Follow us throughout September as Marie Arrington MAT, educational specialist, highlights how technology can help students from preschool to college. 

Audio Books Help Us Engage Our Senses!
Audio books can be an extremely helpful way to help any child read and comprehend material that is at-age level, and even for some, above age level. One of the most engaging ways for children to learn any academic skill is through a hands-on, kinesthetic approach. For reading, audio books provide this method. Audio books engage 3 out of 5 of our senses: sight, hearing, and touch. (Although it would be great to also taste and smell what we are reading, we unfortunately have to leave those senses to our cookbooks!) The more engagement a child has with their text, the more they will better understand, remember, and comprehend all they have read. This will likely not only help improve their grades in school, but this will also lead to a rise in their self-esteem. My favorite audiobook applications are:

• Learning Ally and Bookshare: These online libraries were created for children with dyslexia, visual impairments and blindness. Not only are there thousands of audiobooks available through these sites, they also provide a wide range of supports and resources for parents and educators. **Your child must be diagnosed with a visual impairment or a specific learning disability to gain access to their bookshelf of audiobooks
• Audible, iBooks, Audiobooks.com, Nook, etc.: For children without a learning disability, these applications provide a fun, multisensory approach to help engage your child in their readings.

Contact Marie at 704-541-9080 ext. 216 to develop a list for your student.