Activities planned for the third year of the project include a large-scale study of the effectiveness of talking storybook programs with students with learning disabilities and a smaller, naturalistic study of the usefulness of bilingual versions of these programs with students with learning disabilities who are English language learners. Excluded were programs with no text, those with no speech, nonfiction books, and programs with grade 8 readability levels or above. More than 200 talking storybook programs were identified and reviewed by Project LITT staff. This is body of software is a large and heterogeneous one. Print books accompany some, but not all, programs.
Programs vary in the types and numbers of interaction opportunities they offer to students.
Opportunities for interactions with the graphics on the screen vary widely from program to program. Games and other features are found in some programs. Focus groups were held in which teachers and students were shown representative programs and asked their views of the instructional strengths and weaknesses of this body of software and its age-appropriateness. Students with learning disabilities reported that they liked the software, particularly its interactivity. Teachers were also enthusiastic, although they preferred programs that emphasized interactions with text rather than interactions with graphics.