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Sponsors & Members ... How to ADD someone

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Sponsors & Members ... How to ADD someone

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"Sponsor"
- An educator affiliated with an Organizational account. For Portland Public Schools, that would be the account called "PPS District Bookshare Account"
- A Sponsor can be added by any other Sponsor on the Organizational account

"Member"
- A student affiliated with an Organizational account. For Portland Public Schools, that would be the account called "PPS District Bookshare Account"
- A Member can be added by a "Qualifying Professional"

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Creating Reading Lists for specific TOPICS or GRADES is a great way to curate a list that you can use year after year.
Each year you simply update the list of students who you've assigned to the Reading List.

.... & you can always add/delete titles from you List to keep things fresh!

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Searching for books to add to a Reading List or to Assign to a student is easy. Search by Author, Title, Genre, Grade, and more.

If you're not finding the book you're looking for be sure to:
- check the spelling of the book or author
- use the ISBN (... this is often the best option for text books as you'll often find multiple publication years and you always want students to have the same edition that the teacher is using for the class)

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Check out the Educator Dashboard to see what Reading Lists your students are assigned to and which books they have accessed

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Text-to-Speech: Not Just For Special Education Students!

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Text-to-Speech: Not Just For Special Education Students!

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A short but sweet & impactful little article addressing the benefits of Text-to-Speech technology by ESL teacher Kristine Napper

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I'm a middle school ESL teacher who accidentally picked up a reputation for being "techy." But I'll tell you a secret - I'm not even that into technology. I kicked and screamed through my edtech class as an undergrad.

I am, however, a big believer in a concept I call "techquity." Instead of doing the same old things on new devices and getting the same results, I believe technology can be used to create more equitable opportunities for all students. (You can hear more about techquity and my own techquitable journey here.)

We all have students reading below grade level. Students with learning disabilities, developing English proficiency, poor instruction, low attendance, and other factors, share the struggle of being unable to navigate grade-level text. While there's no magical solutions to complex issues, text-to-speech (TTS) is a tool that I find makes a powerful difference for tasks that involve reading.

Accessing Content

The right to learn in school shouldn't be limited by low literacy. Some of my lowest readers are also some of my brightest students. They might not decode well, but they can memorize, comprehend, analyze, connect, evaluate, apply... In short, they can think! When students can't independently read a text about World War II, shouldn't they still get to learn about World War II? Low readers often starve for more information and depth than remedial texts typically provide. TTS breaks down barriers to content.

Stretching Text Endurance

Although most of my students have enough skills to at least slog through assigned reading, for many it's an exhausting process. They wrestle with each word, grasping for meaning.

Since making TTS available, I've noticed a pattern. Many students start an assignment reading on their own. As they fatigue, they pop in some headphones and continue reading with TTS. In a pre-techquity world, these same tired students would give up or turn into behavior problems. Now they're staying engaged with text for longer, and adjusting strategies to fit their own learning needs.

Easing Text Anxiety

Conversely, some reluctant readers use the same strategy in reverse. These are the students that say they're "too lazy" to start a task, which is usually covering up insecurity about their abilities. Using TTS sounds easier and less threatening, so they're willing to get started. Once they get into the text, they often turn off TTS, preferring to continue at their own pace without the robotic voice. The technology lowers their affective filter enough to gain some reading momentum. Then, if they don't need it anymore, they naturally stop using it.

Unlearning Helplessness

"Ms. Napper, what does this word mean?"

"Which word?"

"Co... cone.... cone-see-kwee...I don't know how to say it!"

"How can you figure it out?"

At this point, they listen with TTS, and the next thing out of their mouth will either be, "Consequence! Oh, yeah, I know that word," or "What does consequence mean?"

I'm so tired of students waiting for teachers to hold their hands. TTS allows them to be independent learners, using tools to get information. While I'll happily help my students when they need it, they have to put in enough effort to at least ask a good question. If they can figure out the answer themselves, even better! It's empowering for kids who are used to being spoon-fed.

Helps With Writing

For years I've told students to read their writing aloud before declaring it finished, but it's never been very effective. Kids either feel awkward and refuse to do it, or they rush through reading it the way they want it to sound, rather than as it's written. I'm seeing better results now that I tell them to listen to their own words via TTS. Kids who've never voluntarily used a period or comma in their life can hear how confusing the text sounds without punctuation. Those who can't see the need for editing, can often hear it.

But How Will They Ever Learn To Read?

Let me be very clear - TTS does not replace reading instruction. My original intention was solely to provide access to content. However, I'm finding that it also supplements learning to read - which makes sense. Does anyone ever worry that reading to a child will become a crutch, keeping them from learning to read? Of course not; we encourage it as a way to promote literacy.

