Student with Dyslexia Discovers What It’s Like to Read: Emery’s Story

Emery is a 6th grade student with dyslexia. She thought she would never learn how to read. Emery would get angry at herself because she could not understand the words she was reading or read like other kids. At the age of 7, Emery was diagnosed with dyslexia. With the support of her family and dyslexia resources like the Bookshare ebook library and Scottish Rites, Emery’s reading and school experience pivoted 180 degrees. Using specialized audiobooks from Bookshare, she was able to learn how to track, decode, and understand that there was more to reading than word-for-word. She finally discovered what it was like to read for everyone. In this touching video, hear the before and after of Emery’s reading experience, as well as the thoughts and insights of her parents, Brandy and Mac.

Please share Emery’s story with others. If you or someone you know has dyslexia, or struggles with reading due to reading barriers like a learning disability, blindness, vision loss, or cerebral palsy, learn how Bookshare ebooks can make reading easier.

Bookshare is an ebook library for people with reading barriers and is FREE for U.S. schools and students with qualifying disabilities. Source: www.bookshare.org

Friday "Appy" Hour: Reading Bookshare Books Downloaded in Word

Bookshare books can now be downloaded in Word and read with any compatible editor or reading tool. This is a common, easy-to-use format that allows members to customize the book’s text to meet their reading needs. Members can do the following with Word:

• See the text
• Customize the font size, colors, styles, and more
• Annotate text
• And additional features depending on the tool

How to Access Books in Word

Here are the steps for accessing Bookshare books in Word:

1. Log in to Bookshare
2. Select a desired book
3. Select "Word" from the drop-down menu next to "Download" and follow the steps to complete the download process
4. Find the zipped file in your "Downloads" folder
5. Extract the zipped file

Once the file has been extracted, you can open it with a compatible editor or reading tool.

Submit Feedback on Word Format

Do you have suggestions on how we can make Bookshare’s Word option better? Share some feedback!

Read Aloud with Latest Version of Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word 2016 has a Read Aloud feature that lets you hear your document and see each word highlighted simultaneously. (Learn more about Microsoft Word's Read Aloud feature.)

Webinar Wednesday: Book Creator Webinar Series for Summer

In the world of Ed Tech and assistive technology, when you find an app, for lack of better words, that just works, you really get excited. Book Creator is one of those apps. It's a top-quality creation tool which empowers kids of many ages to publish their own digital books.With it's simplistic interface students can easy navigate the features to build pages, providing for more opportunities to enable your students to focus on creatively designing and publishing their work digitally. For struggling or emerging readers, Book Creator has a "built-in" 'Read to Me' feature available on both iOS and Chrome. This updated feature provides your students with the ability to listen to their books read aloud using your device’s text-to-speech capabilities. Additionally, Book Creator can highlight the words as they are read and turn the pages automatically.

So now that you're hooked, the question is, where can you learn more about Book Creator?

Join fellow blogger, Monica Burns (@ClassTechTips), for a free webinar series to explore a variety of ways students can “show what they know” across subject areas when creating ebooks with Book Creator. From May through August of this year, Monica will be hosting 10 Book Creator webinars all about this open-ended creation tool.

Each webinar has a specific focus where you’ll find lots of different ideas to take back to your students or the teachers you support. You’ll need to register for each webinar individually.

Interested in a topic, but unable to make the date? Not to worry. Register anyway and a recording will be sent for you to watch at a more convenient time. Space is limited for each webinar, so don't delay in registering. Below you can find a list of the various topics with links to register. Please note all webinar times are EST.

For more details on what will be focused on specifically in each webinar, click on the link below:

Book Creator Webinar Series for Summer

Source: Book Creator, Class Tech Tips

Benefits of Text-To-Speech Tools with Beth Poss

You can watch the interview with Poss below, or view the interview transcript.

Biography

Beth Poss is a faculty member for the Center on Technology and Disability and an early childhood special education administrator for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in Maryland. As a member of the MCPS curriculum writing team, she helped design and implement a curriculum aligned with the Common Core State Standards and the principles of Universal Design for Learning. As a certified Speech Language Pathologist, she served as a member of the MCPS assistive technology team for 10 years.

Poss is also an adjunct faculty member for Johns Hopkins University, and presents nationally and internationally on best practices in professional development, early childhood special education, assistive technology, instructional technology, and Universal Design for Learning.

Accommodating Students with Dyslexia

For educators and parents alike, working with a child with dyslexia can pose many obstacles. Where do you begin for interventions and accommodations? In an age of technology, luckily there are many resources and tools available at your fingertips to help bridge the gap and provide access to print materials for the thousands of struggling readers.

The following article, Accommodating Students with Dyslexia by Jessica Hamman, featured on Edutopia's website provides five easy-to-implement accommodations to support students with dyslexia in the classroom. These tips are helpful for those just beginning to learn more about the accommodations available, and also a helpful reminder for those already familiar with accommodations. Click the link below to read!

Accommodating Students with Dyslexia Article

Source: Edutopia

Is Assistive Technology Cheating?

