Learning Sight Words vs GoTalk® Start

Studies have shown that good readers look at some words and automatically decode them. The Sight Words app lets beginning readers get a head start on learning these words. It helps older students who are struggling with reading master the sight words. There are 208 words organized by level of difficulty–Pre-Primer, Primer, Grade 1, Grade 2, and Grade 3. The colorful photos provide a visual cue for the word. The phrases and sentences help the student visualize the word in context. Once the student is familiar with the words, use the Settings button to switch to the Practice mode. The app will display each of the words along with foils. The default is to find three targets in a field of fifteen foils. Both the number of targets and the number of foils can be changed in the Options. When the student is doing well in the Practice level, tap the Settings button to look at the options for the Challenge level. The Challenge level has foils that are not necessarily familiar to the student. The default is to find three targets in a field of fifteen foils. At first the foils are words that (usually) have no letters in common with the target word. If the student finds all of the targets in less than 20 seconds per screen with few mistakes, the app automatically changes the foils to words that look more like the target. When all of the target words have been practiced, the app moves the student to the next level of difficulty—all words start with a capital letter. When all the words have been viewed, the app again moves to a more difficult level—words randomly starting with a capital or lowercase letter. Appropriate for neurotypical children ages K-3rd grade, and children or adults having difficulty reading due to problems with with Auditory Processing, Auditory Conceptualization, Central Auditory Processing Disorders (CAPD), TBI, or Stroke. This app is based on the Sight Words DVD from LocuTour.

Attainment has been making augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) tools for 25 years. Our experience is front and center in GoTalk Start, a flexible, easy-to-use, yet powerful communication app for people who have difficulty speaking. As the name implies, GoTalk Start is a great way to start using your iPad for AAC. Built on the framework of Attainment’s full-featured GoTalk NOW, GoTalk Start has all the essentials of an effective AAC app, like adjustable page layouts, customizable navigation, recorded and text-to-speech capabilities, and an included symbol set. Choose from over 60 ready-to-use, high quality text-to-speech voices in 30 languages! So why is GoTalk Start less expensive than GoTalk NOW? Because GoTalk Start is limited to five Communication Pages and doesn’t offer the sharing capabilities of GoTalk NOW. If you need more Communication Pages or the ability to share, simply upgrade your GoTalk Start to full GoTalk NOW Features via an in-app purchase. The new Start offers three styles of communication pages: Standard, Express, and Scene. In Standard pages, the action occurs when the location is pressed. In Express pages, recorded or text-to-speech messages build in a speech bar and play in sequence when the bar is pressed. Scene pages are built around a single photo or image. When you arrange invisible hotspots over people or objects in the photo, the hotspots play speech, music, or videos! Feel free to mix and match pages within a communication book. Create a communication book with unique settings and up to 5 pages in length. Envision the impact of blending video, music, and jump to actions among your pages. How cool is it to have access to 30 different text-to-speech voices, in a variety of different languages! Plus, GoTalk Start is a full-feature scanning app! Features: • Choose 1, 2, 4, 9, 16, or 25 locations per page. • Ability to create multiple books with unlimited pages via in-app purchase. • Use images from your iPad camera, photo library, or the Imagine Symbol set. • Search the Internet in-app for the perfect image or icon. • Purchase SymbolStix or Widgit Symbols libraries in-app. • Crop, scale, or rotate an image using your fingers. • Combine multiple images in a single communication location. • Color pages, borders, and text with any hue. • Move and size text with your fingers so it feels just right. • Record your voice or use our free text-to-speech voice. • Access 30 different text-to-speech voices, in an assortment of different languages. • Add spoken labels (auditory cues) to any button. Great for scanning, guiding visually impaired users, and identifying any new or difficult vocabulary. • Trim videos in-app, and play them from any communication location. • Select our alternate video interface to pause or exit the video easily. • Link songs from your playlist to any communication location and control them with Pause/Play, Next, and Previous. • Include a core vocabulary button for extra quick access to important messages. • Create multimedia social stories and step-by-step instruction layouts by linking pages with an after action. •In-app purchase allows for back up of communication books via Dropbox or to any Mac or PC for safekeeping. • Store and share interactive templates (each including speech, video, text, and jump to links) on our online gallery via in-app purchase. • Download and edit premade templates from Attainment’s collection on the public gallery available via in-app purchase. • Print and save communication book layouts via PDFs. • Access Start with single or two-switch scanning. GoTalk Start participates in Apple's Volume Purchasing Program for Education in the United States. Attainment is well known for top-notch customer service. Email us with questions or comments and check our website for free webinars. And yes, we're happy to talk to you on the telephone!