Student Guide Corner

Holding off installing the newest update to iOS5? Wait no longer; there are 200 new features to explore! Today, I want to spotlight just one, one that is pure gold. The " Speak/Define " feature is what many of us who work with struggling readers have been waiting for.This is an amazing feature but it defaults to Off so you need to toggle it to On. How do you find it? Settings > General > Scroll Down to Accessibility > Speak Selection > Toggle On. Whenever you highlight single words (unfortunately, except for PDFs or iBooks at this point), you can view a definition or listen to the word read to you. When you select more text, you can listen to the text-to-speech feature. A high quality male and female voice is available; it's also possible to select the read feedback speed. Show this to students as a way to empower them. They have control over what they listen to independently. No more dependence upon adults when they encounter challenging words or text. Awesom...

Why is text-to-speech (TTS) the best kept secret from our students? Is it also the best kept secret from teachers? Do you know about TTS? Is it available on every computer that your students use? The single most important free strategy we can show our students is the ability to use text-to-speech on any computer . Why? Three main reasons. It supports the writing process, especially when editing and revising written work. It provides the ability to access content for students who are reading below grade level. When content is digital it is now accessible and students can access the curriculum independently. No longer are they dependent on others to read to them. It's Universal Design for Learning . As part of the writing process, teach students to use TTS. When students write, the use of TTS often motivates them to write more. They enjoy listening to what they have written. Then, as students edit their work, they are more likely to catch errors when they listen to it (and especially...

Does Amazon realize what it makes possible for those who struggle with print access? Apparently not. Too bad, because the Kindle 2 truly is a "revolutionary wireless reading device." First, the bad news : Amazon has caved to the Author's Guild and backed away from the Text-to-Speech feature available in the newest Kindle . According to the NY Times , Amazon has released this statement, bowing to pressure, partially excerpted here: Kindle 2�s experimental text-to-speech feature is legal: no copy is made, no derivative work is created, and no performance is being given. Furthermore, we ourselves are a major participant in the professionally narrated audiobooks business through our subsidiaries Audible and Brilliance. We believe text-to-speech will introduce new customers to the convenience of listening to books and thereby grow the professionally narrated audiobooks business. Nevertheless, we strongly believe many rights holders will be more comfortable with the text-to-s...