Webinar - Assistive Technology and Reading

The Internet supplies you with an endless array of ways to learn more about AT. Today, I listened to a WEBINAR, I am providing the link so that if you like what you read you can access it and learn more!

AT and Reading Webinar - Adobe Connect

Key Points
Text Reader (add the content you want the child to have access to - assists student with reading disability) or a Screen Reader (voices all content on the screen - assist student with visual impairment).

Resource - Accessible Instructional Materials Centers
cast.org (Center for Applied Technology - I have reviewed this in prior blogs)

Bookshare: Accessible Online Library for electronic text - Membership fees are waived for K-12 students (orthopedic impairment, visually impaired, or has a reading disability).
Bookshare - Click here to register your school or gain membership for your students :)

Text To Speech Software - Features to look for:

• High Quality Voices (will give some inflection and sense of fluency)
• Modify Text Interface (continuously or self-paced - allows teacher time to teach meta cognition and reading strategies during the pauses)
• Built-in dictionary - especially helpful for the student who is using text to speech to gain access to grade level content 
• Highlight and Extract key information - Can virtually highlight or extract important information and create a new document - allows student to engage with the text.
• Insert - Modify - Create a Scaffolding for the Reading - Only a few programs have this unique feature.
• Ability to convert to a MP3 file - creates connection between home and school