Module 2 – Specialist High Tech Options & Microsoft 365

[Pat Brennan]

Participants are asked to explore Immersive Reader in MS Teams, the Edge browser and other 365 Tools and consider how they could use it to support literacy in the SET classroom.
Participants are also asked to consider how they can adapt their existing equipment to better suit the needs of a particular pupil and what other input devices might improve accessibility to technology for pupils.

Post a reflective piece (150 words minimum) as a reply to this post.

[Sinead Fahy]

This is my first time exploring Immersive Reader and it is a fantastic resource. I love how accessible it is. I think it would be important to help students see value of it in their own lives. They can also download it on their own phone and use it in real-life.

The read aloud feature would be very useful to empower students and to enable them to access material beyond their independent reading level. It will boost confidence and motivation.

The picture dictionary is also a fantastic feature. It exposes students to new vocabulary and will help with their comprehension of a text.

I would use Immersive Reader in the mainstream classroom to enable students to work independently using headphones. It can also be used in 1:1 or small groups as a Guided Reading session. When introducing this resource to students it would be important to explicitly teach them how to use the Immersive Reader and its different functions.

I am looking forward to trying it out in the classroom

[Rachel Wall]

I agree immersive reader is a great tool for the class as a whole.

[Martina Payne]

Immersive Reader is an invaluable tool in aiding pupils with Special Educational Needs. The benefits of this programme are as follows: It can read a text aloud, line by line. It has a picture dictionary function which gives visual clues to readers if they need help to read a word. You can change aspects of the format of the text such as line spacing, font size and background colour, making it easier for some readers. It will translate a word to a different language, which will assist students for whom English is not their first language. It is built into Programmes such as One Note, Microsoft Teams and Office Lens.
Immersive Reader can be customised by prioritising the features that will best meet the needs of each individual student. It can assist in the teaching of Grammar as it identifies parts of speech. This Programme can also help children with auditory processing difficulties because the text can be read aloud to them at a slower speed. It can even be used as a tool to assess fluency with the Reading Coach facility. This element tells the pupils the correct pronunciation for words, it breaks words into syllables to help the reader to read it, and it gives a visual prompt as a clue. The Reading Coach assesses accuracy, time spent reading the text and correct words per minute, while also identifying and then teaching words that were read incorrectly.
The Edge Browser allows access to the above beneficial tools as it has Immersive Reader as a feature in it’s browser.

Dictate is a very beneficial tool which would greatly benefit pupils with SEN, especially those with dysgraphia. It would make it much easier for a student to create a body of text. Additional beneficial features are that it can translate for pupils who have English as an additional language. The accessibility setting is very useful as it will check that the document is fully accessible for you pupils.

One of the main benefits of One Note is that it can be logged into anywhere. One Note has lots of accessibility features such as Dictate and Immersive Reader. It allows the use of spellcheck for those with spelling difficulty. Also, the ‘reading view’ setting makes distracting tabs disappear so that the reader can focus fully on the text that they are reading.

Sharepoint is an excellent resource in the teaching of children with SEN. It allows the teacher to condense large texts. Students can replay this at home. It can break down information, include diagrams and assessments designed by the teacher. The teacher can attach elements such as videos, images links. You can use a divider to divide your topics up. One of its best features, however, is that the student can replay this at home, so, if they have struggled to fully understand a concept during the lesson, they can revisit it at home.

I think that, sharing my knowledge of these Programmes with the SET team in my school and with other staff members would be very beneficial to the school as a whole. The use of elements such as Immersive Reader in a whole class setting on the interactive whiteboard would be beneficial to the class as a whole.

The use of resources such as trackball mouse for those with limited mobility in their hands, adaptive switches and keyboard shortcuts can also be very beneficial in aiding a person with Special Educational Needs to achieve success through the use of ICT.

[Gina Patterson]

The Immersive Reader and the Dictate tools have the ability to help improve reading, writing and comprehension in all classrooms. They are motivational tools that are easy to use. I was working as part of the SET team last year and I was looking for some tools that would help a couple of the children with written tasks. I found out about the dictate tool that is part of Microsoft Office 2019 as well as Microsoft Office 365. The children found the tool to be a fantastic resource for them and they were able to concentrate on creating a project rather than trying to find out how to spell words. This course has now introduced me to the Immersive Reader tool which I can see will be another fantastic resource, especially for these two children that I’ll be working with again next year. Having the ability to text to make it more readable to the child themselves is so beneficial. The picture dictionary is a fantastic feature for these 2 children. Although these children won’t need to use the translation feature, I can see how valuable it could be.

The Office Lens is a great tool that will allow me to copy text from any resource and make it accessible to the children through the Immersive Reader. The Office Lens allows you to capture an image on a device and then it converts the image to text allowing it to be read aloud to the student using Word or OneNote. This feature will enable me to capture lengthy or important text onto a device, which can be shared to the children’s devices. This will enable them to listen to the text as many times as they need to.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Gina,

Thanks for highlighting some of the fantastic accessibility features that are available within the Microsoft / Office 365 software. Dictate, Lens and Immersive Reader can be transformative tools for those with literacy difficulties. These tools also support a UDL approach in which students can represent material and create material through multiple means.

There are a number of equivalent Google extensions that can carry out the same functions if your school uses Google Workspace. These include ‘Talk and Comment’, ‘Open Dyslexic for Chrome’ and ‘Use Immersive Reader on Websites’. Google Lens also carries out the same features as Microsoft Lens (minus the automatic export to Immersive Reader).

[Ellen ODonnell]

I have used the immersive reader for my own use and I can definitely see how it would benefit not only struggling readers but also many other students in the class who may have other needs e.g, ASD, Dyspraxia and ADHD students to mention a few. It is a very versatile tool and could be used in both the mainstream setting and small class groups. The read aloud facility also works very well and this also supports struggling readers to access the curriculum. Likewise as Gina mentioned above the Dictate facilitate is very useful for these same students to allow them write their own compositions and give them a sense of well being that they are achieving as good as their peers in literacy.

The Microsoft Office Lens tool has very many benefits namely in the capturing of information from documents, whiteboards, menus, etc and then saving them in word format where they can be used when required. I will definitely try this with my students in the coming school year.

[Jennifer Boylan]

Use of immersive reader with some of our more literate pupils will be of significant use for teaching and learning. The following features would be of use in the classroom:

I like  the focus feature to break down and highlight once a few sentences at a time and changing the background colours really make a difference to visual processing for dyspraxic/ dyslexic and visual impaired pupils in our school.

I would safely say that the most useful feature in my work is the picture dictionary tool for learning.it is so simple and easy to navigate without having to go into a file to look up catégorie which is often how other programs work. This is often very distracting and then leads to confusion or lack of focus which ultimately impedes target learning goals.

I have never seen this program  before and I think it will be very useful and I look forward to implementing it in the classroom, probably at individual resource level as it is appropriate for use with only  a portion of our pupils.

