Is your school board using Google accessibility apps and extensions?
Here’s a brief demonstration video on how to use Snapverter, an add-on for Read&Write for Google Chrome that allows you or your student to convert a printed document (assignment, page of a book, etc) into a digital document that can be used with Read& Write. A great tool for increasing accessibility!
If you are using Office 365, a feature within the OfficeLens app allows your student to scan a text by taking a picture, then read the text within the app itself by using the “immersive reader” function. Check out the short video below for a demonstration!
Are you looking for ways that you can use text to speech for the WRITING process for your students? Check out our brief video on how to enable free accessibility features on the iPad.
Looking for text-to-speech options for your students? Here is a brief video of how to use the FREE text-to-speech accessibility options for reading on an iPad.
As we start to develop and introduce students to accessible e-text in one of the pilot secondary schools for this project, there are important questions and conversations that are emerging from this implementation. Here are some of these questions that we are exploring with our school-based professionals:
What is reading? How does reading with supported e-text “fit in” to the traditional definition of reading?
How does text format change the way students interpret, comprehend and respond to text?
How does text-to-speech work? How does it help the student with a learning disability or reading disability? How do we scaffold use of text-to-speech for reading purposes?
Should all students be offered multiple format options when it comes to reading? Or should certain formats be “reserved” for students with specific learning profiles?
How do we offer these choices in the context of independent reading?
Continue reading “Reflections on using text to speech for reading: the question of “cheating””
As educators, we’ve been working with text-to-speech for many years now. Most of us are familiar with free or commercial products that can be used for reading digital text. But what does text-to-speech actually DO? And how does it support our students when they read?
We know that reading is a process of constructing meaning from print and decoding is just one element of this process. (Reading Rockets, 2001). We also know that students who struggle with decoding text need adaptations in order to access content. Text-to-speech technology is an important adaptation that allows students to access content to which they would not otherwise have access. By reading the text aloud to the student through voice synthesis or through audio narration, difficulties with decoding are bypassed. Continue reading “What is text-to-speech technology and how does it support our students?”
Accessible Reading Quebec 