The+Second+Row

** [] ** ** Who is it for? ** Beginning readers ** What content is being covered? ** Books are organized by subject and level. The subjects covered are Science, Math, Social Studies, Health, and ELA. The books are also organized into 10 levels. Each level includes books with an increasing number of words that are more complex. ** How is the information being presented? (visuals, sound, games) ** After you select your book, it is displayed on the screen. All of the books incorporate true images of children, objects, or animals with the some line drawings. Individual words are highlighted when you put your mouse over the word and the words are spoken when you click on them. The voice you hear when you click on the word is a child’s voice. A triangle in the top left corner enables you to go back in the story and a triangle in the bottom right lets you advance. ** Can it be modified? ** No  ** Is it easy to use? ** Yes! ** Is there a Data Collection option for results? ** No  ** Adapted for switch use or alternative access? ** A touch screen can you used in place of a mouse. ** Mistake tolerant/intolerant? ** Does not allow for changes or adaptations. Intolerant ** Are there extension activities to print out? ** No  ** Is there an upgrade? (free vs. subscription) ** No, there is only the free version online. ** How long does it takes to load? ** ** It ** takes very little time to load the different books. ** Are there Help options? ** No. There is a menu at the top of each pages that allows you to return to the index, leveled books, books by subject, related sites, and reviews. ** What kind of reinforcers are used? ** None.
 * Browser Books **


 * Tar Heel Reader http://tarheelreader.org/

Who is it for? Books for all readers (can be for all ages) Books are rated (E = appropriate for everyone) (C=caution questionable content) The books can also found in different languages

What content is being covered? The library of books cover an array of different topics for all ages

How is the information being presented? (visuals, sound, games) The books can be downloaded as a slideshow in powerpoint, impress or flash format

Can it be modified? You can change the voices to a child, man or woman or disable the sound altogether You can also adjust the color for the page or the text in each published book

Is it easy to use? The books are easy to find and to read, they are also easy to download. To create your own book you have to register onto the site…they require a code that you can get by emailing them

Adapted for switch use or alternative access? YES! Can be used with touch screens, intellitools, custom overlays and 1-3 switches

Mistake tolerant/intolerant?

The published books can only be changed in certain ways (voice/color)

Are there extension activities to print out? The books can be printed out after you download it to a power point

Is there an upgrade? (free vs. subscription) It is a free site

Are there Help options? They have a forum that you can ask questions or address any problems that you are having

Literactive “Teaching Children to Read”** http://literactive.com/Home/index.asp Who is it for? Beginning and early readers and ESL Students

What content is being covered? Reading, listening, sequencing, spelling, rhyming

How is the information being presented? (visuals, sound, games) Books are read to student. Options for reading are: simply listening to the story (no words), listening with words, shut off the voice and just read on your own. After the book has been read there are games that go along with each book (examples: Storyboard (sequencing events of the story), Letter Match (unscramble various words from the story), Jigsaw Jumble (put puzzle pieces together to create a picture from the story), and Finding Differences in pictures from the story). ESL stories: can switch between English and Spanish. Highlights the words and can be repeated. Words are written in English, but spoken in Spanish or English.

Can it be modified? No modifications.

Is it easy to use? Very easy to use, just sign up with an email account and login.

Is there a Data Collection option for results? No data collection available.

Adapted for switch use or alternative access? No alternative access besides touch screen.

Mistake tolerant/intolerant? The website does not allow for mistakes to happen. For instance, if you were in the Storyboard activity and tried to put a picture in the wrong spot, it won’t allow you to put it there. Since you cannot create your own lessons or make modifications, there isn’t really a way for it to be mistake tolerant/intolerant.

Are there extension activities to print out? Yes, there are many worksheets available to print out that go along with the stories. Worksheets that are available are: Upper and lowercase letters and pre-writing.

Is there an upgrade? (free vs. subscription) No upgrades.

How long does it takes to load? Loads fairly quickly. Could not open one of the sections titled “Road to Reading”.

Are there Help options? The help menu is not very extensive. This is what is found in the help menu: Help Section Indiviudal files can be downloaded from the site and run on any PC or Mac. A print program to accompany the online material will be available shortly.

What kind of reinforcers are used? Positive noises or verbal praise for correct answers. Can’t answer incorrectly (example: in Letter Match, if you try to put a letter in the wrong spot it won’t go there).


 * Website: Storyline Online www.storylineonline.net**

Summary: contains 22 on-line video stories read by SAG actors.

Who is it for? Elementary level readers

What content is being covered? Literacy

How is the information being presented? (visuals, sound, games) The video goes back and forth between showing the pages of the book, and showing the actor reading the book. They also have a caption on/off option to show the caption at the bottom of the video screen.

Can it be modified? The only thing you can modify is the volume, full screen vs small screen, and captions on/off

Is it easy to use? yes

Is there a Data Collection option for results? They do ask you to fill out a questionnaire at the end of the story, but an adult would have to fill it out.

Adapted for switch use or alternative access? no

Mistake tolerant/intolerant? Doesn’t apply

Are there extension activities to print out? Yes. There is a related activities button that has questions that relate to the story and items/topics in the story for the teacher to use to continue discussion. Under the more activities button it lists some internet activities to link to that correspond to the story

Is there an upgrade? (free vs. subscription) No, it is just free

How long does it takes to load? Was very quick

Are there Help options? Yes, there is a help option if you can’t see the video or play it. At the bottom of the help page, there is a form to fill out and submit if you have a question that cannot be answered from the help menu.

What kind of reinforcers are used? None


 * Website: CAST UDL Bookbuilder bookbuilder.cast.org**

Summary: allows you to create and edit books for your students, or use books already created in the shared or public library.

Who is it for? You could create a book for any level reader, but the shared ones are elementary level

What content is being covered? Literacy

How is the information being presented? (visuals, sound, games) The page has pictures and text. You can enable the text-to-speech to have the story read to you if you have that option/software on your computer

Can it be modified? You can edit your own stories that you create. You cannot modify stories in the shared and public library books

Is it easy to use? Easy to navigate the website.

Is there a Data Collection option for results? no

Mistake tolerant/intolerant? Mistake tolerant. An example is when I went to upload a picture and it didn’t work, it told me that I didn’t have the right file type.

Are there extension activities to print out? No

Is there an upgrade? (free vs. subscription) No, it is just free

How long does it takes to load? Was very quick

Are there Help options? Yes, there are tips and resources tab, and a FAQ tab

What kind of reinforcers are used? None