[Siobhan O’Toole]

Students who experience literacy difficulties often read slowly and without fluency. They may struggle to comprehend what they have read, as their full concentration has been on word reading as opposed to reading the text for meaning. As a result, students often have to read a text twice before they can extract meaning. Immersive Reader takes the stress out of reading for these students. It eliminates the labour involved in reading, while supporting students’ comprehension of a text and time management. Features such as syllables, line focus and optional screen colour supports the learner with poor phonological awareness and visual perception difficulties. The dictate option on Word, also reduces the burden experienced by students for who spelling and handwriting is an issue. Students will find it easier to express their thoughts verbally than in writing. Dictate allows students to express themselves with clarity. Students with dyslexia frequently feel overwhelmed when presented with huge amounts of text. Share point enables the teacher to reduce the reading load for such students and highlight key pieces of information. In doing so, teachers are making information more manageable and memorable for students.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Siobhan,

You are correct to say that poo reading fluency can often lead to poor reading comprehension. When a child is putting so much effort into decoding each individual word, it is almost impossible for them to be able to comprehend the content of the passage. Tools like Immersive Reader can greatly assist student’s with these difficulties. The read aloud function, and the option to alter the pace of the reading will really help students. Moreover, the integration of the Microsoft Lens app with Immersive Reader will allow students to do the same with a class novel or textbook. Simply taking a picture of the page in question with the Microsoft Lens will automatically send it to the Immersive Reader.

[Jacqueline Kelly]

As previously mentioned, I discovered the immersive reader function in Lens a few months ago and it has been so beneficial for my daughter.  It is fantastic to have such a function in so many of the Microsoft tools.  I was particularly impressed with the quality of the voice.  It is easy to listen to (especially the female voice) and does not take the meaning away from the text by sounding too computerized. Through this course, I have learned of more functions it is capable of.  I like that you can change the speed of the voice and text size.  Being able to change the colour theme and the amount of text shown at a time is hugely helpful for those with learning needs. I love that these tools are free and are accessible not only in schools but in the students’  life as well.  I think this is very important as learning how to access this tool will be a resource useful throughout a students’ life, giving them confidence to explore and interact with the text they may come across.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Jacqueline,

I agree, Immersive reader can be a very powerful literacy tool when used in SET. It enables all work to be accessible to all students and provides a scaffolding approach to learning. As you’ve mooted, functionality like the ability to adjust text size and spacing, break words into syllables and the talk to text features are the key parts of this scaffold. When working with students with SEN, MS365 can be used to tailor bespoke supports using these free tools. These are in constant development too and improving all the time. The addition of Learning Accelerators in recent years adds to the toolkit and demonstrates Microsoft commitment to developing and enhancing their suite of AT tools.

[Helen McKiernan]

Immersive Reader is a fantastic resource that I am looking forward to using in the SET setting in September. Allowing students to work independently on differentiated reading tasks at a pace and with supports (eg background colour, text size, etc) customised to their own preferences, gives them a great sense of ownership of their learning. The line focus feature is great in that it takes away the stress that can come with a large piece of text and gives children a sense of achievement with more manageable reading tasks.

I work with a boy with dysgraphia and am genuinely excited to introduce Dictate to him in September. Often times children with these literacy difficulties lack confidence and independence in their work. This will be a brilliant tool to allow him achieve success and focus on his strengths rather than be held back by his area of weakness.

Share point is a great resource for teachers and students. It allows teachers to take away the ‘background noise’ that often exists with large pieces of texts. Using only key, relevant information it is more manageable for students, particularly with disabilities. The addition of visual cues/diagrams also helps aid retention of learned material. As we heard in the video, these can be time consuming to create but are a very worthwhile resource with can be reused over and over.

[Hilary Ann Long]

This is a fantastic tool and I look forward to using it next year with my SET groups. Its great to know about this resources prior to reading the SFF files in Sept.
To begin I would show the class teacher this tool and all the different ways to use it, I feel it’s a great resource and easy to use, esp with the higher classes.
With regards supporting literacy there are many ways. The dictate option in word could be used for chn with OT reports including DCD, hypermobility. Their hands get sore from writing so this is a great tool to help them, maybe do some of their written work on the computer using immersive reader. Also for chn with dysgraphia also.
Next year we have some EAL chn that could use the built in dictionary and the translate button to help them with English texts
I would also use it for chn struggling with literacy . line focus tool to help them take chunks of texts and narrow it down. Changing font, line spacing etc all helps when reading . Also it’ll be great to show them how to work this resources so they can work it to suit themselves.
The office lens app could be used on day trips or trips around the school for junior classes / struggling readers etc to make sense of the posters etc around the school. Chn can download this on their own devices and use outside of school too.

[Tara Chambers]

It was my first time coming across immersive reader, I am very impressed with it, it is such a useful tool and I can envisage myself using this in many different ways in the classroom and in my current role as SET. It will really help children with reading difficulties access the curriculum at their level.

Microsoft Lens is another tool that I explored. It is very easy to use and linked with immersive reader. This will be useful in the classroom to assist children in reading maths questions, SESE stories etc. It can be downloaded on an iPad and the child can then take a photo of the relevant page and it can be read back to them in Immersive Reader. It helps remove a barrier that children can face when accessing the curriculum.

I also looked at the dictate feature in Word, which I am already planning on using next year as a blended approach for my students. I have a student who is very imaginative but fear and worry over spelling mistakes hold this student back when completing writing tasks and creative writing.

I am in a fortunate position that my school is very well-resourced with IT with Ipads, Chrome books, and laptops available for the children.

 

[Eamonn O’Connell]

The immersive reader resource seems to be a fabulous resource that will bring great benefit to many lessons for some pupils. The read aloud function will enable children with reading and fluency issues to gain better access to material that they may need to gather relevant information. By using immersive reader, reading difficulties will not hinder the child, but now they can speed up the process of using their comprehension skills to understand the text and relate better to the meaning. It will allow children to participate more in whole class activities and also to engage in more individual support from SEN.

Lens is another resource which allows pupils more access to material by capturing the content from a variety of sources and allowing the pupil to use this material in a variety of ways to boost their work and access more information.

Both these resources can be used in a whole class activity. I would initially allow for the SET to develop the skills with the child in an independent manner.

[Lisa Cummins]

I am so glad that I have now discovered the immersive reader and I can definitely see how it would benefit my class as a whole. I work in a special school and the levels vary quite drastically, from ASD to Down syndrome. Not only are the levels varied but how these students learn also varies dramatically.

The lens/focus tool will be very helpful and being able to edit the text, change background colour etc is an excellent feature. I am not sure if the Dictate tool is too advanced for our students but it is one that I will definitely try and if it works for them it will be amazing as they find verbal communication easier that written. I will definitely try this with my students in the coming school year.

[Deirdre Maye]

Hi Lisa,

I’m glad you found this module very helpful.

The Immersive Reader and the Dictate tools have the ability to help improve reading, writing and comprehension in all classrooms. They are motivational tools that are easy to use.

Lens is another resource which allows pupils more access to material by capturing the content from a variety of sources and allowing the pupil to use this material in a variety of ways to boost their work and access more information.

