Android Apps for Learners with Dyslexia/ Reading and Writing Difficulties

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Three new resources from CALL Scotland provide an at-a-glance overview of the many ways iPads and Android devices can be used to support literacy. For electronic versions of the ﬁ rst two resources with clickable links, see www.callscotland.org.uk/downloads/posters-and-leaﬂ ets. Android Apps for Learners with Dyslexia/ Reading and Writing Difficulties

Read Me Stories

iStoryBooks Comic Word Magic Wunderlist: Life To-Do List Our Story & Tasks

Kids Story Cereproc- Stuart* Books free Wunderlist My Story Hairy Builder for Phonics Lumosity Education Ivona - Amy* Acapela - Me Books TTS Voices* Text To Speech Neuronation - Remember Reader Improving Memory Book Voice Aloud the Milk Creator Reader Voice R Easy Text To Reminders eading Dream

Brain School Early Speech Talk - Text Reader Instapaper to Voice Moon+ alking

T Improving Books Reader Pro Creating Memory Stories Kindle EBook Google Keep Pinterest Reader Text to Go Read Pocket Information Speech Cool FB Reader Scoop It! Gathering ReaderiReader Reading eBooks Mind Mapper SimpleMind Mind Working Mapping with PDFs EZ PDF Reader Adobe Mindomo Outliner Pro Acrobat Reader Scanning Mindjet Mapper Word

Processing Visual Stress

Google Letter Formation/ Docs Handwriting Office Sentence Audio Notes Structure Lens Microsoft Text Word Grabber + Translator Note Taking Writing Polaris Support CapturaTalk Keyboards Office Easy Voice SunFilter Recorder Evernote ABC Preschool AudioNote Ginger Playground Free Color Screen Keyboard Filter Appwriter

Note Everything OneNote Sentence LetterSchool Free Screen Filters Flexpansion Maker ColorNote Keyboard Read & Write Notepad Hairy Letters ai Type Writing Squid Keyboard NaturalReader Sentence Wizard MyScript Swiftkey *Many high quality voices Builder Smart Note ABC in different languages are Learning available for Android devices Letters - these are just examples Adaptxt Free Swype Dictus Keyboard from some of the major Google Voice developers. Note that if you Typing download a voice you will be able to use it across different apps on your Android.

This is the third in a series of ‘App Wheels’ produced by CALL iPad versus Android Scotland, following on from our two iPad Wheels. This focuses The iPad is well established as an educational tool, but Android tablets (and smartphones) on Android Apps to support reading and writing. Note that are becoming increasingly popular. some apps address a range of difficulties. but in order to save • Android tablets are generally less expensive than iPads. space, we have decided not to place individual apps into multiple • There are more educational apps available for the iPads, than for Android devices. categories. Links on the electronic version are ‘clickable’, taking you to information in the Google Play Store. • There is less ‘quality control’ over Android apps so some don’t work properly, or perform in unexpected ways. This is not a comprehensive list, but an attempt to identify • Many Android devices cannot be upgraded to the latest version of the operating relevant, useful apps and to categorise them according to some system so some apps won’t work on them. of the difficulties faced by people with dyslexia. Unlike the iPad, • The Android operating system is less tightly controlled than the Apple iOS, so some there is little consensus on the ‘best’ Android apps for education, apps, e.g. voices and screen filters can work across most apps in an Androiddevice, so we would be happy to receive suggestions for inclusion in unlike the iPad where there are no general screen filters and voices have to be future versions. Email suggestions to [email protected]. downloaded separately for each app.

© 2015 Version 1.0, October 2015 CALL Scotland, The University of Edinburgh. CALL Scotland is part funded by Scottish Government. www.optimus-education.com/sc230A PDF version of this app wheel (and other posters) can be downloaded from 230 Special Children 25 http://www.callscotland.org.uk/downloads/posters-and-leaflets Pull-out resource Pull-out resource

iPad Apps to Support Creativity Apps which integrate / General/Studio share with other apps The iPad, combined with appropriate apps, is an ideal device to support, foster and engage creative thinking, collaboration, interactivity, and learning. With its front and back facing cameras, microphone, and portability, it is an engaging creative tool, even for the less creative among us. Garage Pocket Bossjock Music Thumbjam SampleTank Bloom HD With a bit of imagination the iPad can become an art canvas, an animation tool, a live instrument, a Band Studio Studio Studio music studio, a video editing suite, and much more! Tape AudioCopy Instruments The option to add external devices (via Bluetooth and/or the Apple Camera USB Connection Adaptor) means the iPad can link to a guitar, a digital piano, synthesisers and other ‘controllers’. The iPad can also offer an alternative means of recording, writing and presenting classwork, particularly useful for those pupils who find traditional methods of writing and reading challenging. AudioShare Audiobus iGrand Virtuoso Bagpipe Guitarism Futulele Keezy Drums! Piano (& Keezy Camera and Video Accessories Drummer) Accessories such as hand grips and mounts (tripods) can help to Synthesisers / Effects / DJ stabilise video footage and extend the use of the iPad’s built-in camera; Music • bit.ly/iPad_moviemounts • bit.ly/iPad_photo_accessories BIAS AmpliTube AmpKit Sunrizer djay 2 Figure Launchpad • bit.ly/olloclip_photo_lens_iPad Amp Synth (CALL Scotland does not have any association or interests with the above) General Coding

