Assistive technology tools like Google Read and Write help students with learning disabilities access information in a way that benefits them. These tools help students with their confidence when it comes to reading, writing, and studying materials. This software has text to speech, both text and picture dictionary, word prediction, note taking support that allows for you to highlight the text and voice note options.
It has recently been argued among teachers and tutors that I work with that assistive technology is taking away from the information learned by students. As a tutor I do not agree with this statement. Technology in general is a tool that allows students to access information in different ways. Assistive technology is a tool that allows for students with learning disabilities to access information in a way that is beneficial for their learning and couldn't be done with out technology. The reason that the teacher was arguing against technology was one student didn't retain the information she presented with technology. Is this a overall thought or are you like me and think that not all technology will work for every individual. Circumstances and environment have impact as well. What if this student wasnt interested in this topic and even with the use of technology the topic wasn't interesting. This doesn't mean the technology was faulty and adds no value.
As a tutor creating a way for my students to relate the to topic of study is to me a way I am creating curriculum that is meaningful for them. This is mostly done through technology due to the interest students have with tech.
Take a look at Google Read and Write and let me know if you think it would be beneficial in your classroom!
https://www.texthelp.com/en-us/products/read-write/read-write-for-google/
I wasn't familiar with Read&Write, but viewing the video at the link above, I can see how it would be a useful tool for my English language learners as well. As you said, it isn't necessarily the technology that's the issue when things don't work out to our satisfaction. We may need to step back and reflect on our application of the tool and try again. And if indeed it's not the right tool for a particular student, there are usually other options to choose from.
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