[aoife keogh]

<p style=”box-sizing: inherit; border: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #163c42; font-family: ‘Hind Madurai’, sans-serif;”>Participants are asked to explore Immersive Reader in MS Teams, the Edge browser and other 365 Tools and consider how they could use it to support literacy in the SET classroom.<br style=”box-sizing: inherit;” />Participants are also asked to consider how they can adapt their existing equipment to better suit the needs of a particular pupil and what other input devices might improve accessibility to technology for pupils.</p>
<p style=”box-sizing: inherit; border: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #163c42; font-family: ‘Hind Madurai’, sans-serif;”>Post a reflective piece (150 words minimum) as a reply to this post</p>
<p style=”box-sizing: inherit; border: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #163c42; font-family: ‘Hind Madurai’, sans-serif;”>I have been an SET for a number of years now and can’t believe that I have never heard of this tool before now. It would have come in so useful over the years when working with children with a whole range of special educational needs. It seems like such a fantastic tool and I will definitely be incorporating into my teaching going forward. In fact, I will be telling family members about it as I there are some people who could certainly benefit from the larger text, voice to text capability, background colour change etc. It’s a wonderful tool for all. There were a number of other items highlighted in this module which could further assist people with special needs like, making simple adaptations in the Ease of Access centre in the Control panel on the device they are using. For example, changing how the mouse/ keyboard works, replacing sounds with visual cues, optimising the visual display of the computer etc. There were man more and I have taken notes for future use.</p>
<p style=”box-sizing: inherit; border: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #163c42; font-family: ‘Hind Madurai’, sans-serif;”>The lens /focus is an excellent tool. I love the free OneNote app. I played around with it and have it installed on my phone now and I will personally be using the Immersive Reading function. I also love the dictate option in Word and I am already starting to think of ways to include it in lessons with one particular boy I teach.</p>
<p style=”box-sizing: inherit; border: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #163c42; font-family: ‘Hind Madurai’, sans-serif;”></p>
 

[Arlene Mccrudden]

I explored the Immersive Reader feature in MS Teams, the Edge browser and other 365 Tools and learned how it can support literacy in the SET classroom. The Immersive Reader is a tool that enhances the readability and accessibility of text by providing options such as text size, spacing, font, color, background, syllables, parts of speech, picture dictionary, translation and read aloud.
I would apply the Immersive Reader in many ways to help my pupils with reading comprehension, vocabulary development, pronunciation and multilingualism. For example, I used it to read aloud instructions and feedback in MS Teams, to highlight parts of speech and syllables in Word documents, to translate web pages in Edge browser, and to access picture dictionaries in OneNote.
However, I think that some of my pupils may have difficulties with accessing or using the Immersive Reader due to physical or sensory impairments. For instance, some of them had trouble with clicking on the icon, adjusting the settings or following the audio. Although , I still understand that it has to be individual and that this isnt a one size fits all tool and will defiently help some of my students in future
I am grateful for the opportunity to explore the Immersive Reader and discover its potential for supporting literacy in the SET classroom. I think it is a powerful tool that can benefit all learners, especially those who struggle with reading or have diverse needs. I would like to learn more about how to integrate it into my teaching practice and how to overcome any challenges or limitations that may arise

[Deirdre Kehily]

As a new SET teacher this year who has not used immersive reader before, I am really excited to try this out with some of my students next year who require additional literacy support. Some of the features of immersive reader which would really benefit is the ability to change how text appears on the screen during independent or small group reading activities. Additional options like line spacing and the ability to change font size would be really helpful for a child with dyslexia. Also I love that you have the ability to change the background and font colour. The grammar options will also facilitate the integration of additional literacy activities into reading, eg: highlighting nouns, verbs etc..
Line focus options where a variety of lines of text can be shown at a time will help struggling readers.
For an EAL learner, the picture clues and translation services would be invaluable allowing a child to self direct their individual reading and comprehension abilities.
The ability to transform spoken words into text will help children where writing demands surpass writing skills/abilities.

[Caroline Mc Connell]

This module was extremely helpful as it has given me the opportunity to learn and try different software tools within the equipment that we already have available in my setting.
To begin the Microsoft Accessibility display settings will be used to help two children with motor skills difficulty- in particular the mouse pointer.
Immersive Reader is a tool that I quite honestly didn’t know anything about! This again will be incredibly useful within my setting. I feel that it will greatly benefit children who integrate with their mainstream class for English. This tool will help them to access the appropriate content in a learning style that suits them. The dictate in word function is another tool that I feel I will be using with my students next year. It will help them to get their thoughts down on paper and increase their confidence in this area, as the writing and spelling element is often the biggest obstacle for them.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by Caroline Mc Connell.

[Deirdre Maye]

Hi Caroline,

Thank you for your post.

The Immersive Reader and the Dictate tools have the ability to help improve reading, writing and comprehension in all classrooms. They are motivational tools that are easy to use.

The dictate option on Word, also reduces the burden experienced by students for who spelling and handwriting is an issue. Students will find it easier to express their thoughts verbally than in writing

[Catherine O’Hara]

I found this module to be hugely informative, I haven’t used the Immersive Reader tool with students, however I can envisage it opening up a whole new world to many of the struggling readers. As mentioned by others the pupils lack of confidence is often their greater barrier, to have tools which will read aloud to them , allow them to listen and comprehend alongside their peers is hugely beneficial, in addition the opportunities to personalise their own experience of the Immersive Reader in terms of speed, voices etc is wonderful

Even in thinking of some of my pupils who are very able in terms of maths, but struggle to read and decode the lengthy questions and the ‘jargon’ the Immersive reader and the Lens tool could reduce their stresses greatly

In addition, I am thinking of the potential uses for my friend’s son as he heads off to study abroad next year, he has struggled with Dyslexia throughout his schooling and is finding the opportunity ahead quite daunting as he will not have the support of his parents to assist him with coursework. The opportunities for people throughout society are endless

In addition we would support many parents from various ethnic backgrounds where literacy levels are low, to enable the next generation to use tools such as Lens in order to read aloud information in various settings, would without doubt be life changing

[Sharon Murphy]

Catherine, you make an excellent point regarding helping parents whose first language is not English. Microsoft Office Lens is a fantastic resource allowing for translation and comprehension of text which will facilitate better communication between school and parents.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by Sharon Murphy.

[CHRISTY]

<p class=”MsoNormal”>When implementing any assistive technologies, there must be a whole school approach where there is connection, development, and reflective processes throughout the child’s time at the school. In conjunction with this approach, assistive technologies only works when it is a needs-based approach. The ‘hardware’ must also be available before the ‘software’ can be used as children may have dual needs, for example, switches for feet or sip/puff must be available along with the software such as immersive reader. Immersive reader has the potential to be a game-changer in a SET setting. It provided the scope to change documents to suit the need of the learner through colours, structure and adaptation., for example, a child with visual impairments can use the picture dictionary functions or a ESOL child can use the translate function. Other applications such as word also has the ability to alternate child’s writing impairment using the dictation function. <span style=”mso-spacerun: yes;”> </span>Furthermore, the office lens can allow learners to hear any text dictated to them using the picture function. It is important to remember that a child may have more than one need and so will require a holistic approach in the context of these technologies.</p>

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Christy,

Thanks for your post. It certainly echoes the views of many throughout the course on the importance of some joined-up thinking in terms of school policy related to assistive technologies. Your post highlights the complexity of this area, in terms of decisions related to hardware and software, and how these need to be specific to the needs of individual children (meaning the process is unique each time). However, despite the challenges, there are so many tools which can help children with additional needs, and we must do all we can to find the most suitable tools for these individual children.

