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:
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 describes how to appropriately format table content to ensure everyone can access the data.
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 syllable support which places bullets between the syllables. This can help the learner how to break a word into component parts.
Example of Syllable Support
This video provides a quick demonstration of Reading Coach:
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 describe the significance of using contrasting colors when conveying information and how to check for adequate contrast.
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. Each word is then presented in isolation.
Practice Words in Reading Coach
When a user selects a word, it is presented in isolation on the screen. The user can then practice reading the word aloud.
Example of Practice Word
This video provides a quick demonstration of Reading Coach:
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 shares some helpful strategies when considering how to provide quality online experiences for everyone. Strategies discussed include but are not limited to developing a plan, learning from people with disabilities about what works for them, and evaluating materials manually and using an accessibility checker to determine if alterations are necessary.
The Word Prediction feature of the Google Chrome extension Read&Write for Google Chrome provides a list of potential words someone might use next in a sentence. By default, the feature is set to predict ahead where a list of words appear without the user needing to begin the next word. This feature can be deactivated in the Word Prediction settings. When deactivated, a user will only be provided with a list of words once they’ve started to type. With the Predict Ahead feature inactive, a user needs to generate their own words and choose a word from the options provided based on what they have started to type. Select the Read&Write for Google Chrome (purple puzzle piece) icon to open the toolbar. Select the crystal ball icon to activate word prediction. Use the three dots to the far right to access the settings, navigate to the Word Prediction settings, and deselect Predict Ahead. When the user begins to type, that user can select from the generated list of words. A user could also use the key command of CTRL + the corresponding numeral of the word in the list. The following video is a short demonstration of how to use the Word Prediction feature in Read&Write for Google Chrome. At the time of this blog post’s publication, Read&Write for Google Chrome is available to every learner in Loudoun County Public Schools.