"Clicker Books give students the ability to read in a supported way, but it also gives them the ability to write in a supported way." — Rose Racicot, Assistive Technology Specialist & Occupational Therapist

In this final webinar of the series, Rose Racicot and I shared how Clicker Books bring the flexibility and accessibility that classrooms need to help students become confident readers and writers. Reading and writing develop at different stages, and Clicker Books support those processes with accessibility and personalization.

What's covered in this session?

• LearningGrids: Getting started with Clicker Books
• Real classroom examples: How educators are using Clicker Books
• Clicker Book accessibility for all learners

LearningGrids: Getting started with Clicker Books

What's the best way to introduce Clicker Books into your classroom? LearningGrids.

LearningGrids is a resource bank with over 3,300 premade resources for download, and over 650 of those are Clicker Books. The resources are flexible and customizable for teachers. LearningGrids provides a foundation from which teachers can still differentiate the content to meet the specific needs of their students and their curriculum.

Clicker Books are available in three main formats:

• Read a Book
  Premade books with embedded speech support are ideal for students who benefit from listening while reading along.
  
  
• Read it Yourself
  Books that encourage independent reading while still providing customizable options for speech support, such as tapping or clicking on words students find challenging.
  
  
• Make a Book
  A completely customizable option where students can create their own books by combining text and images to show what they've learned.

Rose and I shared how LearningGrids simplifies the planning and resource creation for teachers. Its ready-to-use content is easily adaptable. For example, if teachers are using a traditional story like “The Gingerbread Man,” and they want to use the simplified Read It Yourself version but still make full use of Clicker’s speech support, the Clicker Book can be easily adapted for that. Let’s say that you have emerging readers, multilingual learners, or students with reading difficulties, a speech button can be added to each page so that everyone can follow along as the text is read aloud. The combination of premade content, customizable options, and multiple formats means Clicker Books can be personalized to fit the needs of any classroom for whole group, small group, or one-on-one settings.

Real classroom examples: How educators are using Clicker Books

Rose shared several examples of real classrooms using Clicker. Rose recently volunteered in her son's middle school classroom in Bellevue, Washington. The classroom had students with varying needs, including a student in a wheelchair and several students with autism. The lesson centered around the book From Seed to Pumpkin. They read it aloud using an interactive whiteboard. After reading the story, students sequenced the events by dragging and dropping images using another LearningGrids resource.

What made this lesson stand out was the range of abilities supported by Clicker Books. Some students independently accessed the book; others relied on switches and assistive devices, but all could easily participate. That’s the beauty of Clicker Books. It gives every student the chance to be involved and learn alongside their peers, regardless of their skill level or physical abilities.

Another example involved a high school student using Clicker Books to present to a preschool class. The student, who used switches for accessibility, read a story aloud to the preschoolers using Clicker's two-switch scanning feature. It was clear how much independence, ownership, and autonomy this student felt. It gave the student powerful interactions with others in a way that wouldn’t have been possible without Clicker's accessible tools.

Clicker Books help teachers provide differentiated instruction and create an inclusive learning environment where every student has equitable opportunities.

Clicker Book accessibility: Supporting every learner

Every student deserves the best, not less. One of the most significant advantages of Clicker Books is the rich accessibility features – because every learner really means every learner. Clicker Books support high expectations for all students by pairing highly effective teaching practices with the individualized guidance and support special education students’ needs.

Rose and I showed how Clicker Books integrate seamlessly with eye-gaze technology, switches, and customizable display options. It also has a wide range of visual accessibility options, so teachers can adjust background colors, font sizes, and text contrast to support students with visual impairments. For example, one school in Brooklyn uses Clicker Books with high-contrast settings and enlarged text for students with complex visual needs. Reading is more accessible and enables students’ full engagement with the material.

Elementary classrooms need a rich library of reading materials, and Clicker provides abundant resources along with necessary scaffolds, access, and differentiation. All students benefit from Clicker Books, whether on a computer, iPad, or Chromebook, thanks to the platform's accessibility tools.

Do you want measurable reading growth? Make your books accessible.

Every student is competent and capable. They just need the right support to show what they know.

Clicker Books can support literacy development for all learners. You want to provide teachers with rich resources, help them differentiate instruction without burning out, and give every student access to reading and writing growth. In that case, Clicker Books have the flexibility and accessibility needed for engaging and inclusive learning.

You can easily integrate Clicker Books into your classroom to promote reading and writing growth.