[Aoife Downes]

<p class=”MsoNormal”>I have not had previous experience in using immersive reader but after completing this module I can see that it is a fantastic resource. There are many uses for it in the classroom, not only in SEN but also in the mainstream classroom.</p>
<p class=”MsoNormal”>The read aloud feature would be excellent for children struggling with reading or EAL students. It would help to build confidence in their reading ability and allow them to participate in lessons. I think it would also be highly motivating for students as they will be able to work alongside their peers.</p>
<p class=”MsoNormal”>I used the Dictate feature in Microsoft with a student this year who finds writing very difficult. It was amazing to see how motivated he became during lessons, knowing that he had a way to communicate his own thoughts and answers. He was able to access the content in the lesson in a way that he had not previously, and this made a huge difference to his progress during the year. The dictate feature paired with office lens and immersive reader would be an excellent support for this student in the following school year.</p>
 

 

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Aoife,

You have made an excellent point here regarding the benefits of using tools like Immersive Reader and Dictate in the mainstream setting, as well as an SEN setting. It is so important that we move towards a space where there is a continuity between the tools used in the classroom and the SEN room. The likelihood is that if a tool helps one student with SEN, it will help all children in a class to some degree. Both speech-to-text and text-to-speech software has a key role to play in assisting those with specific learning needs and should be embraced in all settings.

[Aoife Lavelle]

I was already familiar with the immersive reader tool, having previously used some of its functions within the SET setting. I did find it quite beneficial using it with a child at this time, mostly to boost confidence and introduce this child to this tool. Hopefully this school year, having explored more of its functions I plan on teaching specific children its uses for example, adjusting text size, adjusting spacing, breaking words down and the talk to text feature. I do also see it benefits in guiding reading, maths lessons and in a whole class setting.

I particularly like the dictate feature, and can see the benefits of this not only in the SET setting but in a whole class setting. Dictate, allows children with spelling difficulties, or writing difficulties an opportunity to access lessons in line with their peers. It is also something which will be used in their adult life and throughout society.

 

[Eoin o’briain]

This is the first time I have come across immersive reader and it is great. As a teacher of a class of student’s with moderate intellectual disabilities, this could be of great use. The level of literacy is quite low. A lot of students will rote learn words rather than learning phonics. This seems to suit their needs. The focus tool on this tool could help them practice their sight words independently while minimising distraction. The read aloud function also gives them the chance to engage with stories and learn new words while keeping frustration low. The child in turn will learn or take note of new sight words for their word bank. The picture dictionary on top of this further helps comprehension and learning.

I often use MS word and MS powerpoint to construct lessons of all types including literacy in my classroom. These tool allow me to construct highly individualised lessons and worksheets which speak to the interests of my students.

Other tools I found useful were the keyboard accessibility options and the different “mouses” which could help the children in my class who have a physical disability.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Eoin,

Thank you for your post. For those with moderate learning difficulties (and often, also mild general learning difficulties), the use of systematic phonics instruction is often difficult to implement. Assistive technologies are particularly useful in this regard. Tools like Immersive Reader and Dictate enables pupils to aurally decode and orally express their thoughts. As you have mentioned, this all happens with frustration levels kept low. The knock-on effect of this is that children can often develop an interest in text/reading, where they previously were put off by the struggle that it caused.

[Deirdre Flming]

This section dealing with Immersive reader and its many uses was really useful and interesting. I have a child with dyslexia and dyspraxia heading to secondary school in September and I can really see how she would find this useful. Being able to have a piece of text read to you is always a bonus but being able to select the number of lines to view, the option to change the background colour and the syllabic division are hugely useful and could benefit any child attending SEN with literacy difficulties. I loved the combination of Lens and immersive reader and had a lot of fun playing around with it. This could enable a child to take a photo of a board in class and have it saved to one note. This could be used to take a picture of a page in a text book and look at it using immersive reader. A family with limited english having the option to have work assignments read to them in their native language is brilliant and the number of languages available is very comprehensive.

 

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Deirdre,

Thank you for your post. The Immersive Reader really comes into its own and begins to add serious value when a child enters the upper primary classes and secondary school. When the complexity and length of written text increases, children with learning difficulties can begin to struggle and develop negative dispositions towards reading. The easy-to-use nature, as well as its multiple features, makes Immersive Reader a ‘no brainer’ to use. The ability to identify different parts of text and colour code them is another important feature. The ‘picture dictionary’ is a feature which may also be of particular use to students with English as a second language.

[Sharon Murphy]

There are some fantastic tools available on Microsoft for all students but particularly students with SEN. Using Microsoft Office Lens students can photograph social sight words around the school building or while out on a walk in the community, while in the shops, (photos of favourite items), local café, sports centre they visit (looking at menus, opening hours, etc). In preparation for a school trip, it’s possible prepare students for their upcoming visit, by looking up the website to specific photos/information to review before the outing. This could be so useful for our autistic students to prepare them for what to expect on the outing. They could use the immersive reader to listen to the words read aloud.

Immersive Reader can cater for the specific needs of each student. The feature whereby it can limit the amount of text shown is a very useful, allowing the reader to read one line or a select number of lines on the screen at any one time is excellent. It’s fantastic to be able to change the background and the font style, space the words and I can imagine that the picture dictionary would engage students’ interests.

I could see one student with verbal skills use the dictate feature in Microsoft word. He could use it to name characters from stories or re-tell a story or event or give information. Then using Immersive Reader he can see it typed out and read back to him. I think this would really engage his interest.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by Sharon Murphy.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Sharon,

There is huge scope within the Microsoft suite of resources for assisting pupils with additional needs. I love using the lens tool when on holidays to translate road signs, menus, etc. which proves its use in all settings. I really like the idea of being able to integrate it in a special class setting, by producing photographs that may prepare these pupils for a trip/outing. The Dictate feature is of great help to students who have writing difficulties, and really helps remove the stigma and negative connotations they may have with writing. It’s brilliant that you are able to picture some students that may work well with these tools.

[Emma Finnegan]

Having looked at immersive reader and other Microsoft tools through this module I feel they are probably more aimed at children of higher ability than the children I would be teaching. However I do like some elements of the immersive reader like the way the words are highlighted as the child reads and the spaces are obvious would be good for our kids. It is very visually appealing which is great.
We find most of our children who are verbal lack the motivation to read unless it is something they are interested in. As a result we find book maker app very good as you can make personal books for the kids. I wasn’t aware Microsoft 365 had so much to offer for literacy development which I am excited to try with my class this year.

