When I first saw this, I thought… why the hell doesn’t the deaf kid just read the book. Then reality set in… how would I have learned to read (put sounds together, understand phrases, letter-to-letter creation) without Mom & Dad putting the sounds and words together with me. Hmmmmm… frack I don’t know!
Well, some clever bastard at iStoryTime, a publisher of children’s storybooks for the iPhone and iPad, announced today the launch of a groundbreaking app for deaf children. One they describe in their official press release here:
… a vivid audio-visual presentation of “Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy” that includes a sign-language interpretation. The app is the first of its kind, paving the way for many more cutting-edge products to assist this underserved population.
“We are extremely proud to release the first-ever children’s book app for the deaf community,” said iStoryTime co-Founder, Woody Sears. “Our goal is to use technology to make children’s books accessible and entertaining and we are delighted to be involved in the production of a book that will provide deaf children with the opportunity to read the popular ‘Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy’ story.”
iStoryTime’s book apps, which can be downloaded directly to an iPhone or iPod Touch or iPad, are simple to use and known for their creativity, illustrations, narrations and animation. Options for narrations on different stories include voices of adults, kids, and characters. The narration can also be turned off so that parents can read to kids.
iStoryTime books are available globally for $.99-$2.99 in the iPhone App Store in 80 countries.
Even if your child can hear perfectly… I still think this could be a wonderful learning tool for anyone (anyone with an iPad that is). Setting the ground floor for learning another language!
For a sneak peek on YouTube click “Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy“
