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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‘“..over there, it’s over there!” With a frantic warning he gasps for breath and keeps running. The wisps of the long grass scratch his ankles as his legs glide past one another in hurried movement. With the sun’s blazing heat warming his skin, and his panicked heart thumping against his chest it becomes harder to breath. Each time he hits the ground with a new step, he feels his legs become heavier and heavier. As he scurries his mind to map out a hiding spot, he feels a tightening on his left shoulder. An intense pressure, his voice pains out in agony and he is pulled backwards. As he crashes to the ground he catches a frightening glimpse and screams ”Who are you?!”...’"

Did you see that scene play out in your mind? Is your imagination trying to piece together what could be happening? Since reading sparks creativity and takes your thoughts on a wondrous adventure, so too should the ways in which we try to encourage students to read - our 5 steps below give some motivational ideas to inspire students to read and keep reading. 

A cosy nook by the window for the romantic novelists, a spaceship made from an old box for the sci-fi lovers, or a castle made from a tent for the fantasy princesses. Set the scene to create a place students will love to read. Get them involved in creating their reading lands and if you don’t have room for too many at one time, then pick a new theme each month.

The modern Matildas of today might prefer to read from an iPad than a physical book. Some students will favour visual stories and some thick-spined novels. Make sure to offer a variety of options as well as different genres. Different reading abilities exist within the classroom, and to keep students maturing in reading ability it’s important to give them stories and different means of engagement that inspire them to read more.

Lighting the spark and keeping the fire lit requires a fine balance of building intrigue and maintaining interest. Keep your students excited about reading by creating shared experiences.

Form book clubs by splitting the class into smaller groups. Each week they can share their thoughts on what they have read so far and where they think the story will go. Mix it up with activities and ask students to ‘guess’ the ending by writing their own version. They can compare each others’ perspectives and have fun in seeing who was right.

Create echo circles to aid development in reading fluency. Read a piece of the story aloud and ask the class to imitate your tonal expression as they echo back in unison. Hearing words expressed helps students to comprehend meaning. Take it a step further and get students excited by turning them into the characters - divvy the class up into smaller groups to read the part of one character, as the class tells the story together. This technique ensures students do not have to feel anxious at reading out loud on their own, but still facilitates the development benefits linked to shared story reading - learning correct tonal expression, hearing different perceptions and increasing word familiarity.

The more a student reads, the more words they learn, the more automatic their minds become in recognising words, and the more they mature in their level of understanding. Writing activities can be combined with reading time to allow students to formulate their thoughts and spark their inner author.

Review a story & create your own spin - ask students to write a book review, a short story follow up, or an alternative ending - this helps them to put down their thoughts and understand what they have read.

Rewrite from another perspective - ask students to rewrite a chapter from the perspective of a different character to get them to think perceptively from different viewpoints.

Turn the story into a play - ask students to turn the story into a play or a news article so they can discover different forms of content.

Find your favourite author - help keep students inspired by encouraging them to look up different authors and their motivations behind their stories to help them find one they can relate to.

There are a variety of tools to help you create a learning environment which includes all types of readers, keeps interest with differentiated reading, and promotes comprehension. Hear from a series of experts, Christine Pinto, Tim Rasinski, and David Paige, as they share tips, tricks and online tools in our recorded webinar series on reading fluency. 

Reading causes sparks to fly in the creative mind, and leaves the imagination bubbling with thoughts of adventure. Important for a student's development, students should be encouraged to read in school and at home. To help get students excited about reading, we have pulled together some ideas to inspire them to take themselves on a wondrous adventure.

5 steps to inspire reading

People with neurodiverse conditions like dyslexia, autism, Asperger’s, dyspraxia, or ADHD can struggle in silence - with increased stress levels and lowered productivity. This often means an individual can’t show their true potential at work or they get frustrated and leave an organization. Offering these colleagues the support to flourish makes them feel empowered, motivated and engagaged - it also makes for a more diverse and successful organization.

