Since ChatGPT launched in late 2022, there have been many headlines about AI in education. But with all that attention, there hasn’t been enough focus on some of the amazing ways AI is already helping with assistive technology and its potential for the future. 

Accessibility experts from K-12, higher education, and CAST, the nonprofit that created Universal Design for Learning, share some of their favorite AI assistive technology tools. 

1. AI Assistive Technology: Speech to Text  

At the start of the pandemic, every time Gillian Hayes, dean of the Graduate Division at University of California, Irvine, made a formal presentation, she would need to hire a transcriber to write captions in real-time in addition to an ASL interpreter. 

Now, she no longer needs a caption writer and can instead rely on AI assistive technology speech-to-text tools such as those available through Zoom, Google Meet, or Otter.ai. 

“The improvements in automated captions is astonishing,” says Hayes, who co-leads The Connecting the EdTech Research EcoSystem (CERES) and researches tech accessibility. “We just let the auto-captions go. They're not perfect, but they're good enough, and that is transformative when you think about your ability to offer access to people.” 

2. Text to Speech  

Perhaps unsurprisingly, text-to-speech technology has also improved. 

“Seeing the information and listening to it at the same time, can be really helpful,” says Luis F. Pérez, the Disability & Digital Inclusion Lead for CAST. 

While text-to-speech tools predate recent advances in AI, more advanced AI systems can help provide voices that are less mechanical and emotionless. “In English sometimes we have words that look the same, but they're pronounced differently based on context,” Pérez says. “When you build AI into a text-to-speech solution, it can analyze the surrounding text, and then develop a more accurate pronunciation. One of the things that I've enjoyed, because I use text-to-speech myself, it's just seeing the quality of those voices and how much more conversational they're getting.” 

This is about far more than just listening enjoyment though. “It’s really important for learners because with the robotic voices of the past, people often abandoned text-to-speech,” Pérez says. “But now, when you have a voice that sounds really conversational and inviting, then you're more likely to use that technology.”  

3. AI Can Facilitate Student Creativity 

Jay Grossman, director of technology at Saline Area Schools in Michigan, says his district is looking at ways in which AI writing tools can help all students express their voices creatively. 

“We're starting to explore AI that can be used to help a student who may not be able to creatively express themselves, may not be able to put an idea in writing, but may be able to put an idea down and use AI to help them generate what's in their mind,” Grossman says. He has started thinking about AI used this way as performing a function similar to that of a paraprofessional by being there to help the students convey their ideas in words. 

While some worry about AI being used in this manner, Grossman says it is no different than if a student was getting advice from a tutor sitting beside them. “If it's your voice, it's still your voice,” he says. 

4. AI Can Improve Navigation Through Physical and Digital Spaces 

Because modern AI models can interpret and describe images and even three-dimensional spaces, there is tremendous potential for these to aid those with vision impairments. For example, many blind students use screen readers that describe the visual output of screens but do so in a linear manner that is at odds with the dynamic visual layout of most websites. 

Students also have difficulty navigating any kind of complex document, such as an Excel sheet, Hayes says. In addition, saving one's spot on a screen reader can be difficult if a student attempts to resume work after a break. 

AI models have the potential to log information and let users easily interact with the exact element on a screen that they want to. “It can start to be adaptive and figure out what you really need and where you're trying to work and so on,” Hayes says. “I think that's really exciting.” 

Other tools are being developed to help visually impaired individuals read menus and even describe physical objects for them.   

5. Summarizing Complex Information in New Ways  

While AI text generators sometimes struggle with accuracy, when working well these tools can provide a near-instantaneous way to convey and arrange information in new and different ways, which can be helpful to many students, Pérez says. “For instance, for cognitive accessibility, you can take complex information and write a summary, or create a summary or an outline that highlights the key ideas,” he says. “We're not dumbing down that information, we're just providing it in a different way, or providing a different entry point into it.” 

When using AI in this or any other way, Pérez stresses it's important that educators don’t lose sight of each individual student. “You always have to remember that there is a person behind all of this whose needs and preferences – I want to emphasize preferences – we're trying to meet,” he says. “That part comes with relationships, and with getting to know learners and getting to know their interests and why they're passionate about learning. So that would be the caveat. Yes, by all means, use AI responsibly, and at the same time continue to consider the person or the individual.” 

