Assistive Technology
The job I have right now is a long term sub position as a Title I literacy interventionist. The second and third graders that I work with are below the appropriate level for reading. Assistive technology would be a great tool to help these struggling readers. After much research I found that screen readers would be an appropriate tool to use with the students I work with. The program I chose to use is Read: Outloud. The three ideas that I came up with to use the screen readers with are MEAP practice, pace and fluency and tracking.
MEAP Practice
1. Students will use the screen readers to work on MEAP preparation for next year. Over the past few weeks I have observed the second grade classes doing MEAP practice. While in the room I assist the Title I students I work with. Since we are only practicing right now, the classroom teacher and I have been helping the students read the article. We either read it all together or read it to the students. After this the students are sent on their own to answer a question related to what was just read. The students are asked to go back in the reading to look for details, the main idea, or other things. This means they then have to re-read much of what was just read to them. All of the students I assist need a lot of assistance with the vocabulary and the many difficult words found throughout the readings. What I have found is that the students are capable of answering the response with help with the reading, but have a very difficult time reading the article or story. When they take the MEAP test they will not have a teacher to read the article to them or receive any help with words they don’t know. Even though the students won’t be able to use text-to-speech software on the test they can use it for help and practice right now.
Students will use the screen reader to assist them with reading the sample article or story. They can choose a voice (male or female) and change the speed to what is appropriate for them. After listening to the article or story the students can then answer the question that I give them. Students will either answer the question using pencil and paper or on the computer. On the MEAP test students will not be able to use a computer to type their response, so I would most likely keep to pencil and paper so they are getting the appropriate preparation for the test.
2. The screen reader will enhance the learning experience because students will be able to better answer the question. With the difficult content and words the students are unable to understand what they are reading so then they have trouble answering the question to their full ability. The screen readers will help because having it read to them will give them a better understanding of the content. The experience will also be more enjoyable than always reading by themselves in the classroom. The students will still participate in MEAP practice in the classroom with the rest of their classmates. The screen reader will be additional practice and support for them. I am always trying to use a variety of teaching tools and strategies rather than sticking to the same things. Screen readers will be a great new addition because I know that the students I work with have never used these before.
3. To support the students I would first show them how to use the screen reader program. There are a few computers in each classroom, but I could also take the select students to the computer lab to use the screen reader. The program the students will use is Read: Outloud and it is available at the school I work at and is on every computer. The program can be found on the desktop of each computer so it is easily accessible. Once in the program I will show the students how to change the voice, speed, and pitch. For this purpose the students will only be using the screen reader for MEAP practice so they will not be looking for their own stories and books. I will choose an article for the students to read and I will help them get to this by showing them the web address or already have it uploaded for them.
4. An advantage of using screen readers to help with MEAP practice is students will be able to read the difficult material. The technology will help them to better understand the reading and then they will be able to better answer the question they are given. A disadvantage of using this technology is the students will not be able to use it when they actually take the MEAP test. If used too frequently I fear that the students may become reliant on the program. As long as the students only use the screen reader a couple times a week and still practice reading the articles on their own in the classroom with the rest of the class, I don’t think this will be a major issue.
Pace, Fluency and Tracking
For the next idea I would have the students use the screen reader program to help with reading skills. There is not a specific activity they would do. Instead they would use the tool to help improve their reading or sometimes use the tool to assist with a guided reading assignment in the classroom.
1. Many of the students I work with have trouble with pace and fluency when they are reading. Some read very fast and this causes them to skip over words or add words that do not belong. Others read very slowly and this makes their reading sound choppy and broken up. Screen readers can be used to help with this because students will be able to hear the appropriate pace and then use this when reading on their own. My hope is that the students will read along with the screen reader and develop a pace that works for them, but is more of what a “normal” reader would sound like. The screen reader will help teach proper speed and phrasing. Many of the students I work with have trouble with tracking as well. These struggling readers can not visually track the words and sentences when they are reading. Their brain does not work with their mouth.
Students will use the screen reader to chose a story that they would like to read. I would encourage the third graders to choose a chapter book that may take them weeks to finish. The second graders would be picking books that they would finish in one sitting. Students will be asked to use the screen reader two times a week and it would be during their self-selected reading time.
