Our latest thoughts from the world of technology in education & the workplace

Texthelp Blog - Our latest thoughts from the world of technology in education & the workplace

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In this blog, 12 business leaders and HR professionals share with us what they think are the biggest strengths that come from thinking differently.

12 neurodiversity strengths that come from thinking differently

From absorbing information to drawing connections, there are several strengths that come from thinking differently and having neurodiverse teams in the workplace. Here, twelve business leaders and HR professionals share with us what they think are the biggest strengths that come from thinking differently.

Champions of choice for disabled students

We understand that the impact of a disability on a student is unique and therefore the AT solution needs to be tailored. Together, Texthelp and Lingit are committed to making sure that the range of tools that end users can currently choose from is maintained. In the future, we will be able to use our combined capabilities and knowledge to add to the range of tools available, ensuring the best possible outcomes for students.    

Lingit tools already help millions of students across Europe. Texthelp and Lingit can work together to bring these tools to students in more countries, making an impact on even more people’s lives. 

For assessors and students, there will be no noticeable change. How students are supported by Texthelp, Claro Software and LexAble tools will remain the same, as will the experience of Needs Assessors and the wider community.  

In the future, our combined expertise and knowledge will drive more rapid product improvements for many more people around the world. One of the first examples of this will be an accelerated delivery of ClaroRead 10 to the market (more information on that coming soon).

This is the first step in an exciting journey for us all. But for now, it’s very much business as usual. We have compiled this FAQ,  if you have any other questions you can reach out to any of your key contacts in each company as you would normally do:

Rick Bell, Texthelp

Alasdair King, Claro Software

Neil Cottrell, LexAble

We are excited to announce that Texthelp has acquired the Lingit Group. This means that the Claro Software, LexAble and Lingit tools are now part of the Texthelp family.

Texthelp acquires the Lingit Group

Today, we are excited to announce that Texthelp has acquired the Lingit Group. This means that the Claro Software, LexAble and Lingit tools are now part of the Texthelp family.

Texthelp and the Lingit Group’s vision and purpose are strongly aligned. We share a belief that everyone has the right to understand and be understood.

Introducing our brand new software...ReachDeck

These are very exciting times here at Texthelp! We’ve just launched a brand new website. And released the first version of our new enterprise accessibility solution, ReachDeck.

Introducing ReachDeck…

The new site looks very different to the old one. We’ve got lots of new features and functionality. Please have a look around and let us know what you think. We’d love to get your feedback to help inform our future development. There is much more to come! 

As a technology leader, it’s important for us to make information regarding our software, the sectors we serve and our thought leadership easily accessible for our current and prospective customers. 

Above all, we wanted to make a new website that is easy to understand, easier to navigate, and is more user-friendly. 

We are excited to announce the launch of our newly designed website. It's been built in prismic with a big focus on UX, accessibility with a clean and clear UI. Take a look and tell us what you think

A new look for the Texthelp website

After nine months of hard work and dedication, we are excited to announce the launch of our newly designed website.

You may ask why accessibility to training is so important? First, it is the law, ADA section 508, which states that federal entities must be accessible.  “But I am not a federal entity, so why should I comply?” you ask.  Simply, because ADA accessibility lawsuits are on the rise. Businesses in the USA pay an average of $16,000 per ADA settlement. This does not count the cost of fixing the infraction. The cost of fighting the allegation (not settling) is typically four to five times the average $75,000 in annual income generated by the business.  (Forbes The ADA Lawsuit Contagion Sweeping U.S. States

But now to the good stuff.  Why is it important to have accessible training?  There are many reasons!  Research shows that companies who recruit and hire employees with disabilities have:

30% greater economic profit margins on average

2 times the net income of industry peers (2015-2018)

Those rated as “Disability Inclusion Champions” are 2 times more likely to have higher shareholder returns than their peers.

Not to mention, accessible training helps employees who do not have disabilities as well.  They can help the second language learner and they help the employee who learns best by hearing information vs seeing it and vice versa, to name a few.  So, making your training accessible is beneficial to the growth of your company.  Think of accessible training like the curbside ramps at corners.  Not only did those ramps help those who use wheelchairs, they also help parents with strollers or pedestrians with rolling carts walking to do errands. One minor change has helped a lot more people than just those who use wheelchairs.