• 5 Ways to Make Edtech More Inclusive
• Best Sites and Apps for Special Education

Saline Area Schools in Michigan has many students with special needs as well as students enrolled in adult education and life-skills programs. The district recently updated safety alerts district-wide to ensure important announcements about school lockdowns or tornado warnings, which are common in the region, are effectively communicated to all students, no matter their auditory and visual needs. 

“We needed to make sure that we had something that could reach everybody under all circumstances,” says Jay Grossman, the district's director of technology. To do that required addressing diverse student needs with effective technology and communication. 

Here’s some of the best practices for increasing safety accessibility that Grossman learned in the process. 

Provide Various Visual and Auditory Options  

Grossman used InformaCast to create an accessible alert system. The district also utilized speakers from Network Design, some of which come with a three-strobe light alert system. The district also developed a color-coded emergency strobe light system. 

"Blue means all clear, red means a lockdown. But if you're colorblind and can't discern that, then you also are trained that if the left light is on, it’s a lockdown, right light, it’s not,” Grossman says. 

Text messages will also appear on various screens, providing students with instructions, while auditory signs provide students who can’t see with verbal cues blurted from emergency speakers. 

These alerts also take into account unique situations students might find themselves in while at school. For instance, the district has some spaces that are potentially loud enough to drown out the sound of an alert, including welding rooms and various music rooms. All these unique situations have been taken into account. 

“In the welding rooms, what we've done is run conduits down above the welding stations and place the strobe lights right above their heads, so that when they're down working with their helmets, and welding, at least out of their peripheral they’ll see some sort of flash going off to indicate ‘Oh, hey, something is going on,’” Grossman says.  

Test Tech and Get Teacher & Student Feedback 

Once you have an inclusive alert system in place, it’s important to educate faculty and students on how it all works. Students need to learn, for example, that the left light indicates a lockdown while the right means all clear. 

It's also important for district leaders to obtain school community feedback once new alert systems are implemented, Grossman says. 

For example, during the drill and feedback portion of the implementation process, Grossman and his team learned the proper alert volume for different spaces. Because the district is using speakers that have individual volume controls, they were able to make sure each area had the appropriate volume. 

“So if a teacher said, ‘They didn't hear it, because the class was loud, or they were in a hallway,' something like that, or 'They heard something soft or muffled,' we could bump it up,” he says. “Or if it's in a quiet room that's always quiet, maybe we don't have it blasting at 10.” 

• Exploring the Essential Elements of Inclusive Technology Systems
• Virtual ASL Interpreters: 5 Tips for Using Technology to Improve Accessibility

Technology in the classroom is part of our everyday world and, as part of that, we must ensure that all students have access to the devices and the content they need for learning. Accessibility ensures everyone, including those with disabilities, can use and benefit from products, services, and information.  

“In many cases, students with IEP and 504 plans and students who do not have an identified disability need access to tools to leverage that content,” says Christine Fox, Project Director, Center on Inclusive Technology & Education Systems (CITES) at CAST, a nonprofit that helps students with learning differences succeed in school and life. “Inclusive practices previously have been siloed in school districts, with the special education and assistive technology department focused on supporting students with disabilities, while the edtech and IT department focused on providing resources for everyone. However, there is a genuine need for collaboration across the district from the top down with edtech solution providers to ensure that inclusive practices start at the top.”

Fox will present on this topic at Tech & Learning’s upcoming EdExec Summit. Below, she shares insights and guidance for solution providers to ensure inclusive technology ecosystems so all learners can access personalized tools and resources. 

Develop and Design 

Prioritizing accessibility in development and design doesn't ensure equitable student learning. Simply accommodating accessibility needs without a broader understanding of district requirements leads solution providers to modify tools retroactively. Fox says that technology should be seamlessly integrated into the district's existing systems rather than treated as a mere add-on.

To ensure that edtech products and programs are available to all learners, Fox offers the following basics for solution providers to help create a more inclusive educational environment, improve their company's reputation, and promote positive change in the industry:

• Make sure products and programs are accessible to people with disabilities.
• Consider the needs of all learners, including those from diverse backgrounds and with different learning styles.
• Use inclusive language and images in products and programs.
• Collect feedback from learners and use it to improve products and programs.
• Partner with organizations that are working to make education more inclusive.

Forging Partnerships

The assistive technology sector is witnessing an emerging trend of collaboration and comprehension. 

