Monday, February 21, 2011
Text-to-Speech
After you have experimented with the Mac or Windows version of TypeIt ReadIt and with either Mac's built-in text-to-speech feature or ReadPlease on your PC, please post your best idea for using this kind of tool in your own classroom to motivate students, help them read or write better/more/more independently, or help them learn skills or content. Please do NOT duplicate others' ideas and please be specific enough that we could use your idea in our own classroom if we like it.
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-With Text-to-Speech I liked how ReadPlease could be incorperated into the classroom. It was easy for me to understand so I figured it may be easy for others. I would use this technology in a classroom by typing in the words that were to be learned for the week and have the students that need the extra help work on the computer with these words. Having the ReadPlease read the words to them and even have a interactive type game at the end. After this I would get the book that was the vocabulary builder with the series and have it read aloud to them and then have them read it aloud to see if the interaction with the program was working.
ReplyDelete-I think this system would also benefit ELL learners that may be in the classroom. Just having a another chance of working one on one with someone reading to them, I think would help them long term with identifying words.
I thought that TypeIt ReadIt and ReadPlease were both great tools for the classroom. It is a great tool for disadvantaged students- those who are visually impaired, dyslexic or ELL for example. It would be great to use as a test taking assistant for those children who cannot read a written test (it can read it to them so they can focus on the content instead of trying to figure out what it says). My idea for either one of these programs, though, is one that can be used by all the students, particularly when they start writing their own stories. After students write, they can put the text onto these programs and have it read back to them out loud. This is one of the best ways to catch grammatical errors. Sometimes, when we write something and simply read it silently, you do not catch when something does not sound right, but when you hear it read out loud, it sticks out like a sore thumb. This would be a great tool to assist students with their writing skills!!
ReplyDeleteI love TypeIt ReadIt and ReadPlease. I think these programs could be used in various ways. I love Rhonda's ideas. I was thinking along the same lines, but these programs could also be brought into every subject. One idea would be to type the instructions for a special project or experiment, so students who need help with their reading could follow along and not feel lost or get behind. They would be able to see the instructions and listen to them when they needed to. This could help students feel more confident and they would be more likely to really put forth their best effort to complete the task and not just give up because they aren't able to follow along.
ReplyDeleteIn viewing the different types of text-to-speech in reading and writing, I like both ReadPlease and Typeit Readit. These websites would be very useful for ELL and special needs students. I think since most students struggle with reading and interpreting poetry, this would be a great learning experience for the entire classroom. I would begin with a very simple, short poem the first week. After that, I would begin making the poems more challenging and longer. The students could listen to the poems being read aloud and begin making connections. They could highlight specific sections of the poem that they wanted to read again, words they didn’t understand, and even words that rhymed. After I feel as though the students have had enough practice, I will then ask them to write their own poems. I would supply the topics so students wouldn’t get frustrated or upset, if they couldn’t think of anything to write about. For example: favorite sport, favorite season, favorite hobby, family, or favorite vacation. Have students type the poem, and then have it read to them. They can observe what they think needs to be added/taken away. For ELL and special needs students, I would supply a simple poem for them to have aloud and see if they are able to make any connections. They would still be able to interact with their other classmates. The lesson on poetry and using these websites helps a student practice typing skills, reading skills, listening/communication skills, and writing skills. This lesson could be used for K-3.
ReplyDeleteI too liked the ReadPlease and Typeit Readit program. I think this would be a great tool not only for our ELL learners, but also the students they may not be reading at "grade level". I feel this would give both typpes of students an outlet to help them read beter. The fact that this program highlights the words while they are being read is great. Students are able to literally follow along, not just look at the text while its being read and getting lost along the way. I also think this could again help with students writing stories. Having their writing read aloud could help them to make better sense of what they have written.
ReplyDeleteI like all these new media services and hope to be able to incorparate some of them in my future classroom on a regular basis.
I would use the Typeit Readit program for students to write books for younger students.
ReplyDeleteI would have a fifth grade student paired with a kindergartener as a reading buddy. After working together for a little while, I'd ask the fifth grader to find out about some of the kindergartener's likes (color, animal, things to do, sports, etc.).
I would then have the fifth grader write a story about the kindergartener. I would welcome them to write either fiction or nonfiction, their choice. After they write the story I would have them make and illustrate a book for their buddy.
I would then have them enter the text into the Typeit Readit program in order for the kindergartener to have it read to them.
I would encourage them to revisit the book with their buddy from time to time to see if the kindergartener is able to read more words in it after using the Typeit Readit program.
I would stress to the fifth graders that by writing a book for their buddies with the Typeit Readit software, they are helping them learn to read. I would also stress that they may be students, but are also teachers. I feel that by using the Typeit Readit program in this way, even readers that struggle will gain self confidence by helping others.