[Fionnuala Hogan]

I was really impressed by the tools available. I had never used immersive reader before and it is far better than any other app or product I tried in the past. The fact it can be used in word and powerpoint would be very helpful to allow children with auditory or language difficulties access the notes being presented. When I work in some classes teachers often have information on the screen and flick through the slides. I have access to a tablet or notebook most of the time so with enough pre-planning I could download the presentation and read through the information at a tailored speed and ensure comprehension of the content.

I was particularly impressed that immersive reader could be used in an internet browser. This would open up so many opportunities for students to be able to comprehend new information and contribute to KWL charts, to small group mind maps or to a OneNote presentation. I have groups in second and third class in mind. There are boys I work with who share the same interests and enthusiasm as their peers but their challenges with literacy and focus makes traditional “research” and reading for facts very challenging for them when doing projects. I looked up owls on NatGeoKids there to check how easily it could be done and it is definitely a skill and tool I will look to implement from September. This tool will give back independence to children who currently heavily rely on my help or that of the classroom teacher and hopefully integrate them more meaningfully in projects and other group work.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Fionnuala,

Immersive Reader is such a powerful tool and one which really does take your interest when you see it for the first time. Its integration with the Microsoft tools is seamless and it really does offer up so many opportunities for those who struggle with literacy. There are other alternatives available through Chrome extensions for schools without a 365 license. It really is a tool which can level the playing field, and allows pupils to achieve and access content at the same level as that of their peers. The ‘Dictate’ tool within Word offers the opposite function (speech to text) and can be used in conjunction with the Immersive Reader.

[Maria Kealy]

Immersive Reader is an amazing tool that I did not previously have any knowledge of. I can see myself using this tool in my role as SET.
Immersive Reader can be used for project work for children with reading difficulties, they can now access information from the Microsoft Edge browser, simply highlight and right click on text, to open their selection in immersive reader. This will be a huge help across many curricular areas and for homework. Immersive reader has options to change voices, speed or reading, text size, spacing, font, themes, reading preferences with options of one/ three line focus. This last feature is very helpful for children who find too much text on a page overwhelming. The translate option is fantastic for any child with English as an additional language. The picture dictionary is also very helpful for visual learners.
Immersive Reader can also be used in OneNote which is hugely beneficial for children for keeping their notes in an organised way. Immersive Reader will help them read these notes during study time at home.
The use of Imersive Reader in Microsoft Lens allows pupils to take a picture of the whiteboard, newspaper or a book and this information can then be read or listened to in Immersive Reader.
My students would need explicit instruction and teacher support in learning how to use immersive Reader through Microsoft 365. Meetings with parents to demonstrate on the child’s laptop would be essential also so the child can be supported at home too. Finally I would need to make sure also all Microsoft 365 apps are downloaded on the child’s laptop.

[Leanne Murphy-Bishop]

This is my first time coming across this tool and at first glance it looks brilliant. I am always looking for new ways to enhance my teaching and this is definitely a tool I could see myself using a lot in our classroom. I work in an ASD class, and I feel like the immersive reader would benefit not only children who require additional support with reading but also other students in the class who present with varying needs such as ASD, ADHD, poor concentration skills and so on. This is a tool that seems quite versatile in its nature and could be used in mainstream settings and for more able students. The read aloud functionality appears like it would work very well and allows those that find reading a challenge to access a wide variety of content.

I particularly like the dictate function as I would have a few students in my class who find writing a struggle and this allows them to get the work done and be creative with confidence and no barriers, thus leading to more positive learning and classroom experiences. It would give the child an ability to succeed and achieve, which in turn helps with boosting their self-esteem. Microsoft Office Lens has many benefits and allows students to gather and access information from a wide variety of texts. This is a tool I will be implementing in the class in September.

 

[Deirdre Maye]

Hi Leanne,

I am sure you will find the immersive reader very useful in an ASD class.  The Immersive Reader and the Dictate tools have the ability to help improve reading, writing and comprehension in all classrooms. They are motivational tools that are easy to use.

The dictate option on Word, also reduces the burden experienced by students for who spelling and handwriting is an issue. Students will find it easier to express their thoughts verbally than in writing.

Good luck in September!

[noirin lucey]

Microsoft’s Immersive Reader is a potent tool that can significantly support pupils who require additional support in the area of literacy. For teachers, this inclusive software is a priceless resource because it offers a variety of features that cater to various learning styles and abilities.

The Immersive Reader has text-to-speech capabilities that let students who struggle with reading or have visual impairments hear the text read aloud to them. This improves understanding and motivates reluctant readers to interact with the material on their own. The tool also aids bilingual students by offering simultaneous text translation into multiple languages ,which will be particularly useful for our new EAL pupils. The Immersive Reader also offers the option to customise text appearance to suit personal preferences.

For students with dyslexia or attention issues, the ability to customise font size, spacing, and background colour reduces visual stress and improves focus. The ability to break complex words down into syllables, which promotes phonemic awareness and helps students who have trouble decoding, is another essential quality. The syllable highlighting feature helps students understand word structure, which enhances their reading and spelling abilities.

Additionally, the Picture Dictionary feature promotes vocabulary growth by connecting words to appropriate pictures. This helps students with learning disabilities and delayed language comprehension by improving word comprehension and memory. The read-aloud and highlighter features of the Immersive Reader also aid comprehension by enabling students to follow along visually while listening. This strengthens the relationship between spoken and written words.

In conclusion, Microsoft’s Immersive Reader is an adaptable and inclusive tool that can greatly aid literacy. For students with a range of abilities and needs, its text-to-speech, customisation, syllable highlighting, picture dictionary, and comprehension features create an engaging and accessible learning environment will support students experiencing literacy challenges in our primary school classrooms.

[Grace Mac Sweeney]

Immersive Reader:
Immersive Reader is a feature of Microsoft 365 tools designed to enhance reading and promote greater accessibility. It can be accessed through Microsoft Teams, Edge Browser, and other 365 applications. Immersive Reader can assist a pupil by offering differentiated text settings, focusing on improved comprehension and accessibility. I am particularly pleased to discover this AT tool as I feel it will be of great benefit to some of my SET pupils this academic year for whom reading and language are a challenge. However, I am aware that it is not a ‘one-size-fits-all tool’ and will take some practice to become adept in using its functionality. Immersive Reader is not limited to Teams and Edge; it is integrated into various other Microsoft 365 applications like Word, OneNote, and Outlook.
In Microsoft Teams, Immersive Reader makes text easier to read, without changing the context, which can be of enormous benefit to pupils with learning differences such as dyslexia, visual impairments or EAL. It provides features like text-to-speech, adjustable font styles, background colours, and line focus to support comprehension of text. I would use this to further develop my pupils’ inference skills also.
Within the Edge Browser, Immersive Reader provides a more precise ad clutter-free reading environment for web content, blogs, and more. Users can alter text size, spacing, and choose from different themes, to make reading more accessible. I am planning on using its built-in text-to-speech function, similar to audiobooks, to further promote auditory (and visual) learning for my pupils whose ICT skills are adequate.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Grace,

I agree, Immersive Reader can be an immensely powerful tool for promoting greater accessibility to text for students who have difficulties with reading and language but again as you suggested when used appropriately and not as a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution or panacea for all literacy challenges our students encounter. However, what it does do is enable all text to be accessible to all students, particularly EAL students, and those with visual impairments and dyslexia as mooted. Functionality like the ability to adjust text size and spacing, break words into syllables and the talk to text features provide a scaffold for these students and as a result directly improves student confidence and increases their opportunities to work independently.

