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.
Category Archives: Reading
Supports for Reading
Practice Words Feature of Reading Coach in Immersive Reader
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:
Limitations of Using Color Alone To Convey Information Video
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 the limitations of using color alone to convey information and provides suggestions about how content can be created to provide multiple ways to share the same information.
Text to Speech in Content from Britannica School
Britannica School, a tool available in Loudoun County Public Schools, provides resources with a built-in text to speech function which highlights the sentence being read aloud. The highlighting invites learners to follow along with their eyes to track the content. Text to speech is accessed by pressing the play icon located in different locations based on which level (elementary, middle, or high) is being used. Britannica School is available through LCPS Go.
Selecting a Voice for Text to Speech in MackinVia
MackinVia, a tool available in Loudoun County Public Schools, provides ebooks with an option to have the text read aloud using text to speech with a variety of voice options. Listeners can choose which voice best matches their personal preference. MackinVia is available through LCPS Go and as an app in the Google Play Store on Chromebooks.
Screenshot of an ebook in Mackinvia displaying 5 different voice options.
Adjusting Playback Speeds of Text to Speech in MackinVia
MackinVia, a tool available in Loudoun County Public Schools, provides ebooks with an option to adjust the playback speed. Listeners can adjust the speed to either slow down or speed up the playback based on their needs. MackinVia is available through LCPS Go and as an app in the Google Play Store on Chromebooks.
Screenshot of a book in MackinVia showing the variable playback speed options.
Accessing Resources With Switches Through the Tarheel Gameplay Library
Tarheel Gameplay is a website that turns videos into interactive experiences by intermittent pausing. Users search the library of activities all of which are created by other users. Once a video is selected and started, it pauses periodically. The participant then selects the button that appears on the screen either directly, by pressing a key on a keyboard (like the Enter key), or by activating a switch.
Tarheel Gameplay
More button over a video in Tarheel Gameplay.
Introducing Reading Coach in Immersive Reader
Microsoft has recently added a new reading fluency practice feature to Immersive Reader called Reading Coach. Using a tool that has Immersive Reader such as Microsoft Word, a learner reads a passage aloud. Reading Coach then analyzes the audio to provide specific, personalized feedback to the individual including five target words to practice. The feedback includes measure of a percentage of accuracy, time spent reading, and words read accurately per minute. Learners can keep a record of their scores and use it to document progress over time.
Feedback from Reading Coach
This video provides a quick demonstration:
Dual Highlighting of Text to Speech in MackinVia
MackinVia, a tool available in Loudoun County Public Schools, provides books with a built-in text to speech function which also features dual highlighting. This means the sentence being read aloud is highlighted yellow while the words being spoken are highlighted in grey. The dual highlighting invites learners to follow along with their eyes. MackinVia is available through LCPS Go and as an app in the Google Play Store on Chromebooks.
Screenshot of dual highlighting in Mackinvia
Accessing Audiobooks in MackinVia
Audiobooks are a way for some learners to read with their ears. MackinVia, a tool available in Loudoun County Public Schools, has a number of audiobooks students can use to listen to human-narrated content. MackinVia is available through LCPS Go and as an app in the Google Play Store on Chromebooks.
Screenshot of MackinVia Audiobooks