2. The screen reader will enhance the learning experience because students will be able to have the assistance of a teacher without the actual teacher. For this purpose the screen reader will be a positive model for what good reading should sound like. Students cannot have the full attention from their teacher all the time, but the struggling readers need as much help as possible. By listening to the computer read the story students will be able to hear when to stop for punctuation and when to pause for commas. They will see this on the screen, hear it and process the information.
The screen reader will enhance the learning experience because students will have help from someone when that person may not be available. When using the program the reader can even read the text on the screen, but when they reach a word they don’t know they can have the computer pick up at that point in the story to help them. I have found that students love buddy reading with their friends and other classmates. When buddy reading is used in the class some students tend to get off task and I find them talking, rather than reading. This will give students an opportunity to have that partner read, but will help them to focus and stay on task and hopefully improve their reading.
3. To support the students I would use the same first show them how to use the screen reader program. The program the students will use is Read: Outloud and it is available at the school I work at and is on every computer. The program can be found on the desktop of each computer so it is easily accessible. I will show the students how to change the voice, speed, and pitch. For this purpose the students will be using the screen reader for pace and fluency help so they will be able to choose their own book or stories. There are some stories on the homepage that they may choose from. They can also search the web to find others that interest them. I will show them how to search for other reading material, but will monitor what sites they are going to on the web. Sometimes I may also choose what I want the student to read depending on their reading level or their improvement over time.
4. An advantage of using this technology to help develop pace is students will hear what the pace of a story should sound like. If no one is reading with the child at home then they are not hearing this very often. The screen reader will help with this. Another advantage of using this technology the voice says the words as the student follows along. Their brain and mouth work together as they read and this helps their tracking. A disadvantage is that sometimes the voices on screen readers can sound very robotic. I have experimented with the Read: Outloud program and there are a couple voices that sound good and will help the students to improve their fluency. I have to watch what voices the students are choosing, otherwise their fluency will not improve.
Reading Groups
1. I work with two classes of third graders. Many of them have the same struggles when reading. These include the skills I just focused on for the last activity. Another idea I have for using the screen readers is for reading groups. In some of the classes there are reading groups for the advanced or higher readers. The kids struggling with reading are not in any reading groups. They are pulled out by me or another interventionist to read, but it would be nice for them to have their own reading group with the other kids at their reading level. I would take the students from each third grade class and put them into groups. I would keep the kids in each class together because I go to the rooms at different times throughout the day. I work with four students in one room and five in the other. I think these are appropriate size groups. These groups will also work because the students are all very similar in their reading abilities and even if some are higher they can offer assistance to others.
My idea for this is that the group will all read the same book or story on the screen reader. I would choose a book or story for the group to read. We would have to go to the computer lab because there are not enough computers in the classrooms. Each student would have their own computer and we would be able to read the story at the same time. After reading the story or the assigned chapter for the day I would like us to read that story as a group out loud. Students will work on an activity together or on questions for that chapter after we read. This will give students the opportunity to work with each other and discuss what happened in the story. These students rarely get the chance to communicate these things with other students because they mostly read with adults.
2. The technology will enhance the learning experience because students will get a lot of practice with one story. They will get to first listen to it and then read it as a group. When I work with the Title I students I will often read them the page of the story or the book if it is small. Then they read it back to me. They do much better when first hearing the story. They hear the correct pronunciation of words, and when to pause at punctuation and commas. The screen reader will help them with this. Students will also be able to communicate with their peers rather than an adult. When doing the activity students will share their thoughts about the story and exchange ideas with each other. This will make them stronger readers and better at communicating their ideas with others. 3. To support the students I would first show them how to use the screen reader program. I would take the select students to the computer lab to use the screen reader. The program the students will use is Read: Outloud and it is available on every computer. The program can be found on the desktop of each computer so it is easily accessible. Once in the program I will show the students how to use the controls. For this purpose I will be choosing the story or book for the students. I will show them how to find this. In our computer lab we use the program Vision which allows the teacher to control all the computers. The students will watch how to get to the program and find the story, but will not have to do it. Once they become more comfortable with the tool I will not use Vision.