That’s why we recently hosted a live webcast in partnership with HR.com to demonstrate how our inclusive technology, Read&Write, is having a positive impact on those with a range of neurodiverse conditions, helping them to do their jobs with pride and independence. Here’s what we found to be the most effective benefits of providing Read&Write to neurodiverse staff, as demonstrated by Anna - a HR Administrator for a large organization, who has a hidden disability:

Anna launches her email client and sees an email from her HR Manager, flagged URGENT in all caps. Faced with a wall of text and recognizing its importance, Anna reaches for her headphones because reading a large chunk of text can be difficult due to her neurodiversity. She knows that her mind processes information quicker audibly and it’s more convenient and accessible for her to listen to the email.

With two hours to prepare a presentation for a meeting, Anna sets about putting together a wireframe for her presentation. Instead of laboring over spelling, and the challenges her neurodiversity can sometimes flare up, she quickly opens the word prediction tool to help her accurately compose the wireframe before emailing it to her colleagues for their input.

With just 20 minutes to spare before Anna presents her research in an important meeting, she's trying not to stress. To help her prepare for the presentation, Anna highlights all of her research and clicks on the audio maker button on her Read&Write toolbar. She emails the downloaded audio file to her phone, plugs in her earphones, and takes a walk in the sunshine where she reviews her research - by listening to it - in a less stressful way.

Though Anna’s neurodiversity can make daily tasks a challenge, her neurotypical colleagues can also benefit from the same features that Read&Write offers. Every function the toolbar can carry out isn’t just designed to assist those with hidden disabilities, but gives every member of staff the tools to be more productive or work in a way that suits them best - and organizations are quickly recognizing that technology is the key to empowered and motivated employees.

Contact our Diversity experts to find out how our technology can play a vital role in supporting diversity, productivity, and those with hidden disabilities in your workplace.

Championing Workplace Diversity through Technology

Technology has changed the way we work, and in recent years the role of technology in the workplace has had a profound effect on creating inclusion and allowing those with hidden disabilities to not only enter the workforce, but to thrive.

Depending on the application used to view PDF files, many PDF viewers fall short in areas such as:

Creating text, voice, or other annotations

The Texthelp PDF Reader, available for Read&Write for Google Chrome, Read&Write for Windows and Read&Write for Mac, aims to help remedy many of these common shortfalls. Built from the ground up, our Reader provides a lightning fast experience for anyone looking to interact with PDFs. 

If you are using Read&Write for Google Chrome, watch this video to learn how to open PDF files in Google Drive, the web, or even your local hard drive.

If you are using Read&Write for Windows or Mac, simply click on the PDF Reader icon within the Read&Write toolbar to open your PDF file. 

The Tools You Love, Now Available in PDFs

Once you’ve opened a PDF through any of the above methods, you can use the Read&Write tools you know and love to:

Look up words in the Dictionary and Picture Dictionary

Collaboration & Annotation in Read&Write for Google Chrome

The Texthelp PDF Reader in Read&Write for Google Chrome also comes with handy collaboration features like commenting and annotations. 

To use commenting, first select some text, then click the comment icon to the right of the selection and make a comment (just like in Google Docs). You can even use word prediction or speech input to help you type, or create an audio comment using your voice! You can also insert images or links, and listen and respond to others’ comments made in PDFs shared through Google Drive.

Use the Typewriter Tool to annotate files or fill in the blanks on worksheets. Simply click the “T” icon from the toolbar, click where you would like to insert your text, and start typing. As with comments, you can use prediction and dictation to help. 

The freehand drawing tool is perfect for anything from marking up your own document, to circling answers on an assignment. To use, just click the Freehand Drawing button, adjust the color and line thickness settings, and start drawing. This feature is especially great for touchscreen devices.

The Shapes Drawing tool includes options for squares, circles and lines with customizable line color, fill color and line thickness. Use it for circling/boxing the answer to a multiple choice question, underlining important details in a reading passage, and so much more.

For even more ways you can use the Texthelp PDF Reader, including its integration with Google Classroom and our digital STEM tool, EquatIO, check out a recent webinar on ‘Making PDFs Accessible and Collaborative’.

Use the feedback within Read&Write or the Comments section below to send us feedback anytime. We look forward to hearing from you!

Introducing PDF Reader: the new viewer for PDFs that brings together cool new collaboration tools with the Read&Write features you know and love!