Fox advises solution providers to collaborate with state and national assistive technology organizations implementing these technologies in schools. A partnership enhances their understanding of students' disability-related needs, providing optimal and effective solutions.

Specifically, these partnerships would allow solution providers to:

• Gain access to a network of experts in the field of assistive technology
• Learn about the latest trends and developments in assistive technology
• Get feedback on their products and services from educators and students with disabilities
• Develop new assistive technologies that meet the specific needs of students with disabilities

A few organizations to consider:

CAST is an example of a nonprofit that provides educational resources and support for students with learning differences, including tools for assessment and intervention and advocacy support. The Center on Inclusive Technology & Education Systems (CITES) at CAST provides a framework to empower school districts to create and sustain inclusive technology systems that serve all students, including students with disabilities who require assistive technology or accessible educational materials. 

The Office of Educational Technology (OET) is developing policies and support to provide an inclusive platform for learners with disabilities. The Valuable Perspectives for EdTech Companies one-pager, webinars, and blogs support the value of accessible tools and solutions for everyone. 

The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) is the government agency that ensures education access and promotes excellence nationwide through vigorous civil rights enforcement, including accessibility. 

The GAAD Foundation, established in 2021, expands on the Global Accessibility Awareness Day's mission and aims to make accessibility a core requirement in technology and digital product development. 

Fox hopes to continue to raise awareness of the importance of inclusive technology, understanding the law, and, most importantly, understanding that building with accessibility in mind from the start is the easiest and most ethical thing to do for all learners. 

“Numerous resources are available to help district leaders and solution providers in the community,” Fox says. “They can use this as an opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to accessibility, just as many people are obtaining security certifications to demonstrate their commitment to security. We hope that accessibility will become a goal people strive for rather than scramble to achieve.”

• EdExec Summit
• Virtual ASL Interpreters: 5 Tips for Using Technology to Improve Accessibility

When thinking of ways to support those who are legally blind, two supports often come to mind. Guide dogs and Braille. It's no wonder. Guide dogs provide their owners with a sense of freedom, an increased level of confidence, and a feeling of safety. Blind people who know Braille and use it find success, independence, productivity, and are more likely to find employment. 

Surprisingly though, of the 1.3 million people in the United States who are legally blind, only about 2% have guide dogs according to Guiding Eyes for the Blind. Also surprising is that fewer than 10 percent are Braille readers according to a report from the National Federation of the Blind. Unfortunately, these supports are currently generally reserved for the elite in our society because of cost and access. These are unfortunate statistics.

Fortunately, there are low-to-no-cost technologies that provide support to the visually impaired and blind population. 

FIVE TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED AND LEGALLY BLIND

Exploration Apps

There are apps that provide GPS. These apps let you explore the world around you using audio messages. It tells you about nearby places, and it also will set up routes. The app lets users point the phone in your hand in any direction to hear the nearest places as virtual talking signs. When pointing straight at a virtual sign the speech is loud and clear, but as you point away from it, the speech starts to get staticky, so you have quick audio feedback about the exact location of the virtual talking sign. 

Here are the two popular free apps.
overTHERE (iOS only)
Lazarillo (iOS and Android)

Sighted Volunteer App

These are apps that narrate the world around you using a phone or glasses to identify what is around you out loud. 

Tap Tap See (iOS and Android)

Seeing AI (iOS only)

Google Lens (Android and iOS with this hack)

Google Lookout (Pixel only)

These videos show how this technology works.

Alt Text

More and more content creators realize the importance of including alternative text (alt text) with their images. This allows the person consuming the content to understand what is in a picture if they are unable to see it well. 

Screen readers

Browsers like Chrome have screen readers built in. Other browsers like FireFox have addons. There is also screen reading software.  

Here are some that are popular:
NVDA
Thunder
WebAnywhere
JAWS (commercial)

Your Turn

Of course there are far more than five tech resources out there. These are some that are popular among innovative educators. What is your experience? Have you used any of these resources with your students are families? If so, what has your experience been? Are there other resources you’ve used and loved that are missing? 

Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) has worked as a public-school educator and administrator since 1997. She is a prolific writer best known for her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator. Nielsen is the author of several booksand her writing has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times,The Wall Street Journal, Tech&Learning, and T.H.E. Journal.

A common question I receive from folks is how can younger students use Google tools? I am always happy to email them my collection of resources, but figured it might be easier if I pulled everything together in a single blog post.

