10 million books read

“A child learning to read in a kindergarten class has access to entire libraries of books that are written for beginning readers and have subject matter interesting to a child,” said Karen Erickson, director of the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies in the Department of Allied Health Sciences. “An older student learning to read, however, may have trouble finding a book for beginning readers about an interesting subject, and a student with a physical disability may not have the motor function to turn pages while reading.”

Tar Heel Reader, an online program that helps students with disabilities learn to read independently, has had nearly 10 million books read. The site, which was created by Erickson and Gary Bishop of the Department of Computer Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, reached the milestone less than a decade after its launch.

“I’m a programmer, so I’m an optimist,” Bishop said, “but I’m amazed by how far-reaching Tar Heel Reader has become.”

Read the complete Carolina Story from the UNC College of Arts & Sciences…

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