Assistive Technology for Reading

Georgia Tech's webinar titled, "Assistive Technology for Reading" outlines specific ways to assess and determine appropriate reading supports. The concepts recommended in this presentation support AT approaches studied in "Assistive Technology Perspectives" as well as many of the posts included in my "All About Assistive Technology" blog. Appropriately, the presentation begins by stating, "For a person with a disability, technology makes things possible."

To make suitable AT recommendations for reading, educators must first consider tools within  a continuum ranging from low or no tech to high tech, matching the tool to the student's needs, abilities, and tasks. Similar to the SETT process, the webinar presenters discuss the "HATT" model in which the human, the activity, the context, and the AT device must be considered concurrently.

For reading accommodations, the presenters discuss Don Johnson's protocol for considering oral reading, text reading, and adult readers. The free website called "Rewordify" is recommended as an option to make English easier to read by rewording difficult passages into more readily understood versions. Similarly, Kindle's "Word Wise" displays short definitions right in the text above difficult words while reading. Kindle also offers an "X-ray" function that allows readers to explore given topics in more depth through sites like Wikipedia.

A variety of devices offer handy text-to-speech options. Booksense's Daisy reader is compatible with a wide range of audio format and can also be used to record notes. Victor Reader Stream is a handheld media player that records voice and media.

Students in need of reading accommodations can benefit from reading pens. Reading pens can scan text which the student hears spoken aloud. Students can also quickly obtain definitions and correct pronunciations.

Books on audio tape and PDF files can also be quite helpful for students with reading accommodations. Books can be sourced through sites like Book Share, Audible, Access Text, Voice Dream, Bard Mobile, and Learning Ally. There are over 27,000 reading apps (!) available for students to use in conjunction with audio or PDF versions of books. Reading apps have been demonstrated to significantly improve reading comprehension. Specific examples of reading software include ClaroSpeak, ClaroRead, and Premier. Additionally, there are a variety of effective reading and writing software programs available such as Kurzweil 3000, TextHelp, and WYNN.

The presenters indicate that the decision regarding which device and which apps to recommend can be complicated by the array of choices available. They recommend Kindle Fire HD/HDX eBook Reader and mobile tablet, Apple's iPad with its "millions" of apps, Surface Pro 3, and built in accessibility features such as Voice Over.

In my work at Cabrini's Disability Resource Center, I find that many of our students need reading accommodations to fully comprehend college level texts. The suggestions in this webinar, as well as the recommendations in our assigned text, Assistive Technology in the Classroom, and the materials presented in class serve as incredibly helpful guidelines in determining appropriate reading AT for Cabrini students.

http://www.gatfl.gatech.edu/tflwiki/index.php?title=Webinar_Archives