“Accessible” means a person with a disability is afforded the opportunity to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as a person without a disability in an equally effective and equally integrated manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use. The person with a disability must be able to obtain the information as fully, equally and independently as a person without a disability. (ed.gov)

There are 3 main types of training: In person, online/instructor led, online/self-paced. Your company may use one or all of these types of training.  Regardless of the type of training there are four areas of access to consider. These include: Visual, Auditory, Cognitive, Physical

These areas of access can be used across one or more of the three types of training and will help make your training more accessible.  Some considerations support more than one area of access and will be noted as such.  Remember, you may not think of all aspects the first time around.  This is a process that continues as needs arise and technology changes.

Considerations that provide access for more than one area are marked as follows:

Things to consider for visual accessibility

Providing alternate copies of the information. This could be in a hardcopy or computer document.  If you are using a PDF make sure it is screen reader accessible. Or if you have PDFs that are not readable by a screen reader, software like Read&Write can help. It has a scan feature that can convert inaccessible PDFs into accessible formats that can be read aloud. (A)

Create Alt-text for all pictures and graphics.  This is a detailed description of the picture or graphic.  Depending on the program you are using you can search “alt-text” to learn how to insert it into your design.

Pay attention to color contrast.  People with low vision or color blindness can have trouble distinguishing between different colors. If you are using colors in a graph try using different variations of the same color. This will make it easier for those with visual impairments to discern between different elements. And, when it comes to choosing text and background colors, it’s best practice to set the contrast ratio to at least 4.5:1. If in doubt, use a color contrast checker such as WebAIM’s Contrast Checker. 

Make sure everything is keystroke accessible.  Many who have visual impairments do not use a mouse.  They use a keyboard to navigate.  So, it is important that they can make choices and “click” via the use of the keyboard arrows and other keys. (P) (C)

If you have a “live chat” feature, make sure it is accessible via screen reader.

Things to consider for auditory accessibility

Make sure all training is closed captioned (live or pre-recorded). This also helps second language learners. (C)(P)

If you know you have a participant who is deaf, offering an ASL interpreter or having ASL video to accompany your trainings is very helpful.

If possible, develop a script prior to the training and have it accessible to participants who need it.  If a predetermined script is not an option, create a post training script so that participants can revisit the information. There are several programs out there that will create a transcript from a recording.(C)

Things to consider for cognitive accessibility

Variety is important.  The more ways you can deliver the same information the higher the accessibility.  This could mean speaking the information, having a picture/graph/video, having a hands-on activity or group activity that supports one concept. (V) (A) (P)

Be flexible with time and timelines and remove time-based restrictions.  Cognitive disabilities can be invisible, like dyslexia or a learning disability.  This will help participants who haven’t disclosed a disability as well as those who have. (P)

Things to consider for physical accessibility

Location!  Both physical and virtual.  If you are in a building, can a person with a physical disability access the building and classroom?  Do they need any assistive technology to participate fully?  If it is a virtual training is your online platform accessible to keystroke choices, screen readers, closed captioning and other technology that assists a participant?

Allow extra time for transitions and assignments. (C)

Make sure directions and schedules are clearly communicated both auditorily and visually in clear concise methods.

Everyone experiences their disability in their own way.  If a participant requests assistance and accommodation listen to their needs and make the best accommodations possible.

Test the training to make sure it is truly accessible.

Never assume a participant with a disability can’t participate.  Instead ask them how you can facilitate their complete participation in the training.

The great thing is that there is technology out there to make accessibility for training and beyond easier to accomplish.  Texthelp has several tools to help make your training more accessible as well as helping you make your day-to-day work environment more accessible for everyone regardless of ability.  Remember, creating an accessible training and work environment for everyone increases productivity and helps your company reach its goals and positions you as a leader in your industry. Discover more about Texthelp solutions.

Amy has extensive experience in the disability community. Having a sister with a disability, being a special education teacher and working in job development and placement, she witnessed the struggle of both prospective employees as well as the employers and has seen the need for company wide training and support.  She has seen businesses miss out on the benefits of hiring people with disabilities because they didn’t have the support to overcome the perceived challenges. Through Strategic Employment Solutions she creates a customized experience, from recruiting through training and cultural change, that helps businesses reach their diversity and inclusion goals while overcoming the fears of hiring from the disability community.

