Tar+Heel+Readers

Tar Heel Readers can be used not only as readers but also for creating social stories. The website offers a variety of readers on numerous topics and are categorised by topic, ratings, reviews and languages. The Tar Heel Reader website describes the service as “A collection of free, easy-to-read, and accessible books on a wide range of topics. The books may be downloaded as slide shows, in PowerPoint, Impress, or Flash format. Each book can be speech enabled and accessed using multiple interfaces, including touch screens, the intellikeys with custom overlays, and 1 to 3 switches”.

All readers have been made by students for students. The website creates the opportunity for students to read books of interest and also be involved in the creation process. The public is able to create and add personalised stories. This could include using the students name throughout the story, creating a story based on personal experiences and ability to include a choice of illustrations, whether it is scanned pictures, or photographs.

The ability to create stories enables teachers, parents and students to create social stories to use as strategies for coping with changes. This gives the student basic steps for what to do when changes occur and may help alleviate problems if and when they arise.

This link contains a video that supports the use of social stories for students with autism.  [|Autism Support Network (2011)]

The Tar Heel Readers website states that it is “a result of collaboration between [|Center for Literacy and Disability Studies] and the department of [|Computer Science] at the [|University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill] ”. The readers are often simplistic so they would be best suited for beginning readers of all ages and students with learning difficulties or special needs. Although, with the ability to create personalised readers they could also cater to students of any age or reading ability. The website does have ratings for book appropriateness or alternatively the supervisor can create a favourites section with books that are appropriate.

As the readers can be speech enabled the below link demonstrates how PowerTalk, a free text-to-speech add-on for PowerPoint enhances the listening experience with Tar Heel Reader books that are downloaded and opened as PowerPoint files. Tar Heel Reader and PowerTalk -media type="youtube" key="fwp1kZgYccc" height="349" width="425"

Link to view a tar heel reader Jvanyo, R. (2011) [|Class Rules- reader/social story]

**References **

Tar Heel Readers n.d, viewed 6th July 2011, []

Autism Support Network (2011), viewed 21 July 2011, [|http://www.autismsupportnetwork.com]

Hami, P. (2009). Tar Heel Reader and PowerTalk (2009), viewed 21 July 2011, []

Jvanyo, R. (2011). //Class Rules//, viewed 21 July 2011, http://tarheelreader.org/2011/07/21/classroom-rules-2/