Texthelp’s New PDF Reader Now Available

Transform PDFs with the Texthelp PDF Reader

Portable Document Format (PDF) files continue to be one of the most popular file formats found both on and off the web. They’re great when you need to retain formatting, restrict others from editing, or save a digital copy of a file. PDFs are also easily viewable on devices ranging from phones to Chromebooks. 

However, when it comes to accessibility, engagement, and collaboration within PDFs, the file format falls short. That’s why we've created the Texthelp PDF Reader, which provides a speedy experience while integrating all the bells and whistles anyone looking to interact with PDFs would want. Read on to find out more.

While its roots lie in the US, Universal Design for Learning has blossomed into a global phenomenon. Attendees from the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific prove the point, united in their enthusiasm to connect UDL with an even broader audience.

The Texthelp team has engaged with a range of UDL ‘rockstars’ – spanning educators, academics, researchers and nonprofits – to hear about what they’ll be covering in their talks during the event. Take a look!

Katie Novak - When UDL Doesn't Go So Smoothly

We can all learn from our mistakes. And at this year’s UDL-IRN Summit in Orlando, Florida fwe’ll be hearing a very personal perspective on failure from a leader on inclusive learner-focused education. In anticipation, here's a preview of what Katie Novak will be speaking about at the conference.

Joni Degner - UDL From a Human Perspective

Joni Degner will be urging us to think about UDL from a human perspective – and dial out unconscious biases that can unintentionally overlook the real needs of students ‘on the margins’, including learners from disadvantaged demographic groups, ELLs and reluctant learners.

Sue Hardin - A Positive, Inclusive Pathway to UDL

In her ‘End of Average’ talk at this year's UDL-IRN, Sue will ask how we can make every educator’s pathway to UDL success the positive, inclusive experience it should be. Read more ahead of the conference.

Loui Lord Nelson - Responding to External Stresses with UDL

As busy professionals we often complain about being ‘time poor’. But it takes on another meaning in low-income households where parents may be battling to hold down multiple jobs, feed young mouths and simply cope with everyday struggles to survive. Read what Loui Lord Nelson has to say ahead of UDL-IRN.

Luis Perez - Getting from 'Here' to 'There'

How do we get from Here to There? Acclaimed instructional designer Luis Pérez will be taking educators on a thought-provoking journey at this year’s UDL-IRN Summit, exploring technology’s role in UDL – while encouraging educators and learning designers to think about how they can best accommodate tech within their own practice.

Jason Carroll - Creating a level playing field for today’s students

A whole lot can happen in the space of a generation. And it’s easy to underestimate all the good stuff that happens incrementally, often without us even noticing. At this month’s UDL-IRN Summit, Texthelp’s Jason Carroll reflects on the exciting opportunities for young learners that simply didn’t exist twenty years ago... and tech’s essential role in this positive transformation.

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What are you looking forward to at this year's UDL-IRN? Let us know in the comments below!

Universal Appeal: the biggest ever UDL‑IRN Summit

The stage is set….Doubletree at the Entrance to Universal Studios in Florida is the venue for the upcoming, hotly anticipated UDL-IRN International Summit, billed as the meeting place ‘Where UDL Leaders Come to Learn’. Proudly supported by Texthelp, this year’s Summit will welcome over 400 delegates in person, plus hundreds more joining online from around the world. Read on to discover all that's going on during the conference...

Technology and pedagogy might seem like a mouthful, but there’s a reason the two are often spoken in the same breath. Historically seen as two separate yet complementary strands in teaching, the evolution of tech - as well as how classrooms have adapted to it - has allowed technology and pedagogy to become more closely aligned, ultimately offering greater possibilities for learning and academic outcomes.

We’re fortunate to live in an era when technology has swiftly evolved to enhance and achieve the foundations of education by providing dynamic opportunities for students to engage and interact with the learning process. Where traditionally teaching relied on pen and paper methods, more often educators can now utilise EdTech to expand and enrich instruction, allowing concepts to be brought to life through a wide variety of media, whether it’s to explain geometric concepts, quadratic equations, scientific formulae, or even computer coding languages.