In addition to Immersive Reader, Dictate is a great tool in MS 365, particularly for students who struggle with keyboard input.

[Sinead Doyle]

I hadn’t come across Immersive Reader prior to this course, and having spent some time exploring it, it is just fantastic.  The possibilities are endless with this tool and the fact that it is so widely available and free to use is just amazing.

Previously, I have used a C-pen with pupils with additional needs which is brilliant but very expensive.  Immersive reader will take its place and have much wider uses within the classroom, being so much more accessible to many more pupils.

One of the first jobs on my list on return to school is to download Office Lens to all the iPads and tablets.  This is going to be a game changer.  I think this will work best if pupils are shown how to use it and gain experience in using it in the SET room so that they can use it independently in the mainstream classroom.  It  can be used to read out text to the pupil using headphones that previously would not have been  accessible to them.  This will open up a whole new world for pupils with additional needs and will mean for some that they will be much more included, and more importantly feel more included in every lesson.  Struggling readers will no longer have an obstacle in front of them every time they meet a piece of text.

I cannot wait to get started with using Immersive Reader in the new school year.

[Grace Mac Sweeney]

Thank you

[Aisling Kelly]

The AT tools available in Microsoft 365 are fantastic and such an amazing resource to have in the classroom. I have used the dictate tool previously and found it hugely beneficial to pupils. Immersive reader is new to me but an absolute game changer for AT with pupils with SEN especially dyslexia and dysgraphia. It has so many features within it that make it a must for any pupil with literacy difficulties, I personally love the one or three line focus and the syllable tools especially. I also love the grammar feature which could be used as a whole class lesson.  I can see myself using immersive reader daily with specific pupils I have in my class this year. Office lens is also new to me and I can already see myself using this in the coming school year also for pupils with SEN and also in the mainstream lessons, its fantastic and hugely beneficial to EAL pupils as it can translate the English text to their spoken language.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Aisling,

I would be in full agreement in terms of the Microsoft tools being fantastic for pupils with SEN. If your school has a Microsoft license, there is so much you can do for these pupils. Indeed, you can use many of these tools, such as Dictate and Immersive Reader. with the entire class (which will remove any stigma around being the only ones to respond orally, etc.). Lens is such an amazing tool and one which I have started to use casually so much in recent months – translating road signs abroad, looking up car models from an image, and searching for many items online are just some of the ways I have been using it.

[Deirdre Judge]

The various Microsoft 365 and Windows applications offer built -in ease of access settings and learning tools to enhance reading and writing experiences of people with all abilities. The Immersive Reader provides a full screen reading experience, that will help to improve reading comprehension, reading fluency and build confidence for reading. It is an excellent tool that
• Helps students with Dyslexia and Dysgraphia
• Helps students with visual impairments
• Built into Word, OneNote, Teams and Office Lens.
• Built into new web browser called Microsoft Edge
• Built in picture dictionary for visual learners
• Built in translate options for ESOL students
• Avoids Visual Crowding with the line focus option
The Dictate in word, uses dictation to talk instead of type and is good for students with dysgraphia, writing made easier with Dictate.
Another impressive application on the office 365 Platform is the Share Point, which allows you to create your own content for students e.g. condensing a large chapter into small chunks for student, highlighting key words, inserting diagrams, inserting exam questions, attaching teacher’s audio and or u-tube links etc

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Deirdre,

Thank you for your post. You have provided us with a comprehensive overview of the features that Immersive Reader offers. The breadth of its use can really be seen in your post, which encapsulates just how powerful an assistive tool it is. The ‘visual crowding’ is a feature that I wouldn’t often highlight. However, now that I see it mentioned I can tell you that a number of students have found this to be hugely effective. Being able to isolate 1 or 3 lines of text can be huge in minimising distractions – changing the background colour and font are other small changes that have worked for some children I’ve taught.

[Ruth Murphy]

I have learnt so much from this module. I was not aware of all the accessibility features that Microsoft have to offer. All the resources here can really enhance and aid literacy learning in the classroom.
Immersive reader is a very accessible feature that can be easily used by children that struggle with reading. It can help build confidence. A child that struggles with dyslexia could use this to help understand the text they are reading. What is great about this is that it can be used at home on their own devices as well as in school.
Office lens is also a great tool. It will allow children with literacy difficulties to access so many texts that they would not be able to comprehend otherwise.
Dictate in word would be excellent for a child that struggles with writing and spelling. They could speak out what they want to write and have it translated into text.
Cogi looks like a great app that I could see myself using for project work in older classes.

[Anna Miller]

This has been a very useful module. I didn’t realise many of these tools existed, much less for free and already integrated into much of the technology I already use.

I would immersive reader in the SET classroom to allow students access reading material that they would normally not have the ability to comprehend. It would open up so many options to this student and empower them to believe that they are capable of achieving way more than they ever knew. I think use of the picture dictionary would be a useful way for students to self-assess as they read. Similarly, the translate option would be very beneficial for ESOL learners if they need to confirm the meaning of words.

I would be very keen to try out the dictate function for students would are held back by their handwriting. I think this could be particularly useful for project work and other creative topics during which students like this would previously have had their abilities curtailed by their problems with writing.

Finally, I look forward to using Microsoft lens with my students. This has huge potential in the classroom. Interesting pages and passages from books or other limited resources will now be sharable and displayable to the full class with the benefit of all the accessibility features listed on this module. Fantastic.

[Claire Forde]

<span style=”color: #163c42; font-family: ‘Hind Madurai’, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;”>The immersive reader is an invaluable part of the AT toolkit for the a SET.  The many functions of the immersive reader allows one to tailor the support provided to the student based on their particular needs. I particularly like the built-in picture dictionary and I used this a lot with a student with severe expressive language deficits.  Adjusting the text size and spacing has helped me to make the reading more accessible to my students with visual impairments such as my students with DS.  Breaking the words into syllables and talk-to-text features has really helped students with reading difficulties. The translate option is perfect for ESOL children and their parents. I have also used: Open Dyslexic for Chrome, Talk and Comment, and Google Lens in Google Workspace. However, I prefer Microsoft Lens as it automatically connects to the Immersive Reader. As previously mentioned, these tools support Universal Design for Learning (UDL), the goal of which is to use a variety of teaching methods to remove barriers and make learning accessible to all, which is very important in SET. UDL acknowledges that children learn differently and encourages flexibility in our teaching methods. </span>

• This reply was modified 2 years, 5 months ago by Claire Forde.

[Claire Forde]

Module 2

• This reply was modified 2 years, 5 months ago by Claire Forde.

