Sueñaletras: UC Chile Innovation Strengthens Inclusion in Schools

Sueñaletras was created in 2007, based on the research by professionals at the Center for the Development of Inclusion Technologies, UC Chile (CEDETi, as per its acronym in Spanish) to provide real solutions to the challenges facing Chile. At that time, the mission was to strengthen access to education for deaf and hard-of-hearing children through a fun and interactive tool that promotes learning to read and write through play. 

Now, eighteen years later, this educational solution, winner of the 2011 WISE Award granted by the Qatar Foundation, is launching its version 4.0 with the challenge of continuing to promote the inclusion of deaf and hearing students, through the teaching and use of sign language in all educational communities. 

Sueñaletras is an educational technology that combines interactive and highly accessible visual activities that promote visual phonological awareness, letter recognition, decoding, and early reading comprehension. Through games, visual aids, and progress tracking, Sueñaletras offers teachers, speech therapists, and families an inclusive, evidence-based tool to facilitate the reading development in students with hearing needs, promoting equal access to written language. 

Sueñaletras 4.0: Updates and improvements 

With a revamped graphic design and strategic adjustments for users, the software presents an updated version adapted to current times. “We simplified its configuration and administration, so that anyone can add new words. In addition, we launched the Sueñaletras Creator app, which enables people from all countries to create their own versions adapted to their local languages,” explains Paulina Contreras, Director of ICTs and Continuing Education at UC Chile CEDETi. 

To date, Sueñaletras has been downloaded over 43,000 times in Chile, and has been adapted to the sign languages of over ten countries. It is available in Panama, France, Greece, Pakistan, Argentina, Costa Rica, Brazil, Spain, and Mexico, among others. Also, a new version for Bosnia is being developed this year. Once downloaded, the software does not require an internet connection and can be used in Windows and MacOS. 

Transfer to schools in Chile 

Through a field activity organized by the UC Chile CEDETi team, third grade students at Vicente Reyes Palazuelos School in Maipú had the opportunity to learn about and explore the software firsthand with activities that promoted the participation of deaf and hearing children, as well as their teachers. Working in teams, they guessed the signs for different animals, objects, and places, and they recorded themselves in their school’s computer lab to include the sign that identifies each one. 

“Sueñaletras is very practical. Students can learn new words and add their own signs. This will encourage them to continue learning. For us, it is important to keep working on inclusion, especially with deaf students. This is a great contribution to our school,” mentions Jacqueline Ortiz, principal of Vicente Reyes Palazuelos School. 

Meanwhile, fifth grade students at Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra School in Santiago were introduced to the software for the first time. For many children, it was their first encounter with Chilean Sign Language. “It is very important for all educational communities to have access to these tools, because today we are open to a lot of diversity, to children with different abilities, and it is important that they have the maximum tools and potential to be able to do what they need,” mentions Constanza Bilbao, a teacher at this school. 

From Chile to the world 

One of the main challenges for the UC Chile CEDETI team is to expand the reach of Sueñaletras in schools and libraries in Chile, and also abroad. Although the software is already available in more than 15 countries, the latest version, along with the Sueñaletras Creator app, offers much greater autonomy when creating new versions adapted to the reality of each country through a simple, accessible, and free procedure.

Scaling the impact of this innovation will be key to advancing toward a more inclusive world using sign language.  

Testing the new version with children and educators 

More than 80 children from Maipú, Viña del Mar, La Granja, San Joaquín, and Santiago participated in the launch of Sueñaletras 4.0 at the Santiago Library. 

Participating in the activity were Director of the National Disability Service (Senadis, as per its initials in Spanish), Pedro Goic; Director of Santiago Library, Marcela Valdés; Manager of UC Chile Transfer in Social Sciences and Education, Anneliese Marín; General Director of Center of Inclusion Technologies Development, UC Chile CEDETi, Ricardo Rosas; and Executive Director of UC Chile CEDETi, Ximena Salas. 

“At the Office of Transfer and Development, and UC Chile EduLab, we highly value projects like Sueñaletras 4.0, developed by UC Chile CEDETi, which reflect how technology transfer can have a concrete social impact. This initiative not only promotes the educational inclusion of deaf children but also strengthens teaching skills and enriches teaching-learning processes through innovation and use of technology for learning sign language learning,” highlighted Anneliese Marín, Manager of UC Chile Transfer and Intellectual Property in Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities. 

“Anyone who wishes to learn sign language has access to this free software,” mentioned Paulina Contreras, Director of ICTs and Continuing Education at UC Chile CEDETi. 

“At Senadis, we emphasize the importance of research and development based on the experiences and the perspectives of the individuals themselves, as well as those of the educational communities. We also value initiatives such as Sueñaletras, which serve communities completely free of charge, promoting learning as an entertaining, welcoming, and accessible experience,” concluded Pedro Goic, National Director of Senadis.