideas/

• Paths to Literacy   http://www.pathstoliteracy.org  

• Perkins Educational Materials/Coursework   http://www.perkinselearning.org/cvi 

• Project Core Professional Development Modules http://www.project-core.com/professional-development-modules/

• Start Seeing CVI    https://startseeingcvi.com 

• WonderBaby.org is dedicated to helping parents of young children with visual impairments as well as children with multiple disabilities. Here you’ll find a database of articles written by parents who want to share with others what they’ve learned about playing with and teaching a blind child, as well as links to meaningful resources and ways to connect with other families. http://www.wonderbaby.org/  

Look for Some Electronic Books...

• Bookshare   https://www.bookshare.org/cms/ 
• Lit2Go   https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/ 
• Tarheel Reader www.tarheelreader.org  
• Other Downloadable PowerPoint Books
• Firehouse PowerPoint Books, by Caroline Musselwhite & AZ Crew www.aacintervention.com 
• Pete’s PowerPoint Station www.pppst.com
• Tumble Books    https://www.tumblebooks.com 
• Epic Books (including Epic Kids and National Geographic) https://www.getepic.com 
• IPad apps - Meet Heckerty, The New Kid on the Block 

CVI Friendly Book Authoring Apps

• Pictello App (currently $19.99)
• Book Creator App (currently $4.99) 
• Explain Everything App ($13.99 Explain EDU version)

Downloading/Resizing Videos

• Download Helper (older versions of Firefox)
• ClipGrab (computer app, not iPad)   https://clipgrab.org 
• Flash Video & Player (newer Firefox Plug in)
• Screen Recording on iPad/iPhone
• Handbrake (Mac/WIN) https://handbrake.fr/downloads.php 

Resources

Bruce & Bashinski (2017). The Trifocus Framework and Interprofessional Collaborative Practice in Severe Disabilities. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, Vol. 26, pp 162–180, May 2017. Copyright © 2017 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Downloadable from: https://pubs.asha.org

Erickson, K. (2017). Comprehensive Literacy Instruction, Interprofessional Collaborative Practice, and Students With Severe Disabilities. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, Vol. 26, pp 193–205, May 2017. Downloadable from: https://pubs.asha.org

Justice, L. M., & Pullen, P. C. (2003). Promising interventions for promoting emergent literacy skills: Three evidenced-based approaches. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 23, 99-113.

Porter, G., & Burkhart, L. (2010). Limitations with using a representational hierarchy approach for language learning. Retrieve from http://www.lburkhart.com/handouts/representational_hierarchy_draft.pdf 

Roman-Lantzy, C. (2018). Cortical Visual Impairment: An Approach to Assessment

& Intervention. AFB Press, 2nd Edition. ISBN-10: 0891286888; ISBN-13: 978-0891286882

Roman-Lantzy, C.  (2019). Cortical Visual Impairment: Advanced Principles 
(Includes chapter by Mark Tietjen on “What’s the Complexity” Framework).  
American Printing House for the Blind..  ISBN-10 / ISBN-13: 1616480076 / 978-1616480073