[Rachel Wall]

There is an array of assistive technology options available for students in todays classroom which is amazing for those students who struggle with literacy.  The immersive reader is one which I will be hoping to use with three of my students who struggle with literacy.  It will be tricky for those students at the beginning while they become familiar with immersive reader and learn how to use it but the independence and the sence of responsibility over their own learning that they will gain from using this assistive technology will do wonders for their self esteem and their sence of achievement.  Even within the immersive reader software it can further differentiate text for the very weak student by providing a picture for difficult words.  It will also help our EAL students who struggle to participate in the curriculum due to the language barrier.  We have use office lense to translate text in class to support our EAL students in completing classroom tasks.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Rachel,

Thank you for your post here. Personally, I couldn’t recommend Immersive Reader enough for use in the classroom. I have seen transformative effects for children on the back of its use. For those with only Google devices, a variety of Chrome add-ons can be used as a substitute, such as HelperBird.

[Kim Doran]

I found this module extremely interesting and helpful. It was full of really useful suggestions for assistive technology in the classroom and it was hugely informative.

I have never used any of these tools before this module, but I will be certainly using them in the upcoming school year. The Immersive Reader tool seems extremely helpful and I love how it is across so many different aspects of Microsoft technology. The onw thing I have found with using AT in the past is the children’s lack of confidence being the only one using it in the class, they often feel singled out and different which can impact their self esteem. I do think that to once it is explained and demonstrated properly to them and they feel their opinions have been heard then they will begin to see how this will allow them to listen and comprehend alongside their peers. I love how it gives the opportunities to personalise their own experience of the Immersive Reader in terms of speed, voices and so on.

I particularly think the grammar features will come in handy for my children with additional needs as it will help to build the gaps for them and it could also be very helpful for EAL students too.

 

[James Ryan]

I have heard of immersive reading before but never actually took the time to look into it. Cannot believe I didn’t look into it before. It is so useful I have to admit and it is actually an underrated tool to assist the children’s learning. It is so useful, that you really can use it anywhere too. This feature of allowing children to hear the words being read to them is invaluable. It could possibly remove the stigma some of they may have around English but more importantly allow them to engage in stories without someone else reading it to them which will essentially help with their overall independence. I would definitely love to use this immersive reading in the smaller group settings with the children next year.

[Saoirse Fitzgibbon]

Immersive Reader is an invaluable tool for teachers to use in the classroom to improve engagement for every learner, irrespective of learning needs. Utilising tools such as Immersive Reader imbedded in teaching throughout the school/classroom normalises the use of AT to support different learning styles and challenges. It also increases pupil familiarity and confidence to use and explore AT independently and collaboratively. Immersive Reader functions allow for the adaptation of text to support readers of every level and are greatly beneficial to those with sensory impairment, Dyslexia and EAL considerations. The facility to be able to listen to a scanned text or translate material immediately promotes inclusion and independence by increasing access to material and improving the accessibility of tasks for all learners. Scanning Maths problems, to be read aloud is a hugely valuable aspect of this AT as reading can prove such a barrier even in Maths for children who struggle to access the content due to reading limitations. Likewise Dictate provides support to pupils who struggle with the mechanics of writing or proficiency in literacy, allowing them to prepare, draft and record their ideas without the stress and laboriousness of writing or typing. This is also a fantastic tool for teachers to use in planning for teaching and learning, communicating with caregivers and outside professionals etc.

In my position as a SET teacher I work with children with a variety of support needs, all of whom would benefit from the use of these fantastic innovations. I would foresee using Immersive Reader to personalise the reading experience in line with pupil needs, building on reading comprehension skills and improving confidence and fluency. One of the children I work with has DLD, Dyslexia and DCD and despite being an exceptionally able and highly motivated learner, finds it challenging and frustrating to represent his ideas in writing. He would benefit from having text read accurately to him (and being able to listen back to it in his own time and at different speeds), from being able to ‘type’ hands-free and from being able to access word meanings and alternatives as well as support around grammar. Competence in the use of these tools would greatly improve the learner experience for this pupil.

[Helen Connaughton]

Immersive reader is a fantastic tool that can be across the school setting and most effectively in SET. For children with dyslexia and dysgraphia it is a game changer for their accessibility to the curriculum.  A number of years back when I had 6th class, I had at least 5 children with dyslexia in the class. All were bright children who found nearly all subjects hard due to huge levels of text involved in the textbooks and workbooks.

Using the Immersive Reader option on Microsoft word online would greatly improve the levels of accessibility for the likes of those children who have good comprehension, but struggle with the actual reading of the text. They could also use the dictate option on One Note for answering of questions and engaging with the text.

Another product I would make use of is videos on the Microsoft Sharepoint. For children with additional learning needs  this is a great way to condense the content of a chapter and pick out the most important parts needed. Children in upper primary school would find this hugely beneficial and would make accessing the curriculum less stressful and less overwhelming.

There are amazing products out there to use and I look forward to using them this year in my new role of SET.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Helen,

Thank your for your post here. I’m sure that the experiences you have shared will resonate with others on this course. I have noticed similar when teaching senior classes. The frustration that reading difficulties can cause for children with dyslexia can really impinge on their ability to fully access the curriculum to the best of their ability. Often these children are capable of producing work of a very high standard, but are hindered in their ability to access the content. Immersive Reader plays such an important role in removing these barriers, and can free up thinking space for children to focus on what their ‘output’ work will be.

[Carmel Dockery]

Sharepoint seems to be a fantastic resource that I hope to utilise this coming year. I look forward to trying it out.

[James O Donnell]

I am a novice with Immersive reading but finding it to be a fantastic tool. It’s very easily accessible and I feel it would empower some of the children I teach to become more independent learners.
I could envisage the read aloud service providing a good option for some (though maybe with earphones due to self consciousness). Allowing them to be more independent and keep pace with more of their mainstream peers and hopefully increasing motivation for learning.
For the children I have that don’t have English as a first language I think the picture vocabulary dictionary is brilliant providing for better communication and understanding.
I teach children with autism and I think the immersive reading allows them to become better independent learners and to follow pathways of interest to them. I think it would form a part of class work and possibly homework initially to learn the process of using Immersive reader in an effective way, allowing for exploration and for parents also getting an understanding on their child’s new tools for learning.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi James,

Thank you for your post and for sharing your thoughts with us. Many participants have shared their perspectives on using Immersive Reader with children that have literacy difficulties. However, its fantastic that you have been able to identify ways in which it can be used for children with ASD and autism. The picture dictionary is a great feature that can be rally useful in forging links between English and native language, and builds both vocabulary and understanding in the process.

[Brendan Mulligan]

I am a big fan of immersive reader. It is software that I have not used before so it has taken a good bit of time to familiarise myself with it and get comfortable using it.

I am working in an infant school, so I think that there will be particular benefits in my classroom. I think using immersive reader in Office Lens will be incredibly helpful as a tool to help children with their reading. The teacher can take pictures of the pages and the children can read along with the audio, or follow along with their finger. I particularly like the picture library as there is a lot of new vocab for children at this age. I also like the translation feature which will be very useful in my school setting.

