Eclectic Technology

Here is a tool you might want to try with students whom have difficulty reading complex passages. Rewordify rephrases passages (simply cut and paste text into a "yellow box" or type directly into it). Users may select setting so they only see the "easier version" (although they may see the more difficult words as they mouse over the word) or have this option in reverse. You may also enter in a website and have them rewordify the site. There is much additional information on the site including a teacher and student demo. The site is free, and also works on tablet and smartphones. As we move to more informational text and more complex (think Common Core) this site may be quite valuable for many students.

This post begins:

"In order to be an effective reader, two skills are required:

• the ability to decode or make sense of letter / sound correspondences 
• the ability to comprehend or understand the meaning of the text"

The post also provides access to an interview with Dr. Keith Stanovich who "argues that reading improves ‘crystallized intelligence’ and compares children who do not learn to read with those who do, by using ‘the Matthew Effect’ analogy."

The question remains, how do we help students whom do not read well, who have difficulty decoding text? We need to seriously consider the options, which include aural text (as in text that is read to students).

This issue is close to my heart. We want our students to be successful, yet we do not provide tools that are readily available to all who would benefit from them. This post looks at resources that are available in England for struggling readers. I will add a number of resources that are available in the US, and others may add resources for their countries in the comment section.

The question that each of us must answer is should we advocate for our students who are struggling with their reading skills to be able to use TTS (text-to-speech) programs that provide them with the ability to listen to the text and understand the text, without necessarily relying on their decoding skills? Do we give them the opportunity to level the playing field? By providing students with access to text that meets their learning style, we have given them the opportunity to be successful.

Today there are many free (or low cost) tools available that allow students to have text read to them. In the US two key players that help provide text to students (think books) with diagnosed reading disabilities are Bookshare, which provides free access to many books as well as TTS software and Learning Ally, which has many resources for students with dyslexia but may also require a membership fee. Additional sites to check out are Natural Voice Reader, which will read digitized text directly from a website and Rewordify, which will simplify the text.

Do you know free (or low cost) tools that help struggling readers? Please share them in the comment section.