Over the years I have come across and/or created a wide range of fun and creative ways to use Google tools with primary aged students, typically considered to be pre-K through grade 2 or so. In this blog post I will share descriptions of and links to these activities. As I make new ones over time, I will try to come back and add them to this post so this stays up to date with all my resources.

In addition to the things I have created, I would certainly encourage you to also take advantage of some other fantastic educators who focus on the primary grades:

 Susan Stewart - @TechCoachSusan - Primarily Google site - Associated hashtag #K2CanToo

Christine Pinto - @PintoBeanz11 - Learning with Christine Pinto site - Associated hashtag #Gafe4Littles 

See below for the resources and have fun learning!
 

#1 - Build a Snowman with Google Slides

This is a fun activity where students make a snowman using pieces and parts provided, and then write a story about them. This is a great way to develop tech skills such as copy and paste, drag and drop, and basic of Google Slides. It also encourages creativity and writing skills

#2 - Build a Jack-O-Lantern with Google Slides

Very similar to the snowman activity, this one has students making a jack-o-lantern and writing about it. In addition to all of the skills addressed with the snowman activity, this one also encourages use of the shapes and polyline tools in Google Slides. 

#3 - Turkey Templates for Thanksgiving Creativity and Writing

I did not create these specific activities, but they were inspired by my snowman and jack-o-lantern templates. Beth Kingsley and Kelley Costa made these and were kind enough to share them. Similar to my templates, students use these to make a turkey in Google slides and then write about it. 

#4 - One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish Sorting

This activity is a great tie-in for "Read Across America" (and the birthday of Dr. Seuss) but can really be used anytime. It helps teach students about sorting items into categories, but also reinforces tech skills such as drag and drop.

#5 - Creating Storybooks with Google Slides

Another non-traditional use for Google Slides is creating eBooks. Students can do this from scratch or with the simple templates provided in this post. When done, the storybooks can be printed out, turned into PDFs, or simply shared online.

#6 - Pixel Art Activities for any Subject with Google Sheets

Google Sheets is not just for crunching numbers! It can also be used for creating pixel art images. This template makes it easy for little ones to make pixel art just by typing in letters and having the colors automatically fill in. This is great for creativity, keyboarding, and improving letter recognition. 

#7 - Emoji Learning Activities with Google Docs

When we think of Google Docs, we usually think of text, but it also supports the use of emojis. In this blog post we look at several ways that emojis can be used with students including pictographs, stories, and more. 

#8 - Google Docs "Wintertime Rebus Story" template

A specific example of using emojis in Docs is using them to create rebus stories. This can help students write stories even if they do not know how to spell all the words they wish to use. This post provides a winter-themed template to get them started.

#9 - Google Docs "Valentine Rebus Story" template

 Just like the winter-themed template, this post has a Valentine-themed template to use for writing a rebus story in Docs. 

#10 - Google Docs "Halloween Rebus Story" template

And to round out the rebus writing, this post has a template for a Halloween story with emojis. 

#11 - 11 Ways to Teach Math with Google Drawings

Google Drawings lends itself to many math topics with the ability to make and manipulate shapes. In this post we cover several ways you can teach math with Drawings. Although some of the examples would be for older students, there are still many that apply to primary students including partitioning shapes, identifying different shapes, sorting objects be different attributes, and more.

#12 - Pattern Block Templates and Activities

Another good math application for Google Drawing is virtual pattern blocks. Students can use these digital manipulatives to learn about shapes, patterns, symmetry, and be creative in general. 

#13 - Wintertime Magnetic Poetry with Google Drawings

Google Drawings also works well for drag and drop activities like "Magnetic Poetry". With this template students are provided with 100 common words from the Dolch list, as well as many winter-themed words. They can them drag and drop these words onto the canvas to write a poem, sentence, or story.

#14 - Valentine's Magnetic Poetry with Google Drawings

Just like the winter option, this Google Drawing template lets students create a Valentine-themed poem from draggable words.

#15 - Springtime Magnetic Poetry with Google Drawings

For one more "Magnetic Poetry" example, this template is spring-themed. 

#16 - Learning with Chrome Music Lab

Music is a wonderful way for students to be creative, express themselves, and even learn about connected topics such as math. With Chrome Music Lab students get 13 interactive music tools to play with to make music, explore rhythms, and more.