Is it “cheating” to use assistive technology (AT) like dictation and text-to-speech? Does it give kids an unfair advantage? Hear from Jamie Martin, assistive technology consultant and dyslexia expert, on these and other common myths about AT tools.

3-Minute Tutorial: How to Use Text-to-Speech on a Mobile Device

Did you know that nearly every mobile device offers text-to-speech? In other words, your phone can actually read to you what’s displaying on the screen. For kids with reading issues, this can be extremely helpful in everything from doing research for school to browsing social media.

Watch as assistive technology expert Jamie Martin walks you through how to turn on this feature on your phone (both iPhone and Android). It’s much simpler than you may think! Then read more about assistive technology that’s built into mobile devices.

To view the original post from Understood.org click here.

Where It's AT Blogiversary: Giveaway #1: C-Pen Reader by Scanning Pen

*Update: Congratulations to our randomly selected winner: Heather P.! Be sure to check out each day's giveaways!*

The time has come to officially celebrate the one year anniversary of Where It's AT with the first of MANY giveaways. And the best news of all is there are SO many giveaways the celebration is being extended into next week too! 

*Please make sure you are a confirmed subscriber of the blow and enter the form below to be entered to win! A winner will be drawn tonight at 11:59 PM EST*

Enter below to win your own C-Pen Reader by Scanning Pen. This giveaway is valued over $250. If you have not had the chance to explore the wonder of the C-Pen, this is your chance to do so. The C-Pen Reader is a portable device for independent reading, data capture and dictionary lookup that reads aloud in both English (US & UK) and Spanish.  Struggling readers now have the power to read right at their fingertips. After submitting your entry below, read the information and check out the video to see the C-Pen Reader in action! 

Assistive Technology at a Glance

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To access the full article, click here: 

Understood.org AT at a Glance Article

For many children with reading disabilities, including kids with dyslexia, assistive technology (AT) can help to remove barriers and reduce daily academic struggles. With the field of technology always evolving, it almost seems like new technologies become available each day. This can be both challenging and overwhelming for parents and educators who are unsure of which technologies would work for their student or child. The big question is....Where should I begin? To help provide a starting point, the team at Understood.org has created a guide featuring AT tools for reading and tips on where to locate the tools. 

Types of Assistive Technology Tools for Reading

Here are some of the most helpful AT tools for reading.

• Text-to-speech (TTS) lets kids see text and hear it read aloud at the same time. To use this tool, kids click on or highlight words, and the words are read by a computer-generated voice. TTS can be used with books, emails, web pages and any digital text. It can also be used to convert text files into audio files.
• Audiobooks and digital TTS books allow kids to hear books read aloud. Some kids like to read along with the book so they can see the words at the same time. Audiobooks are read by human voices. Digital TTS books are created with TTS, and use computer-generated voices.
• Optical character recognition (OCR) reads aloud text from images and pictures. Kids with reading issues can use OCR by taking photos of worksheets and other documents, and even objects like street signs. They can also scan documents in. OCR can read words from pictures on web pages (such as image files, like JPG). Like TTS, OCR uses computer-generated voices.
• Graphic organizers are visual representations, like diagrams and mind maps, of ideas and concepts. Kids can use graphic organizers to take notes while reading, which can help with comprehension. Graphic organizers can be digital or pen and paper.
• Annotation tools let kids take notes and write comments while reading. This can make it easier to retain information. Annotation tools can be found on certain software or apps, or they can be traditional pens, markers and sticky notes.
• Display control allows kids to control how text is displayed. When reading on a screen, they can change the font, font size, color and spacing of text. Kids can also mask or cover parts of the screen to lessen distractions while reading. When reading on paper, they can use a simple adaptive tool, like a plastic reading guide. Some books use large print or special fonts. Or they may replace certain words with images.
• Dictionaries and thesauri allow kids to look up words they don’t understand when reading. A picture dictionary is a popular tool that uses images to define words. And a talking dictionary reads definitions aloud.

Where to Access Assistive Technology for Reading

Some reading tools are “low-tech.” There are traditional classroom tools like sticky notes and highlighter pens. You can typically find them at any store that sells school supplies.

Your child’s school or teacher may be able to provide certain adaptive tools, like reading guides or special worksheets. You can check with the school or local library to access certain stand-alone technology tools, like books on tape or CD (kids will need audio player to use them). You may also want to learn about where to find free audiobooks and digital TTS books.

Today, however, most AT tools for reading are used on one of three computer platforms for assistive technology:

• Desktop and laptop computers: Computers typically have built-in AT options, like TTS. You can download software programs for reading issues to add more AT functions to computers.
• Mobile devices (like tablets and smartphones): Mobile devices also have built-in AT. You can add more reading tools to mobile devices with apps. Explore Tech Finder to find apps for reading issues.
• Chromebooks (and Chrome browsers on any device): Chromebooks also have built-in AT. And you can add Chrome apps and extensions to help kids with reading issues even more.

Learn more about assistive technology. Find out whether schools will pay for reading tools for your child. And get an expert’s advice on the first assistive technology to try for your child.