Most TTS highlights as it reads, drawing the eye along. It allows students to have meaningful interactions with text throughout the day, instead of dedicating that time and energy to avoidance. I've met 6th grade students who I secretly expected to continue needing TTS forever. Two years later, I have the joy of watching them surpass my expectations, voluntarily reading out loud in class without any technology.

Dropping The Stigma

When I started experimenting with TTS, I only offered it to the one or two students in a class with the highest reading needs. It opened doors for them... when they actually used it. They were self-conscious about peers seeing them using something "special."

As I started imagining TTS benefitting more students, I changed my approach. Now I introduce it to the whole class as something we can all keep in our toolbox. "Some of our brains learn better by listening while we read. If that's you, this might help. Some of you will want to use it a lot of the time. Some might just use it occasionally, when the reading is challenging or you're tired. Some will find it too distracting. Do whatever works for your brain!"

Just like that, the stigma is gone! Kids easily accept that our brains learn differently, and that doesn't make one style better or worse than another. They've taken ownership of how, when, and if they use TTS, and they're handling the responsibility beautifully.

Explore some links to start finding the best TTS tools for you...

Chrome Extensions:

Web Based:

MacBook Built-In Tools:

Microsoft:

Chromebooks Built-In Tools:

iPhone/iPad Built-In Tools:

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Text-to-Speech: Not Just For Special Education Students!

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I'm a middle school ESL teacher who accidentally picked up a reputation for being "techy." But I'll tell you a secret - I'm not even that into technology. I kicked and screamed through my edtech class as an undergrad. I am, however, a big believer in a concept I call "techquity."

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The Case Against AT: Does accessibility even matter? | Don Johnston

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We now know that AT or assistive technology improves student outcomes, and we have the data to back it up.

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Text-to-Speech Technology: Enhancing Reading Comprehension for Students with Reading Difficulty

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Text-to-Speech Technology: Enhancing Reading Comprehension for Students with Reading Difficulty

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This link doesn't give access to the entire article, but just have a look at that Abstract!
"...Reading comprehension was significantly higher for the TTS
versus No TTS condition..."

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Text-to-Speech Technology: Enhancing Reading Comprehension for Students with Reading Difficulty

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Explore millions of resources from scholarly journals, books, newspapers, videos and more, on the ProQuest Platform.

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Audio-visual synchronization in reading while listeningto texts: Effects on visual behavior and verbal learning

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Audio-visual synchronization in reading while listeningto texts: Effects on visual behavior and verbal learning

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RWL (Reading While Listening) works!

"Studies investigating foreign language learning in adolescents and adults are
consistent with the above studies. RWL proved more helpful than RO for vocabulary
acquisition (e.g., Brown, Waring, & Donkaewbua, 2008; Webb & Chang, 2012), and for
comprehension and reading rate (e.g., Chang & Millett, 2015). As in the previously reported
studies in native language, students preferred RWL to the other reading conditions." - page 6

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Students added to the "PPS District Bookshare Account" will be added as Organizational Members. There is also an option to create an Individual Account for them as well.

Organizational Membership - the student ("Member") has access to books and Reading Lists that an educator ("Sponsor") has assigned to the student

Individual Membership - gives the family the ability to download books at home for the student (or for the student to choose/download books independently)

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Now here's a document with A LOT of information and links.

(Don't let it overwhelm you... you'll also find everything you need to get started in the columns to the right -->  )

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Here's the link to Bookshare's very own Help Center

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& here's the link to Bookshare's Learning Center where you'll find more in-depth resources straight from the source

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Interested in learning more about Bookshare or training others with Bookshare resources? Check out the Learning Center to help you dive deeper into Bookshare! We offer a variety of tools and resources to help you get the most out of Bookshare! Explore today!

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Using Snap&Read for Reading in the Chrome browser.

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Using Snap&Read for Reading in the Chrome browser.

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Here's the link to the Snap&Read resources padlet.

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Check out what it looks like to Read a Bookshare book with Snap&Read

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Bookshare Web Reader works right in the Chrome web browser and is easy to change preferences and to use.

It is always available when opening a Bookshare book in the Chrome browser.

There is an all-new updated Bookshare Web Reader that works really well!
Click the settings wheel in the upper right corner of the reader page, then make preferred adjustments to the page's fonts, voices, and overall look.

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One of your student's educators can get the Individual Membership processes started.

You will then receive an email from Bookshare containing information on next steps to create the Individual Membership.

Choose a password that is unique and that you can share with staff at school. It's not necessary to share the login information, but it is really helpful to have on hand if the student runs into difficulty accessing their account at school.

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Here's a little 1 minute video showing how students access their books on different devices!