#17 - Chrome Extensions for Struggling Students

Although this post was originally developed to showcase assistive technology and accomodation tools, many of these resources can be helpful for young learners. The extensions covered in this post include text-to-speech tools to read content aloud to students, tools to clean up webpages to make them less distracting and and more easy to read, and much more.

#18 - Play "Mystery Animal" with Google

Mystery Animal is an interactive game from Google that lets students play "20 Questions" to try to guess an animal. This can be a great way for students to develop good questions, work as a team, and learn about animals in the process.

#19 - YouTube "Read Aloud" Book Videos for Kids

Once you get past the cat videos, YouTube has so much wonderful educational content for students (although the cats are cool too). One useful resource on YouTube are videos of story books being read aloud. In this post I have pull together a list of many channels that feature read aloud book videos.

 Conclusion

Technology is a powerful tool for teaching and learning regardless of age. There are many ways that primary students can create, collaborate, explore, and learn with Google tools. Over time as I add new posts to the blog that are applicable to younger students, I will update this post as well to include them here.  

cross posted at www.controlaltachieve.com

Eric Curts is an education trainer and consultant with over 20 years' experience throughout the U.S. He is an authorized Google Education Trainer and a Google Certified Innovator. Read his blog at www.controlaltachieve.com and follow him on Google+ and @ericcurts on Twitter.

Listen Technologies, provider of assistive listening systems for 20 years, has announced the launch of Listen EVERYWHERE Wi-Fi product. Listen EVERYWHERE replaces Audio Everywhere and features upgraded hardware, a streamlined finish and a new server with professional audio outputs.

In venues featuring Listen EVERYWHERE hardware, patrons and guests can experience wireless audio streamed directly to iOS and Android smart phones and tablets via a free downloadable app.

Listen EVERYWHERE is intended for classroom settings where ambient noise and distance can make it difficult for students to hear audio clearly. The product also can be used in indoor arenas and airports and in combination with other ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) systems such as ListenRF, ListenIR or ListenLOOP for assistive listening.

While the product was in beta testing, industry trade magazine CE Pro, in conjunction with sister sites Commercial Integrator and Security Sales & Integration, recognized Listen EVERYWHERE with an Internet of Things (IoT) Award.  More information about Listen EVERYWHERE is available at www.listeneverywhere.com.

Texthelp, provider of literacy, language learning and now STEM software, is presenting the latest additions to its family of assistive tech solutions for schools and colleges at Bett 2019, on Stand C141 .

Read&Write usage increases as features are added

Because of the recent additions of Check It, Data Desk and Exam Mode, Read&Write now provides  more supports to students and teachers alike.

Check It is Read&Write’s new spelling, grammar, and confusable word tool that allows users to be notified of potential errors as they type. Students (and teachers) can now check their writing for grammar, spelling (including phonetic), capitalisation, punctuation, verb tense, homophones and more.

Texthelp has also released two updates to Read&Write that support usage during exams. Data Desk is a feature management tool for Read&Write for Google Chrome. Teachers using Google Classroom can pick a class, select individual (or all) students in that class, and choose which Read&Write features should be available. 

The company has also introduced a new Exam Mode feature in Read&Write for Windows, which allows for the toolbar to be restricted to just those features approved for exams. 

Texthelp introduces WriQ

Many teachers will be familiar with the assessment and norms standard called ‘Lexile’  which is used across the US to measure a child’s reading standard and text maturity.  Yet, there is no accepted similar metric for writing.

Previously available as a Google Docs add-on, Texthelp has just released a WriQ Chrome Extension, which offers a new look and user experience for teachers.

By scanning student work for Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling errors, WriQ assigns accuracy and maturity level metrics to the writing. 

Later this year, teachers, curriculum directors, and district leaders with premium licenses will have the ability to compare their students’ writing with national (and eventually district) averages gathered by WriQ. In doing this, WriQ will help define standard writing levels similar to the Lexile levels that are available for reading.

EquatIO passes 2 million users in its second year

Since last year, Texthelp has released two major updates to EquatIO, both of which make maths content more accessible and engaging. The first is the EquatIO Screenshot Reader, which turns any equation across the web, G Suite Apps, or Microsoft Office applications into accessible math, which can read aloud and copy and pasted directly into EquatIO for edits or insertion into your document.

The second is EquatIO Mobile, a mobile companion for EquatIO that enables users to use phone or tablet to insert handwritten maths, spoken maths or images directly into digital documents. 

