Understood holds this weekly Twitter chat that aims to keep the momentum going and raise awareness of learning and attention issues. Follow along with hashtag #LDCHAT and follow users @understoodchats & @understoodorg. Experts will be available to answer your questions and concerns and share resources from Understood.org.
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Welcome to today’s #ldchat! This is Dan with the Understood team. We’re being joined today by #AssistiveTech consultant and Understood expert Jamie Martin (@ATDyslexia) to discuss AT for #reading.
Welcome to #LDchat! As soon as I finish eating this freshly baked holiday snickerdoodle, I’ll be ready to go! Let’s talk about #AssistiveTech for Reading w/ @UnderstoodOrg!
Hello #LDchat ! I'm Kathi, a Technology Integration Specialist (and former Special Education teacher) from southern New Jersey. I get to coach teachers with #assistivetech to find the best tools to make learning accessible to all of our students!
Edie from ice-cold Washington, DC. Building an international tribe of teachers and parents of teens and young adults with ADHD. Some have learning disabilities too. Many have difficulties in reading. #LDchat
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Welcome to today’s #ldchat! This is Dan with the Understood team. We’re being joined today by #AssistiveTech consultant and Understood expert Jamie Martin (@ATDyslexia) to discuss AT for #reading.
LIVE NOW
Welcome to today’s #ldchat! This is Dan with the Understood team. We’re being joined today by #AssistiveTech consultant and Understood expert Jamie Martin (@ATDyslexia) to discuss AT for #reading.
A1: We still have plenty of non-digital text in our schools. An important #AssistiveTech tool for students with #LD is Optical Character Recognition (OCR) - take a picture, listen to the words! https://t.co/Jecb6UiTfx#LDchat
A1: Text-to-speech is one of the most critical #adaptivetech tools for our kids! We're lucky to have #@MicrosoftEDU products in our district - and the Learning Tools have been an absolute GAME CHANGER for our students (and teachers!) #ldchat
A1 My HS/college students with LD focus on reading comprehension. My favorite recommendation is Google Text-to-Speech. Free. Windows, Apple, IOS, Android. eBooks, web pages, Google Translate. #LDchat
A1: I love using Voice Dream Writer for voice to text assistance. I also use @Learning_Ally so they are able to read interesting books on their level. This allows them to keep up with their peers both in reading and writing while they are receiving intervention. #ldchat
A1: Text to speech, speech to text, line/word spacing, color backgrounds, focus features. Allowing personalization of content by students is key #LDChat#AssistiveTech
#ldchat - personally, I have seen great success with Graphic organizers. They do not need to be technologically advanced; in fact, they can exist in simple handout form.
A1: Text to speech, speech to text, line/word spacing, color backgrounds, focus features. Allowing personalization of content by students is key #LDChat#AssistiveTech
A1: Text to speech, speech to text, line/word spacing, color backgrounds, focus features. Allowing personalization of content by students is key #LDChat#AssistiveTech
A1) #AssistiveTech is anything that assists, and runs the gamut from high-tech to low-tech. As an accommodation, it allows all students to work on the same thing or work toward the same goals. #LDchat
A1: I'm not familiar with the term OCR, but is that basically what Office Lens can do? Our students have been using iPads to photograph text and it converts it to audio...it reads it to them! Powerful tool! #LDChat#OfficeLens#assistivetech
A1: We still have plenty of non-digital text in our schools. An important #AssistiveTech tool for students with #LD is Optical Character Recognition (OCR) - take a picture, listen to the words! https://t.co/Jecb6UiTfx#LDchat
A1: Love using everyday tech as an AT support. Readily available & reduces stigma. Built in #A11Y features. Text reading, speech to text for writing #LDchat
A1: I'm not familiar with the term OCR, but is that basically what Office Lens can do? Our students have been using iPads to photograph text and it converts it to audio...it reads it to them! Powerful tool! #LDChat#OfficeLens#assistivetech
A1: We still have plenty of non-digital text in our schools. An important #AssistiveTech tool for students with #LD is Optical Character Recognition (OCR) - take a picture, listen to the words! https://t.co/Jecb6UiTfx#LDchat
A1: Love using everyday tech as an AT support. Readily available & reduces stigma. Built in #A11Y features. Text reading, speech to text for writing #LDchat
A2: “Let me try driving you to LaGuardia Airport without wearing my glasses. Because if I try hard enough, I should be able to just use my nearsighted eyes.” #AssistiveTech#LDchat
A2: My favorite example of "Is #AssistiveTech a crutch?" - does that mean we shouldn't let kids wear glasses or contact lenses too? Are they a crutch? #LDChat#mieexpert
A2: Not a crutch. A tool to access learning. Everybody needs something to help them - a quiet space, bigger text, audio books, written notes, graphic organizers, recording devices...we all have our own learning needs. #LDchat
