Weave Chat AAC vs Auto MAIN

Weave Chat AAC is a free, dynamic, and completely customizable AAC app that is available to a variety of devices. There are over 3,500 pre-configured words with a symbol library including more than 65,000 symbols that you can choose from. Weave Chat AAC offers a large variety of verbs (green), pronouns (yellow), questions (purple), nouns (tan/orange), adjectives (blue), and conversational words (pink). All color choices were made based on the Fitzgerald Key and new vocabulary is added weekly. Users can add their own custom images and categories in Settings —> Manage Custom Images. In addition, users can add their own custom phrases that can easily be accessed from their board; to add phrases, go to Settings —> Manage Phrases. Users can select a synthetic voice (dependent on their device settings) from Settings —> Change Voice Settings - here you can select your voice, vocal pitch, and rate of speech. Image and text size can be personalized from Settings —> Change Image & Text Size (select from default - small, medium, and large). Settings —> Configure Image Keyboard allows the user to turn on/off features that allow for the category text to be read aloud (synthetic voice for categories), to keep the user in the category after a image has been selected (stay on category after image selection), and disable the speech output for individual words so that it only reads aloud when the white text screen is touched (synthetic voice disabled for individual words). The AAC board can be modified in Settings —> Manage Board Builder. Here, the user can select from the default board (you must make a copy to edit it - to do this select “Add new keyboard” and then select “Hide Images” for Type of Keyboard); grid position boards (ranging in size from 1x2 - 7x15 rows/columns); and Board Builder (gives you the option to build a board from scratch). All boards are completely editable and all custom images and categories can be used from all boards. Lastly, Manage Pin Configuration allows the user to set a pin over all (or just some) aspects of customization to lock down features as needed. Feature List: - Dynamic, customizable, AAC boards - Large variety of verbs, nouns, and adjectives with additional vocabulary added weekly - Add custom images and custom categories - Create and save phrases - Select a synthetic voice (as available per your device settings) - Copy & Paste AAC picture icon messages via “share” - Create and/or modify AAC boards via 3 options: grid position boards (ranging from 1x2 - 7x15), hide images, and/or create a new board from scratch - “Text” others who have the app using AAC picture icons - Set a passcode to lock down features as needed - Weave Chat AAC currently only has English buttons/images

Auto MAIN is an innovative app designed to empower South African educators by providing a streamlined and effective way to conduct multilingual narrative assessments. Specifically tailored for young children, the app focuses on two of South Africa's official languages: Afrikaans and IsiXhosa. The core functionality of Auto MAIN revolves around the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (MAIN). This established protocol uses a series of six-picture sequences to prompt children to tell a story. The app's technology then takes over, automatically transcribing the child's oral narrative from the image prompts. This process eliminates the need for manual transcription, saving teachers significant time and effort. Beyond simply transcribing, Auto MAIN uses a machine-learning model to analyze the transcribed stories. This analysis provides teachers with a range of data-driven insights into a child's narrative and comprehension skills. The app generates scores on various aspects of the narrative, such as structural complexity and cohesion. By doing so, it provides a comprehensive overview of a child's progress and development in key areas of early language and literacy. One of the most valuable features of Auto MAIN is its ability to flag children who may require early intervention. The app's machine-learning system can identify potential red flags in a child's story, allowing teachers to provide targeted support and personalized learning plans. By automating the assessment process, Auto MAIN not only makes it more efficient but also ensures consistency and objectivity. It allows teachers to focus on what they do best: teaching and building meaningful connections with their students, while the app handles the administrative burden of detailed assessments. This makes Auto MAIN a tool for supporting early language development in South Africa's diverse and multilingual classrooms.