Daisy the Hopscotch Tynket ScratchJr Move the iMovie Chromic Filmic Pro Videolicious Toy Story Easy Studio Dinosaur Turtle Video Special Effects Story Theater • Augmented reality Interaction Augmented Reality / Interactive Whiteboard

Action Creatures Green Video Zombie Kid Pix Movie FX FX Screen Scribe Booth Deluxe 3D Stop Animation Aurasma ZooBurst Explain Educreations Screen Photos Everything Chomp

iAnimate I Can Stop Motion Shadow Foldify Foldify Editing / Collage / Effects Animate Studio Puppet Edu Zoo Art Animation Puppets / Animated Cartoons Adobe Photos Snapseed Pic Collage Diptic Photoshop Comic Express Creation Creative Writing Puppet Sock ToonTastic Puppet Pals Tellagami Animation Story Show Puppets HD Desk Telling Painting / Drawing / Effects Presentation / Audio / Narration Comic Books / Comic Art Audio / Video / Narration / Interactive Books

Brushes Doodle Uzu Autodesk Keynote Adobe Slate Microsoft Tell About Adobe VoiceThread Buddy SketchBook Sway This Voice Writing Prompts Comic Life Musomic Photo Toon Book Creator Talking SonicPics Collins Big Me Books Sketch Camera Pictures Cat Apps

An electronic copy of this infograph can be downloaded from: © 2015 SpinArtX Fruit Attack Finger Paint Etch A www.callscotland.org.uk/downloads/posters-and-leaflets/ Writing Write Creative Writing Web2Easy Songwriters Artist with Sounds Sketch In the electronic version, App images are ‘clickable’ links, taking you to Prompts About This Writer Challenge Pad information about the individual App on the iTunes site for the UK.

Version 1, October 2015 CALL Scotland, The University of Edinburgh. CALL Scotland is part funded by Scottish Government.

26 Special Children 230 www.optimus-education.com/sc230 www.optimus-education.com/sc230 230 Special Children 27 Pull-out resource

Split View Using the iPad to Support Dyslexia With Split View With each new update of the iPad’s operating system (iOS), the you can work on built-in tools continue to improve. iOS 9 includes support for literacy two apps and/ difficulties such as dyslexia, without necessarily needing to buy or documents additional apps. This infograph provides a snapshot of some of the simultaneously, built-in tools; others not mentioned here, include lower case keys, - useful for undocking the on-screen keyboard to help track writing, the facility to revision or add external dyslexia-friendly Bluetooth keyboards to aid writing and notetaking. the newly designed Notes app with text formatting options. (iPad Air 2 only - As well as the suggestions provided here, CALL Scotland offers many alternatively Slide Over for some older iPads ). more resources, such as the ‘Dyslexia Wheel of Apps’, and colour background templates for Pages as well as neutral colour backgrounds Siri Safari Reader for the iPad’s screen. You can use Siri to ask Improve the readability of web bit.ly/dyslexia-wheel-of-apps questions, set reminders, open pages by removing clutter - tap bit.ly/neutral-screen-colours apps, complete tasks, and the black horizontal lines on the bit.ly/pages-background-templates dictate text instead of typing. left hand side of the URL box. www.callscotland.org.uk Siri Voices Use the Siri voices – Siri Male and Siri Female – for natural sounding text-to-speech. Speak Screen Speak Screen reads content on the iPad. You can set the speaking rate and choose from different voices. Swipe down from the top with two fingers or tell Siri to ‘Speak Screen’.

Text Replacement to support spelling Speak Selection If you don’t want everything read Use Text Replacement to create aloud tap and hold the bits of text personalised spelling lists and and Speak Selection will read it. Auto-Corrections.

Text Replacement to cut down keystrokes (Shortcuts) Highlighting Consider using Text Replacement Follow words and sentences as they (abbreviation expansion) to are read aloud with ‘Highlighting’. help cut down keystrokes. Text Replacement can also help to quickly type repetitive sentences Define/Dictionary and phrases. Use Define and Dictionary to find the meaning of words.

Check Spelling QuickType Consider turning on Check Spelling Use QuickType to tap a word from the list of (in General and Keyboards) to alert words appearing above the on-screen keyboard. learners to spelling mistakes. Misspelt words are highlighted with a red underline.

Use Manage to choose from a range 3rd Party Keyboards of Dictionaries such as the English Oxford, American English Oxford, Replace Spelling You can use 3rd Party keyboards such as French, German, Dutch and more. Tap or highlight the misspelt word to Keedogo, SuperKeys, Swype to aid writing and replace it with a correctly spelt word. improve readbility (Settings and Keyboard). Dictionary can also help with spelling, If you are unsure if the replaced grammar and pronunciation. word is the correct one, highlight the word to have it read aloud (Speak).

28 Special Children 230 www.optimus-education.com/sc230