Welcome!

Welcome to the first entry in the new CALL Scotland Blog!

We will be using the Blog to share information about our work, events we are organising and developments in augmentative and alternative communication, assistive technology and education.

The BBC's Accessible Newsreader

The BBC have launched an accessible news service website, allowing switch users to chose news items for reading. People using the site can use a switch to choose stories from Headlines, UK News, World News, Sports News, Animal News and Showbiz and can them have the material read aloud by the computer.

The site has already received positive comment from the United States - see the Teaching Learners with Multiple Special Needs website. We know of a school in Scotland where a class has been making use of this exciting, new resource. One pupil was particularly annoyed to hear about an MP claiming back the cost of a toilet seat on his expenses and expressed herself so well that she was awarded an NVQ pass for expressing her views on a controversial subject!

We think it is great that a major news organisation has made the effort to create a news site that is accessible for switch users. The BBC are already planning improvements to the site and CALL have made some suggestions which will be taken on board as the project develops. Let us know if there are any improvements that you would like to see and we'll pass them on to our contact in the BBC.