Source: Understood.org

Webinar Wednesday: How to Use Speech Recognition for Writing

Speech Recognition—it's now accessible in a variety of devices and apps including Co:Writer. But, how do we leverage it with students? In this webinar, hosted by Don Johnston, the creater of Co:Writer, you'll learn how to consider, try, assess, and implement speech recognition. You'll also learn how to assess effectiveness.

Presenter: Daniel Cochrane (@DCochraneATP), AT specialist/coordinator for   Community Unit School District 200 in Wheaton and Warrenville, IL.

Presenter: Kelly Key (@KKey_AT), AT Coordinator, Barrington Community       School District 220 in Barrington, IL.

What: How to Use Speech Recognition for Writing

When: December 6, 2016 

4:30 PM - 5:30 PM (CST)

Source: Don Johnston

Friday "Appy" Hour: Claro ScanPen

Friday "Appy" Hour: Claro ScanPen App

This year I was introduced, through the ATIA conference, to a new text-to-speech app called Claro ScanPen, developed by Claro Software. Claro Software is a world reknowned company known best for their development of assistive software for students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia, visual processing issues, working memory deficiencies and other language-based delays and disabilities.

How it works...
ScanPen, is an app that is used in combination with the camera on your Apple device to scan a photo of printed text. Using the built in OCR (optical character recognition)tool, the scanned text is then read aloud using the built-in text-to-speech feature. The OCR tools of the app are impressive due largely in part to the top-quality ABBYY OCR engine. Another added perk of this app is that it does not require a Wi-Fi connection making it accessible virtually everywhere!

This app is simplistic in it's functionality making it easy for even the youngest users or those less adept to technology to learn quickly.

Features...
ScanPen lets you snap a photo of a page of printed text and then reads it back to you using your chosen voice and swipe settings. When you first open the app, the camera is active and ready for taking a picture and there are just 3 buttons on the screen for clicking – super simple, right? The gear icon at the top right will take you to some of the settings and options (we’ll get to those later), the circle centered at the bottom takes the photo (as you’d expect), and the icon at the very bottom right will let you choose an existing photo from an album or gallery on your device.

ScanPen Selection Modes...

Once you’ve taken or selected your picture, you just swipe your finger across the text to hear it read aloud in real time. The default voice is the standard iOS voice for your country (USA, UK, etc.) and the default swipe/read setting (labeled ‘selection modes’ in the settings) is to read by line. Reading by line means that when you swipe across a part of any line of text, ScanPen will read back any of the lines you’ve touched starting from the very left side of the page and continuing to the end of that line. Keep in mind though, ScanPen doesn’t care if that line contains whole sentences or not. It will read complete lines of text from left to right regardless of whether those points are the beginnings or ends of sentences.

The other selection modes are ‘All’ and ‘Words’. Choosing the ‘All‘ setting will tell ScanPen to read the entire page from beginning to end in response to any swipe anywhere on the screen of text. Choosing ‘Words‘ will tell ScanPen to read just those words that are specifically touched by your swipe. Again, please be aware that when you swipe by word, ScanPen does not disseminate if your swipe covers a full sentence or crosses down into multiple lines. The Words selection mode does exactly as it is designed to do.

Additionally, upon initially using the app, the voice and speaking rate will be set to a default. Both of these can be adjusted. To change the voice, you can purchase, through in-app purchase, additional voices that suit your needs.

Students more accustomed to text-to-speech technology will be able to start at a much faster speaking rate and probably even increase from there over time. In fact, people who use text-to-speech products really regularly will quite often listen at a rate that sounds almost indecipherable to those of us with less experience. This allows students using AT products to get through text at a speed similar to that which their non-disabled peers read naturally.

 Versatility Within the Classroom and Home Settings...

An app like ScanPen, which is a lightweight OCR and text-to-speech tool, means that students who might have shied away from higher education or loftier career goals in the past due to their disability now have the confidence to reach higher than ever before. Students who have learning disabilities that impact their ability to read with independence and confidence now are provided a "secret weapon". Not only can students who are below level in reading now read grade level materials presented, but they can also approach grade level word problems which cause great difficulty for many struggling readers.

In addition to being a great go-anywhere tool for people with reading difficulties, ScanPen can also be used by those with little to no vision at all. For example, a user who is blind could use VoiceOver, which is already built-into iOS devices, to snap a photo of a piece of text and then navigate the menus to set the highlight to “all” to trigger ScanPen to begin reading the scanned text.

OCR and text-to-speech tools like ScanPen are quickly becoming nearly indispensable to students with dyslexia and other reading disabilities – especially within the upper grade levels. The students, families and teachers I have shared and implemented this app with are sure to find a great value in this app as a diagnostic and everyday support tool.

To learn more about Claro ScanPen, visit the Claro App's website. If you already own this app and are looking for more information, watch the video below that demonstrates how to use this app in line mode.

 

Cost...

• The app costs $6.99 for a single license
• For bulk purchases or purchases made through MDMs, you can purchase the app through their VPP!

You can download Claro ScanPen on the App Store now!




**Information from this post was adapted from the article "A Review of Claro ScanPen by Michelle  Paley.**