A1. Hardware and software both as assistive tech, such as students with dysgraphia using Surface and OneNote for taking notes, recording, and organization. https://t.co/i6DNjX26Pc#LDchat
A2: “Let me try driving you to LaGuardia Airport without wearing my glasses. Because if I try hard enough, I should be able to just use my nearsighted eyes.” #AssistiveTech#LDchat
A2: I don’t like the word “crutch” paired with #AssistiveTech - it takes on a negative connotation. In other contexts, “crutches” are helpful and things that we all need: https://t.co/fl5Zdw4zWm#LDchat
A2: This question is common among educators and lay people alike. I wonder if glasses are seen as cheating or viewed as a crutch. Some people need them to see, and those who do need different prescriptions. We all are looking at the same content with clarity. #ldchat
A2) Focus on the goal, not the means. Are you prepared to address all of the student’s reading challenges, or is the purpose to discern their level of comprehension? #LDchat
A2: My favorite example of "Is #AssistiveTech a crutch?" - does that mean we shouldn't let kids wear glasses or contact lenses too? Are they a crutch? #LDChat#mieexpert
A2 - Depending on who's perspective, isn't every piece of #technology assistive to some degree? This argument could be made with respect to the placing of photocopiers in schools... Did teachers question this? #LDchat
A2. AT as cheating can be an issue for older students - sometimes professors too. I encourage my kids to access the same technologies as peers, just customize them for their specific needs. #LDchat
A2: We need to talk about listening to books as a valuable experience for ANY reader. There are so many benefits that the word “cheating” should not even enter the conversation. https://t.co/Iho8JUG7nL#LDchat
A2: This question is common among educators and lay people alike. I wonder if glasses are seen as cheating or viewed as a crutch. Some people need them to see, and those who do need different prescriptions. We all are looking at the same content with clarity. #ldchat
My son is not LD, but when he had to read Huck Finn, he got the audio book. Listening to accents & intonations helped him understand & appreciate the book better. #LDchat
A2: We need to talk about listening to books as a valuable experience for ANY reader. There are so many benefits that the word “cheating” should not even enter the conversation. https://t.co/Iho8JUG7nL#LDchat
A3: Many people consider the printing press to be a great invention. Not people with #dyslexia! Text-to-speech gives everyone equal access to written information. #AssistiveTech#LDchat
A2: We need to talk about listening to books as a valuable experience for ANY reader. There are so many benefits that the word “cheating” should not even enter the conversation. https://t.co/Iho8JUG7nL#LDchat
@UnderstoodOrg Hi there! Story Shares tuning in! We create age-relevant content for struggling readers! We are excited to be joining today's chat! #ldchat
A3: Text-to-text help students differentiate text and sound symbol knowledge and helps students commit words to memory #LDchat#AssistiveTech@ATDyslexia
A3: Lots of research and real-world success with text to speech and multi-sensory processing. Helps with #dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD as well as #ELL and emerging readers, amongst many other scenarios #LDChat#mieexpert
A2: Spend a lot of time arguing against this, attitude towards AT is a massive issue by some teachers, some students and even some educational leaders #ldchat
A3: I just HAVE to share my article on the recent "miracles" we've seen using @MicrosoftEDU 's Immersive Reader (text-to-speech) here in my district! Please read when you get a chance! https://t.co/mJ3rGzfomd#LDchat
A3: Text-to-speech gives kids with #dyslexia an equal chance to participate in society. Read the news, text with their friends, check out movie reviews … the list goes on. Oh, and TTS lets them do those things independently! #LDchat
A3: Text-to-speech and audio books allow my students with #dyslexia to have access to text that will develop strong oral language skills and background knowledge which are both necessary to deepen their level of comprehension. #ldchat
A3. Text-to-speech is helpful for older kids with reading issues because it allows only one cognitive task at-a-time. Compare: What does that word say? What does that word MEAN? Science, math, language, more. #Ldchat
A3: My favorite #AssistiveTech is when it is subtle - doesn't draw attention to the student. Best when they have control over when to enable it themselves....like text-to-speech with discrete little earbuds! #LDchat
A2 - Depending on who's perspective, isn't every piece of #technology assistive to some degree? This argument could be made with respect to the placing of photocopiers in schools... Did teachers question this? #LDchat
@UnderstoodOrg A3: Text to speech allows students with reading difficulties to gain confidence in the content and helps them to not focus on their struggles. It opens up reading in a way that is accessible & fun not just challenging & scary! #ldchat
