Standard: Leader by Brooke Grosz

PebbleGo

groszb — 2024-01-29 04:45:40 UTC

This tool is extremely useful as if reads out the text it also highlights it, which is convenient to follow along with. This application also has the English and Spanish versions of each book, so an ELL student can read both books to get a better sense of what is occurring in the book while still getting English practice. Also, while pausing the word stays highlighted while the student reads, so they can go back and read themselves or highlight a word they want to work on. Overall, PebbleGo is super useful to use text-to-speech to hear the words on the page and is versatile for ELL students.

Epic

groszb — 2024-01-29 04:45:52 UTC

I have used this application before and have noticed that the "read to me" gives students a chance to follow along with the reading while they can listen to the words as well. The words are have a box around them when being read and you can even go back and click on the word to have a definition pulled up and a speech bubble to have the word said aloud to you. This application is great for any student who is reading a book with new words and/or a student who is familiarizing themselves with the pronunciation/use of a word in a sentence.

Browser Support

groszb — 2024-01-29 04:46:10 UTC

I am using Google Chrome for this section. I went to an article website that I use for history/social studies articles. I highlighted the word "enrich" and clicked the right side, the screenshot shows the available options. When I clicked the "search Google for 'Enrich'", it opened a new tab with the Google definition of enrich along with websites to find out more about the word and its definition. The new tab also showed options for the word to be spoken aloud and the phonetics of the word to help readers understand the pronunciation. This is useful if the student doesn't know the definition, how to pronounce it, or wants help to hear the word. The last thing to note is the available reading mode that allows the student to adjust the text size and/or color of the background to help them read however is easiest. This tool is useful for students reading something with new words to look up or students who struggle with the standard screen/font size, to help them read.

Voice Typing/Dictate

groszb — 2024-01-29 04:46:32 UTC

I was able to open Google Docs on Chrome and access the voice typing tool easily. There was a little bit of background noise occurring while I used this tool so I spoke loudly and the dictation was able to pick up what I said. The punctuation does need to be explicitly said for it to be applied. This tool is great for students who are working on their pronunciation or if they have a bigger verbal vocabulary rather than spelling vocabulary. An ELL student would benefit as they are understanding the language and the phonemes of English to see how their words are being recorded on the page to aid their understanding of English spelling.

Google Translate

groszb — 2024-01-29 04:46:43 UTC

This tool is super beneficial because you can use an article of another language and have it translated to English, or if an ELL student wants to change the document to their first language, they can to help them make sense of the text. Also, downloading the application to take a picture of the translate allows an option to have the text be read to you. You can also highlight a specific word to have just that be said. These options can be great for an ELL student and students who benefit from hearing the text aloud while they read along.

One Note/Immersive Reader

groszb — 2024-01-29 04:47:04 UTC

Immersive reader allowed me to change the background color and text color/font/size, and the line spacing. I was able to take notes typing and using my speech-to-text. I enjoyed the ability to change up the reading to fit my style/needs as a reader. Not all articles worked because they have to be a pdf that can be moved around in a way that students can make visual changes. No matter what learning challenges a student may face or if they just have strong preferences, one note/immersive reader allows them to make most changes as long as the uploaded file fits the settings.

Read Mode

groszb — 2024-01-29 04:47:16 UTC

When using an application that sets the article into read mode, it eliminates most, if not all, distractions from the page that used to be there. I know I have struggled with shopping ads because I always see something that I have been looking into getting or having been wanting and I stop focusing on my reading. With this application, I was able to focus a lot more intentionally on my reading. I think all students would benefit from this, even if they don't get distracted by ads, it lets their brain relax and focus on one thing.