Textures can be added to the inside of text of specific words to help teach meaning. Providing a visualization of a word can help it stick with someone’s memory. Textures can be added using Word Art in Microsoft Word, Adobe Firefly, and/or the Text Effects feature of Adobe Creative Cloud Express which is available to all educators in Loudoun County Public Schools through LCPS Go. Below are some examples of verbs (core vocabulary words) illustrated with representative textures.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights provides a video series on a variety of topics related to digital access in education, including how people with disabilities use technology along with identifying and remediating barriers to access. This short video explores different experiences users might have when attempting to enlarge web content based on how the material is designed.
The Audio Trace feature of Desmos allows a user to explore a graph using sound rather than or in addition to sight. Although primarily intended for individuals who are blind or visually impaired, it can be useful for anyone who might use sound to discover how one or more curves are graphed. To experience a basic summary of an expression on a particular graph press the key command ALT + S on a Chromebook or Windows computer (or OPTION + S on a Mac). Similarly, a user can experience an audio description of the graph axes (including whether the X and Y axes are displayed, their ranges and labels if available, the existence of grid lines, etc) by pressing ALT + G on a Chromebook or Windows computer (or OPTION + G on a Mac). Audio trace mode can be activated on a Chromebook or Windows computer by pressing ALT + T (or OPTION + T on a Mac). To learn more, explore this article titled Audio Trace for Expressions with a Graph by the Desmos accessibility team.
Reading Coach is a feature of Immersive Reader by Microsoft. Reading Coach analyzes the audio of a learner reading a passage aloud and provides specific, personalized feedback to the individual including five target words to practice. The learner is then presented with words in isolation and invited to practice reading each word aloud. To help the individual learn how to decode the word, the learner has the option turn on image support which places a symbol or symbols over the text. The learner can use the image to help confirm what the word is which could help the individual learn how to read the word.
Image Support in Reading Coach
This video provides a quick demonstration of Reading Coach: