Sounding out Your Story with Audiojack from APH

“Audiojack has given my son a tool that makes him want to verbalize and talk about what he’s imagining, and I can do it with him. We are both on the same level.” – Maria, a mother of a visually impaired high school student

Everyone has a story to tell. But where does inspiration for these stories come from? Introducing Audiojack, a fully accessible iOS and Android app complete with sound-based movies and activities that prompt you to tell a story based on what you hear.

What is Audiojack?

An “Audiojack” is an audio-based movie comprised only of sound designs that, together, tell a story for your imagination. The Audiojack web and mobile app contain a library of Audiojacks and related activities appropriate for young students to older adults at all levels of experience. With categories like “Action and Adventure,” “Historical,” and “Wildlife,” to daily life sounds, there’s something for everyone. Plus, with single and multi-user group subscription plans, Audiojack is perfect for use at home or in a classroom, school building, or school district.

Benefits include:

• Building listening, memory, and mindfulness skills
• Useful in supporting literacy and language learning
• Provides a break from other daily life stimulations and reduces stress
• Includes activities such as creating a movie poster, storyboard, or story outline and writing a story by yourself or with others

A Teacher’s Perspective

We spoke with Rachel Antonino, an English Language Arts teacher from the Perkins School for the Blind who teaches 7-14 year olds, about how she uses Audiojack in the classroom to promote literacy and language learning activities.

Q: How do you use Audiojack in the classroom?

A: I mostly use it as a tool for a creative writing prompt, and my students love it. I have utilized the shorter stories that can be listened to multiple times in a 30-minute class. Then, I allow time for my students to have a brief free-write session about what they think is happening in story format. I have them write individually and collaboratively which is a great way to work on listening to one another and cooperative learning. I have several ideas about incorporating Audiojack sound effects with tactile items such as animals when teaching about novel topics.

Q: What skills has Audiojack helped your students develop?

A: Many students struggle with independently generating ideas and often are trying to write the “correct” thing. With Audiojack stories, there is no correct answer, and it helps build their confidence to know that whatever they write is okay and frees them to practice writing without trying to “get it right.” I do ask them to continue building their editing skills as they write and when they reread their work.

Q: Do your students enjoy using Audiojack in the classroom? Can you give us an example?

A: My students enjoy using their imaginations through a format that is nonvisual and everyone is experiencing it the same way. They enjoy the writing activities as a creative outlet.

One particular small group class (two students) is working collaboratively to write a story based on the Audiojack story “Goliath.” They regularly come to our weekly class asking if they can continue their story writing. We started this months ago with the intention of it being a short writing activity, and the story keeps growing. They don’t want to stop!