4. The advantage of using this technology with these students is that they will have the chance to interact with other readers at their same reading level. I used to roller skate competitively and I found that working with fellow skaters helped me to notice things that I was doing wrong and then I was able to improve on those techniques. My hope is that they will hear mistakes that others are making and notice that when they are reading. Of course these mistakes will not be pointed out while working as a group, but since I will be working with the group I can chime in and offer suggestions and support. Even though students will not be reading the books out loud to each other I think the reading group would be beneficial because they will feel like part of a group. I notice friendships build with students that get to work together and I think that could blossom from this. A disadvantage of using this tool for a reading group is that you aren’t always reading out loud to each other like a typical reading group. To solve that I decided we would re-read the story after so that the students truly feel that they are working in a group.
Screen Readers/Read: Outloud
a. I work with eighteen Title I students in the second and third grades. To use the screen readers I would break these students up into small groups of four or five children depending on the grade and what they need work with. A couple of the groups would be second graders and the other groups would be made up of third graders. I do not plan on mixing the grades together. Sometimes I would pull the students out to do activities and sometimes the activities in the room could be altered so they could use the screen reader. If I had my own classroom I would use the screen reader with students struggling with reading. The whole class will do the same lesson, but a small group of students will use the tool when necessary.
b. Title I students do not have learning disabilities, but they do have many struggles when it comes to reading. The students I work with have trouble with text-to-speech, pace, fluency, and tracking. c. The screen readers will help students to overcome the struggles by helping them with pace, punctuation, vocabulary, fluency, and tracking issues. The students will have assistance when there is no adult present. They will be able to say the words along with the voice to help improve their pace and fluency. By following along and speaking with the voice they will learn when to stop for punctuation and when to pause for commas. The tool will help them overcome issues with tracking because they will visually see what they are saying and hear it at the same time. These are the same types of things a teacher or adult would do with a student to help them.
d. I picked screen readers as the tool because it is similar to reading with an adult or teacher and this is what these students need. These particular students do not get much help at home or practice reading at home. My time is divided amongst many students and classroom teachers can not give these students their full attention. A screen reader can help to fill the void. Students should read as much as possible on their own, but it is also important to have adults read to them. A screen reader is a tool that can be adjusted to fit any type of reader and can help with a variety of issues. I chose Read: Outloud because it is easily accessible to the students and simple to use.
e. The advantage of a screen reader is that it helps with so many different problems. It can assist struggling readers with fluency and tracking, It can assist students that are blind or have low vision, and helps illiterate or learning disabled people. The advantage of Read: Outloud compared to some other programs is that you can look for other books online. You don’t have to just use what that tool supplies. You can search the internet and find stories from thousands of other websites and even put in your own text. Struggling readers have many limitations and my hope is that by using this tool the limitations will diminish.
f. To make my decision I looked for a tool that would help the kids I am currently working with. When choosing a program I wanted something that had choices of voices and lots of books to choose from. Read: Outloud has a few different voices to pick from and you can search the web to find books that you are interested in reading. When looking for a screen reader program to use I also wanted something that was free and that was easily accessible. I happened to stumble upon Read: Outloud on the computers at work and thought it would be a good fit for the students.
g. This particular program does cost money, but it is already on all the computers at work which is why I chose it to use with my students. Why not take something that is free? If I were to buy a screen reader program I would probably buy one that had more voices to choose from. h. To assess student work I will do a few different things. Depending on what the activity is or what the student is working on, the assessment will be different. If I were to use this tool with MEAP practice I would be assessing their response to the question by reading it and looking for the same criteria they use on the actual test. I will keep all of the students’ responses and make sure they are making improvements and continue to work on the skills that the students struggle with. These will not be graded since it is solely practice. My thought is that the screen reader will be used to help the students with their reading strategies and it will assist them with activities in the classroom when they may have a difficult time reading the given book or article. If this is the case there will not be much assessing. If they were using the screen reader to assist with a reading activity in the classroom I would be assessing their work afterwards, not their reading. The type of assessment would depend on what the activity is. For reading groups and for working on reading skills and strategies I would use a reading conference sheet. The students would be using the screen readers only a couple times a week so I would still want to work with them one-on-one, reading with a book. I will use a reading conference sheet to keep track of their improvements and what still needs to be worked on.