EquatIO has been shortlisted as a finalist in this year’s BETT Awards in the Whole School Aids for Tools for Learning, Teaching and Assessment category.

Today, Microsoft announced a partnership with the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), which has piloted the use of Microsoft Translator language technology to help students who are deaf and hard of hearing feel more engaged by transcribing lectures in real time.

[Adapting to the New Classroom]

RIT is home to one of the largest academic programs for its deaf and hard of hearing community (roughly 10 percent of its 15,000 enrolled students) and employs the largest staff of interpreters and captioning professionals of any college in the world. However, not all students that are deaf or hard of hearing are able to interpret sign language, and some struggle to follow the lesson when watching the interpreter, taking notes and following the lecture all at once. To remedy this, RIT’s Center on Access Technology initiated a pilot program that leverages intelligent technology built around Microsoft Translator to transcribe a presenter’s spoken words and display them onscreen as text captions in real-time, and in a language of their choice on a personal device.

To learn more, visit the Microsoft AI Blog.

www.assistiveware.com ■ Retail Price: $29.99 Introductory price; after February 15 price increases to $59.99

If you require particular reading and writing support unavailable with your current Mac word processor, then perhaps AssistiveWare’s new Wrise word processor may be the right choice for you. Developed by the same people who make Proloquo2Go (an Augmentative and Alternative Communication application for iOS—iPad, iPhone and iPod touch—devices) and Pictello (an iOS app that creates, plays back, and allows users to share visual multimedia-rich stories and talking books), Wrise offers read-aloud, word-prediction, speak-as-you-type and multi-language support to benefit struggling readers and writers, English Language Learners, and individuals with dyslexia.

Quality and Effectiveness: Wrise makes text more accessible by making words available in audio as well as written format. This feature can be especially helpful to both mainstream and struggling readers. Users can open a document they’ve written and click the Play button on the Wrise toolbar to hear it read aloud. Alternatively, users can select any text on a Web page, then choose “Services” from that application’s drop down menu and select Read Aloud with Wrise. The selected portion then opens in a Wrise window, where the program will read it aloud. Any text that opens in Wrise can be read aloud in a variety of high quality voices, exported as an audio file (.m4a), or output to iTunes in a spoken format (.m4a) for listening at a later time. Wrise also supports struggling writers by offering word prediction for current word, next word, and multiple words.

The customizable “listen as you type” feature enables users to hear text they’ve typed read aloud after every word, sentence, or paragraph. With built-in custom tagging, users can define speech settings for particular text selections, so that characters in a story can be read aloud at different speech rates, voices, and volumes. Documents created in other applications and opened in Wrise display in Read-only mode at first, but if you click the T (Edit Mode) icon on the Wrise toolbar, the program will let you edit the text in view.

Ease of Use: Simple to use and easy to learn, Wrise offers users three modes of interaction: Read, Write, and Create. It also offers read/edit support for a variety of documents created in other formats, including HTML (Web-based) text. Documents open or are created in a window that sports just a few buttons for typeface, type size, type style, and alignment control. Playback icons direct the program to play, rewind, move forward, or skip ahead/back one paragraph during reading. Users decide whether single words or complete sentences highlight as they are read aloud. Users also choose the highlighting color. An Easy Reading mode (View/Easy Reading) hides the program’s formatting toolbar and Tags Panel to simplify the reading interface and eliminate any unnecessary visual distractions.

Creative Use of Technology: The program has a limited feature set; however, the program is still impressive because it gives users control over reading and writing tasks. There are additional elements of creativity evident in the Wrise word processor. One of my favorite features is that you don’t have to “import” text from another program to read it aloud. You can read it directly from other applications.

Suitability for Use in a School Environment: Students can revise their written work by listening to their text read aloud, making changes if what they hear doesn’t sound right. The downside to all of this is that the program works only on Mac computers. If your school has standardized on Windows, Android, or iOS devices, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

OVERALL RATING:

In terms of features, Wrise can’t compare with more robust products like Don Johnston’s Write:Outloud or Co:Writer or Texthelp’s Read&Write for Mac. But its affordable price and the fact that it combines text-to-speech and word prediction under one simple interface make it suitable for a range of reading and writing activities.

TOP FEATURES

• Uncluttered user interface with limited feature set for readers and writers of all ages and abilities

• Read-aloud support for a wide range of document formats

• Program features can be customized to meet the needs of individual users.