Some considerations include making sure I, or other teachers using it, are confident and comfortable using the technology as the children are too young to use it independently. Also, our school has microsoft accounts for the teachers computers but I am not sure if it is available on our class iPads.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Brendan,

Thanks for sharing your post with us and how you would envisage the use of Immersive Reader and Office Lens in an infant school setting. Very often, at this age group the gap between those who ‘can’ and ‘cannot’ read can be quite large as emergent readers begin to establish their reading skills. However you have also raised a crucial point around teacher competence. To be able to fully utilise these tools in the classroom, we need to have some experience of using these ourselves and knowing little tricks that will help us get the most out of them.

[Mary Kelly]

The assistive technology in this module is going to be a game changer for the children with special needs in our school.  We have one particular child who has a range of learning difficulties due to cancer treatment so the immersive reader is going to be of major benefit to her.  We have always been looking for audio books for her, and could never include in the class novel as it was impossible to get any of these in audio version.  But in the coming school year, I will be able to show her how to use  a combination  of Office Lens and Immersive reader to make the text more accessible to her and allow her to be included in the class novel.

The dictate option is also another excellent A.T tool that I will use in the coming school year. We have children who have an excellent oral ability but with dyslexia they find it very difficult to put it down on paper.  The dictate option will allow them to say their piece and it will be written down for them.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Mary,

Thank you for your post. I am sorry to hear of the unfortunate diagnosis of the child you have mentioned and wish him/her a full recovery. It is fortunate that we have so many useful assistive tools that can help bridge the gap for children with SEN and/or those who miss significant periods of school due to health concerns. Many people on the forum have spoken about the benefits of Immersive Reader, and I’m delighted you have also honed in on Dictate. I often describe this as the inverse of Immersive Reader, and can be really transformative in helping children with literacy difficulties get their thoughts down in writing.

[Ryan Gallagher]

I use Teams and OneNote daily with my students. I think they are a great platform for online learning in general. In my lessons, I am always looking at different ways to implement literacy in exercises. Before this course, I was unaware of the tool Immersive Reader in these apps. This is a fantastic tool and I look forward to using it with students that struggle with reading and writing information. It is great to know about this tool as it supports literacy in the SET classroom and provides an option for students which is important. I also wasn’t that familiar with Office Lens and Share Point. I will definitely plan to integrate these apps into my lessons because they provide a great resource for the students. When I am doing projects with students these apps can speed up the time process and also develop students in working with technology.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Ryan,

Thanks for your post and for recognising the ways in which Lens and Immersive Reader can be incorporated int your own practice. It’s great that you are already using tools like OneNote and Teams, as it allows you to clearly see how thee assistive tools can be interwoven with your existing practice. Indeed, these tools can also be highly effective in providing differentiated help to students, or as a way to provide more inclusive learning experiences for EAL children.

[Karen Wisely]

Immersive Reader is such a useful tool, and one I didn’t know about until this course. It makes learning so accessible for struggling readers and children with Dyslexia. The line focus and text spacing is such a great tool for children who find it hard to focus when reading and removes distractions. Changing the page colour is helpful too, which is often something I’ve had to do with children in my class when writing. I love the breaks between syllables feature to help children develop word recognition, pronunciation and better fluency. The read aloud is excellent to help children hear reading modelled to them, and also to understand the text.

I think for children with reading difficulties, a laptop is essential as the tools to support them are all there with programs such as Immersive Reader. It is also essential for teachers to have prepped the work on the laptop for children. These aspects are all linked with the standards of the DLF.

[Betty Hedderman]

I am already looking forward to sharing my new learning with the SET team in my school and other staff that would benefit from it. This is my first encounter with Immersive Reader and I love it. It is so accessible. The Read Aloud feature could encourage pupils to access information that is beyond their reading level. Being able to download it on their own devices and use it in their everyday life has to boost confidence and motivate them to be interested in their own learning.
Using immersive Reader in the classroom whether in a guided reading session or individual teaching, can enable the pupil to work independently as it is engaging and can be used with headphones.
Immersive Reader would be so supportive in teaching pupils with Special Educational Needs as it can read text aloud, line by line. The picture dictionary function gives visual clues to readers and the format of the text can be altered to assist some readers. The translation from one language to another will be of huge benefit for both student and teacher for those where English is not their first language. Dictate is also a very beneficial tool where it allows for students to create a body of text. I look forward to using this when I return to school.

[Carmel Dockery]

I am very excited to have learned so much about the accessibility features of apps that are free and easy to use. These will be of great benefit to some of the children I teach and will give them much greater independence and a sense of confidence completing routine daily living tasks.

Immersive reader is a fantastic too which I am ashamed to say I had no knowledge of previously. This is help children I teach to access information, prioritise it and to replay it as often as necessary to ensure comprehension. For some children, it will allow them to be able to use their phones to do something as simple as order from a menu without it having to be read to them by a peer or companion. This will really develop self esteem and confidence to participate in enjoyable daily activities. Like any new skills, it would be very important for the child to be explicitly taught how to use the technology and the features that would be beneficial for them.

Dictate is another fantastic feature that will be very useful for those struggling to produce volumes of writing. I have noticed that many children really struggle with handwriting these days and having another option to get their ideas out on paper is wonderful.

Dictate

[David Erskine]

Immersive reader looks like a really impressive tool. I’ve sent a link to the IT lead in the school as it could be a game changer for students higher up in the school. Since my students are pre-verbal and at starter phonics or pre-phonics stages of reading I’ve been wondering how best to use it. We normally do a weekly outing to focus on skills within the community like going to the library, doing some shopping or going for some food in a cafe. It’s here that I think office lens used with immersive reader could help. For example students could take a photo of a menu using office lens and use immersive reader to access a picture of the word. They could then use their communication device to ask for their preferred item. It will take some planning and breaking down but I’d hope they would be able to do it with lots of practice. A great tool for helping my students make sense of the world and something they can use functionally with their parents within the wider community.

[James Turley]

The immersive reader tool appears to be an excellent resource that will enhance numerous lessons for certain students. The read aloud feature will help children struggling with reading and fluency to better access necessary information. Through the utilization of immersive reader, children can utilize their comprehension skills to understand text more quickly, despite any reading challenges they may face, enabling them to better connect with the content. Children will be able to join in whole class activities more and receive additional support from SEN on an individual basis.

Lens is an additional tool that enables students to have broader access to content by extracting information from various sources, enabling them to enhance their work and acquire more information through different methods.

Both of these materials can be utilized for a group activity. I would first give the child space to develop skills on their own with the SET.

[Ciara Finnan]

Immersive Reader in Microsoft Teams, the Edge browser and other 365 tools will be a transformative resource in our class. By making reading accessible, interactive, and engaging, it will support our children’s diverse learning needs and promote an inclusive and effective literacy education. I particularly like the line focus to highlight one line at a time, which would help children focus on reading small sections without getting overwhelmed by the entire page. I also like that it has a picture dictionary function which gives visual clues to readers if they need help to read a word. I would incorporate Immersive Reader in interactive lessons where my students could click on words to see pictures or hear pronunciations, making learning more engaging for them. I think it is something that could be used at home too as it seems easy to use and it would be good to have consistency in using these tools both at home and in school.

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