In this blog Amy Ostrowski from Strategic Employment Solutions talks about the importance of accessible staff training.

4 areas to consider when creating accessible training

People with disabilities make up 20-25% of our population.  80% of people with disabilities who are of working age are looking for a job.  This means that more than likely you have employees who have a disability in your workforce and more people coming into your workforce annually. They may have disabilities you can see or they may have invisible disabilities.

There is a major shift happening in today’s education - one that is geared towards providing the right learning environment, at the right time, offering a virtual platform that grows and adapts along with each school. This new environment often requires new tools. The best way to test if a product is suitable for your staff, students and systems is to try a pilot project. 

You can take an extended trial of Read&Write and Equatio or even a combination at the same time.

We talk to a lot of educators who are considering education technology for their students. The same questions come up a lot of the time, so we thought we would put together a blog post on how you can get the most out of a product pilot. We also have some real life examples to share with you, from school districts who have rolled out successful pilots in their areas. 

We offer a free pilot of all our products at a district level, giving you access to all the premium features. That way you can see everything that our technology can do. But before you register for your pilot, let’s take a moment to make sure you are geared up to get the most out of it. 

Many of the school districts we work with have a huge number of students across many school locations. Recently we were involved in a pilot project of our Read&Write literacy toolbar with Plymouth-Canton Community Schools, the 4th largest district in Michigan. There were 18,000 students spread across 14 elementary schools, 5 middle schools and 4 high schools. 

Stacey Banks, Teacher and AT Consultant told us: “We began with a 90 day district pilot to spark use among SE, ELL, GE students, staff and teachers. A full license was purchased for 150 SE students, but as everyone was using the same tools there was no stigma involved”. Access to the free version was maintained for everyone after the pilot to minimize stigma for Special Education students going forward”.

When recruiting colleagues we recommend starting with the decision makers and Principals. Learning to use new tools takes a little time, so colleagues will need to be allowed time to learn and experiment. We have heaps of resources to help with this. 

Choose the schools you are going to run the pilot with, you might like to have one pilot school and one control school to compare with. This is what our friends at Plymouth-Canton school district in Michigan did, we were so impressed with their pilot that we decided to share their experiences with others. Check out the Plymouth-Canton Efficacy Study

4. Make use of all the resources available.

Throughout the trial you will receive emails with tips, tools and resources, this will make sure you have everything you need to get the most out of your pilot. We want to help make sure everyone gets a chance to see what the tools can do! We even have letters for you to send to parents to explain how to use our products at home. 

We have a massive library of resources and how-to videos, you can complete a certificate on Read&Write which would be great for your continued professional development. We’ll be on hand too, with live demos and training for your team- if you need it.

After the initial pilot our friends at Plymouth-Canton added another school for year two, the second school was chosen as it had the highest population of English Language Learners. 

Throughout that year Stacey and her team applied the same methodology with  Read&Write as they had with year one and “saw differences and growth that we felt could be attributed to Read&Write along with solid instructional practices and our great teachers.” Since then the usage of Read&Write has continued to grow within the district.

“We've been pleased to see that our students are continuing to access these tools as they ease in the transition of remote learning and as a district we have found ourselves extremely fortunate to have a solution in place already that addresses accessibility for all of our students”.

We look forward to seeing the project continue to go from strength to strength. 

Sandra Green, is the Assistive Technology Administrator from St Charles Unit Community School District, west of Chicago. The district is a long standing user of Read&Write and self confessed “very Googly district”. 

Sandra shares her experience and advice in this short case study. 

“I cannot tell you what amazing things Read&Write has done for my students! I see their reading and writing develop on a daily basis due to this program”.

If you would like to learn more about Read&Write and how it can help both you and your district, just fill out our Pilot Request Form and we’ll be in touch.

Find out how to make the most of your Texthelp pilot in this new blog.

Six tips for a successful Texthelp pilot

We talk to a lot of educators who are considering education technology for their students. The same questions come up a lot of the time, so we thought we would put together a blog post on how you can get the most out of a product pilot. We also have some real life examples to share with you, from school districts who have rolled out successful pilots in their areas.

Blog

12 neurodiversity strengths that come from thinking differently

Texthelp acquires the Lingit Group

Introducing ReachDeck…

A new look for the Texthelp website

4 areas to consider when creating accessible training

Six tips for a successful Texthelp pilot

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