Information for Parents Digital Reading 5/27/2014 Debbie Hebert, PT, ATP

Digital Text Digital text is electronic text delivered by a computer or other device.

Digital Text A key characteristic of digital text is its flexibility to accommodate the needs and preferences of a user.

Digital Text Digital text allows manipulation of key features such as text size, font, color, contrast, highlighting and read aloud capability.

Digital Text and Text Readers When combined with a text reader, digital text can be a powerful compensatory reading support for students who struggle with decoding and/or fluency but can comprehend the text content when read aloud to them.

The Power of Digital Text and Readers When digital text is read aloud, the user sees and hears the text simultaneously, taking advantage of listening comprehension while enhancing print processing.

The Power of Digital Text and Readers Text Readers enhance engagement with print, in contrast to audio books or adult read aloud.

The Power of Digital Text and Readers Text readers promote student independence, in contrast to adult read aloud.

The Power of Digital Text and Readers Text readers can help to focus attention, reduce reading fatigue and increase reading speed in struggling readers.

The Power of Digital Text and Readers Text readers also support comprehension with features such as dictionaries, highlighters and note taking ability.

The Power of Digital Text and Readers Students who are struggling readers may benefit from digital book formats paired with a text reader in order to independently read and keep pace with academic content while simultaneously participating in a reading improvement program.

The Power of Digital Text and Readers Digital text is one of the four formats of Accessible Instructional Materials that the IEP or 504 team should consider when a student with disabilities cannot access essential academic content contained in traditional print based materials and indicates a need for text to speech as a compensatory reading accommodation.

Student Characteristics Indicators for Considering Digital Text with Text Reader General cognitive abilities within average range Adequate listening comprehension skills Limited reading achievement scores despite intervention Evidence of effective use of “oral reading” accommodations such as oral testing Reading Accommodations Profile demonstrates potential to benefit from a read-aloud accommodation. Students may utilize digital text and other resources to support learning in the classroom and at home. An ARD/504 Committee determines if a student requires these materials as part of his IEP and must determine the need for these materials and accommodations to be used for testing.

Copyright Issues- Good to Know! Even when a student with a disability requires an alternate format of print based materials as determined by an ARD/504 committee, the district is required to follow copyright laws in acquiring and providing those materials. The school district utilizes a variety of sources to acquire copyrighted digital materials for students, depending on whether the student’s disability is recognized as a “print disability” which exempts him/her from copyright protection, provided by law, to publishers. Students who are eligible to receive alternate formats of copyrighted printed materials may not share those formats with anyone else.

Sources of Digital Text What materials are available in digital formats?

Sources of Digital Text Teacher-created instructional materials, including MS Word documents and PowerPoint presentations Text in PowerPoint presentations and Microsoft Word can be read aloud with MS text-to- speech feature or paired with text readers to support student understanding.

Sources of Digital Text Digital text in public domain, from sites such as Project Gutenberg Repository and other internet based sources

Sources of Digital Text Commercially Available Electronic Books (for purchase)

Sources of Digital Text

Bookshare.org – source of digital books, including textbooks, for students who meet qualifying criteria; Bookshare is a free resource and provides a free text reader to utilize with digital books downloaded from Bookshare.org. If the ARD/504 Committee determines a student requires digital formats of textbooks and novels and the student meets criteria for membership to Bookshare, then the district may utilize this TEA funded source to acquire the digital texts for the student. Free individual memberships are also available to qualifying students.

Sources of Digital Text Scanned texts and documents with publisher permission for copyrighted materials Time Consuming! Typically utilized as a last resort or for small projects.

Locating Text Readers Most computer operating systems now provide some type of text to speech support that can be utilized to read aloud text. Try out some of the free text readers, such as WordTalk and Natural Reader. Depending on the level of reading support required and file formats you need to read, a free reader may meet the need. Some free text readers also read text on the internet. If the student is utilizing digital books from Bookshare.org (requires qualifying membership) then he can utilize a free text reader from Bookshare or purchase Bookshare’s reading app for mobile devices. The district provides classroom use of Kurzweil If the ARD/504 Committee determines that this level of support is required for homework, then the student may be loaned a copy of Kurzweil 3000 for home use.

Word Talk FREE text to speech add on tool for MS Word.

Natural Reader FREE version reads text aloud and highlights spoken text.

Natural Reader Highlight Text on the Internet to hear it read aloud.

Read Out Loud: Bookshare Edition

Read2Go is an easy and effective way for Bookshare members to download books and read them on an ios device. $20 from the App Store. Read2Go Bookshare Reader for iPad

Kurzweil 3000 Available to all Humble ISD classrooms, Kurzweil 3000 is a powerful learning tool that provides support for reading digital text aloud, writing, study skills and test-taking within one program.

Helping Struggling Readers Access Content Provide your child with a variety of options to support independent access to school work and reading for pleasure. Help your child discover what works best for him/her. Help your child develop a level of comfort utilizing a variety of tools to support access to school work. Ask your child’s counselor, case manager or diagnostician if digital materials have been considered to help your child access content in print based materials and learn comprehension strategies for text.