Hairy Maclary brought to life with sign language

Hairy Maclary brought to life with sign language

The much-loved children’s book, Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy, was brought to life for Kiwi kids through sign language today. The book is part of a series of experiential digital books created by Kiwa Digital for New Zealand’s hearing impaired children.

Education Minister Hekia Parata launched the books in Wellington today as part of New Zealand Sign Language Week. It’s the first time the iconic tale of Hairy Maclary has incorporated New Zealand sign language.

Kiwa Digital has produced six Ready to Read digital books with NZ sign language for the Ministry of Education. Ready to Read is a resource published by the Ministry of Education and used in schools across the country to teach literacy skills. This is the first time interactive digital books are available in the curriculum.

Kiwa has been publishing children’s picture books using its patented voice synchronisation technology since 2009. The patented formats are proven to deepen engagement and comprehension to provide an effective aid to literacy tuition.

At the recent opening of its Auckland production house, Kiwa announced it’s expanding from children’s picture books into young adult and adult markets. “It’s a move to take advantage of the opportunities in the education sector as technology transforms the way students experience teaching and learning,” said Rhonda Kite, CEO of Kiwa Digital.

Books can be published in a digital format where audio is perfectly synchronised to text, word by word. The dramatic narration linked to the highlighted words brings the content to life for the reader, increasing engagement and understanding.

The digital books launched today are available on both Apple and Android platforms from Google and Apple stores.

For more information about Kiwa Digital visit: www.kiwadigital.com

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