Elise Hembree
One of the ways I would use ReadPlease would be when asking students to do teacher made web quests on the Internet. We recently completed a photoessay in Science. When doing this photoessay it was similar to doing a web quest. I included a lot of hyperlinks to help further students learning. When doing web quests, I would be sure to include the ReadPlease with my hyperlinks. I would highlight and paste the important details into ReadPlease. The main reason is because some hyperlinks have wonderful visuals with text, but they also have lots of bigger unfamiliar words. Web quests are full of hyperlinks and require additional assistance for comprehension. Also, I would highlight the meaning for the new words and put them in parenthesis. Web quests are wonderful opportunities to help further students learning but with assistance using ReadPlease it could help students reach their full potential toward comprehension.
ReplyDeleteWhile working with students that have difficulties saying or writing sentences using correct grammar and syntax the TypeIt Readit would be very beneficial. Kids love to use the computer and the use of assistive technology would be motivating to them. I work with students a lot on writing sentences correctly and with the use of this software they could type it and listen to what they type, then we could discuss how it sounds to them. As the teacher you can write one for them as a model and then they can compare how yours sounds to how theirs sounds. It’s a good time to go over the noun, adjective, and verb in the sentences. If they see where they are in the model, it may be helpful in typing their own and then they may start to hear a pattern.
ReplyDeleteThe ReadPlease text-to-speech would be good to use with struggling readers. Many students who struggle with reading, read too fast, and skip words or mispronounce them. Having something to read it to them and see the highlighted words while they follow along may help slow them down. I would have students fill in the blanks on a Wacky Web Tale then paste into ReadPlease so they can hear it. It will be funny to them but it will help them with grammar and learning to slow their rate of reading.
After reviewing Typeit Readit and ReadPlease for PC, I found that both of these programs can be very useful in the classroom. I find that Typeit Readit is a very interesting program and has many uses. I really like how you can control the speed of the reading as well as the font size of the text. It is also very interesting that you can change the speech to a foreign language for diverse learners. Not only would students be able to use technology in the class by using this program, but I think that it would be a motivating factor for the students to read or write as well. For use in my classroom, I would use this program for struggling readers in my classroom. Since I cannot read with every child at the same time, and since students have different needs when it comes to reading, I could pre-type a selected story from a student who is struggling with their reading and have them sit down at a computer and listen to their story using headphones. This way, they can hear the pronunciation of the words from the story and this will help them to recognize certain words and help them with their pronunciation of the same words.
ReplyDeleteReadPlease can help students who have a sight disability or poor vision because it has a zoom ability. They can see the words better and have them sounded out to them.
ReplyDelete-Tonya McDonel
I think the ReadPlease would definitely be a great website for ELL students and students who have a hard time with reading. What I would do with my students is, during SSR time the children who had a hard time reading and comphrending what they read, I would have them go to ReadPlease and I would have their favorite subject or topic of books for them to read. After they did their reading we would have discussions about what they read about to see if they comphrended what they read.
ReplyDeleteTypeIt ReadIt would be an awesome tool for beginning readers. As a teacher, you could pair children up together and they could have a conversation about a book through this software. One student could type, and the other could have it read to them in the voice of their choice. It would be really effective if you paired a strong reader with a weak reader because then they could help each other.
ReplyDeleteI would let my students use ReadPlease as a tool for words that they are unsure how to pronounce. This would be a great resource to use in science class when children have trouble learning scientific terms. I helped in a second grade class in during my practicum last semester. The children was reading text about different types of trees and they would get hung up on the long scientific terms in the text.
ReplyDeleteI think both ReadPlease and Typelt Readlt are both wonderful tools to use to help students achieve their reading goals. They have many uses for students of all levels. They can help beginner readers with reading, they can help those who have an impairment. There are many ways you could use these programs. I would incorperate this into my classroom by helping those readers who arent strong or motivated to read. I would let them choose a topic that way it can be their own and let them use the program and then teach of that.
ReplyDeleteThe ReadPlease screen reader offers so many uses for the classroom. I would like to incorporated this technology in a way in which my students could interact with text in a meaningful way. I would like to upload text and apply the ReadPlease application so that my students could read along. I like how the words are highlighted as they are read, and also that you can control the speed of the voices. I do wish the voices sounded more realistic.
ReplyDeleteAt what age could students benefit most from this technology? Would it be too soon to start this process in Kindergarten?
The concept of both these programs is amazing. I prefer the TypeIt ReadIt program because of its ease of use and better sound quality with the different voices--it was easier for me to understand what this program was saying because the voices were clearer and they had a better grasp of proper pronunciation. (The word “postsecondary” was particularly troubling to the computer voice from Read Please.) It also offered more student-friendly control keys, designed for children to use with less supervision. I was thinking along the same lines as most everyone else as far as using this as an editing tool for writing and helping ELL and other struggling readers in my classroom but I also thought that we might use it to make our own class book. The feature that really excited me about TypeIt ReadIt is the little magic “Save to Sound” button that allows you to convert your text to digital sound modes and put them in iTunes for playback, student use, or to burn CDs. Instead of the standard beginning-of-school-getting-to-know-you-special-student-writing-posted-on-the-bulletin-board activity we could compile our data onto a CD using this fantastic software and everyone would get a chance to listen to the story of our class (in the listening center, of course). This activity could be adapted for all grades and groups.
ReplyDeleteP.S. "amberosia" is Amber McDade... Didn't notice that before...
ReplyDelete