Customizing with UD Features: ULTimate KidBooks

Index

Overview

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1. Multiple Representations of Information

In ULTimate KidBooks, multiple images can appear on each page with associated picture descriptions. All text can be highlighted and read aloud either word-by-word or sentence-by-sentence.

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Text and graphics from a textbook can be entered into ULTimate KidBooks. Students who may be excluded from content subjects because they cannot use the textbook now have necessary supports to engage in the learning experience.

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2. Multiple Options for Expression and Control

Students can navigate through a book in several different ways, with keyboard, mouse, or single-switch input.

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For students with limited dexterity, ULTimate KidBooks offers built-in single switch scanning support. When this setting is selected, the program highlights each button in succession and the student clicks the switch when the button they want is highlighted.

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3. Multiple Options for Engagement

Because ULTimate KidBooks is a template into which personally relevant content can be poured, the subject matter is infinitely customizable.

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Content of great interest to a particular student can be placed into ULTimate KidBooks to increase motivation to read.

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Customizing Tips

• For students with autism, select the "Pipe Organ" voice or another musical voice. The melodic rhythm of the voice can be engaging.
  
• For students using a single switch to control the computer, turn scanning on and adjust speed to suit students' needs.
  
• For students with low vision, increase the text size.
  
• For students who are blind, include picture descriptions of images. KidBook authors can easily add a new text block just above or below the image, add the picture description, then re-size the block so that it is invisible to the user. It will then be available to students using scanning and text-to-speech.

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Universal Design Wish List

• Add the capability to customize the background color.
  
• Provide a Windows version of the program to allow cross-platfom use.
  
• Add more reading and highlighting modes such as read-by-sentence/highlight by word, read-by-sentence/highlight-by-chunk, and read-by-chunk/highlight-by-word.
  
• Simplify the KidBook Maker component so that children can create their own electronic books.

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Feedback

How do you customize your students' learning with ULTimate KidBooks? We would like to add your ideas to our Web site, space permitting. (If we use your submission, we will give you credit.) Submit your Customizing Tips and UD Wish List items via e-mail to udfeedback@cast.org.

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Product Information

For more information about ULTimate KidBooks, see the Teaching Tools section of this Web site.

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Disclaimer

Although CAST created this product, we do not consider it to be fully universally designed. Universal design is a process that we too are learning. We include this product to illustrate some of its universally designed features as part of our educational purpose.

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