With such a wide variety of tools available, and with a broad scope of functionality and design, EdTech can bolster lesson delivery in different ways to effectively engage students and encourage them to enjoy subject exploration on their own, while supporting the individual strategies of educators. Take text-to-speech as an example. A simple concept, but one that allows students to identify problem words or sentences, hear them read aloud, and help them to build oral fluency and contextual understanding.

Building on that train of thought (and practise), the capability to change things like pace, voice, language, and tone puts personal learning firmly in the hands of the student. Though guided by the educator, diverse outcomes are easily achieved when these tools are used - learners can access content at the appropriate level, disseminate information in their own chosen way, and begin to develop a way of thinking and working. These outcomes, of course, seem enormous, but in reality they’re obtained in small steps every day, and are so much more achievable when a learner grows confident in the knowledge that they have support tools at their fingertips. 

Our own Read&Write offers a comprehensive toolbar containing all of these tools in one place, and enables vocabulary development, contextual comprehension, as well as grammar and punctuation. But there are a world of different technologies out there that can support students in different ways.

We’ve also been developing our maths & STEM software tool EquatIO, to offer classrooms an accessible, intuitive, and fun way of exploring these subjects beyond the restrictions of the blackboard. EquatIO gives students and teachers the ability to type, hand-write, or dictate any expression, with no tricky coding or maths languages to master. There’s a huge library of predictive, ready-made expressions to save time - from simple formulas to complex functions.

Educators don’t necessarily need to design learning strategies around these tools - it’s about providing opportunities for students to use them when and where appropriate. EdTech isn’t about replacing teachers and traditional notions of teaching, it’s about bolstering the excellent job that each and every teacher does. 

What’s more, in today’s rapidly advancing technological climate, there’s a need to prepare students for the world beyond education. Whilst every student may not be coding in their career, they will no doubt be interacting with at least one piece of technology on a daily basis. Students who come at technology with an open mind will excel in education and also beyond, into the workplace, because we can be certain of one thing; the technological landscape is going to change unbelievably in the next ten years.

Texthelp’s Read&Write and EquatIO are absolutely free for teachers. Visit our Free for Teachers page to register, and give them a go for yourself.

If you've already tried our Free for Teachers products, you may find these free digital maths webinars useful. 

Technology & Pedagogy: Powering 21st Century Learning

Originally published in Education Today (March Edition), our CTO talks about the evolution of technology and why it's now more closely aligned with pedagogy. 

What do you think the year ahead has in store in terms of Educational Technology?

2019 is going to be another great year for EdTech. One of the things we are continuing to see is IT costs continuing to fall.

Access to technology is getting better. 15 years ago Nicholas Negroponte, from MIT, was talking about a one laptop per child initiative and he was trying to get the cost of computing down to about $100 per child. Many thought that it was a completely unachievable goal. If you go onto Amazon today,  there are laptops available at that price and they're going to continue to drop. Laptops are going to continue to get more powerful and that means that it's going to be more reasonable for every child to have a device in school.

It's not like two years ago when Chromebooks were inexpensive and Windows computers were typically more expensive. Now Microsoft are releasing Windows Core next year which is going to be a superlight and inexpensive version of Windows to run on cheaper laptops.

Will big data/learning analytics have a major impact on education this incoming year? What are you doing to incorporate them into your software?

Learning analytics have been a slow burner for a few years now but this is going to be the year that they take to the main stage.  When we talk about learning analytics we’re talking about measuring how students learn, not just how they use a piece of technology.  Being able to look at things like how quickly students write, what is the error rate of the writing, what's the maturity of their writing, how many spelling, punctuation and grammar errors there are, how long did they spend writing per day will be invaluable.

Over the last year at Texthelp, we've been able to create a set of national norms for writing for the US and we're planning to expand that next year to include Canada, Australia and hopefully the UK too.  This means that teachers are going to be able to see how their students are writing compared to the national norm.

Another technical trend we’re seeing, particularly in regard to assessment, is using technology and AI to make ongoing regular assessment faster and easier for teachers and also to try to take out some of the subjectivity from assessment.  For example, if you give a student a writing task and you have 10 teachers assess that writing task you'll probably get 10 different scores. The technology we’ve been working on will not only create the national norms but will try to remove some of the subjectivity from writing assessment using AI and statistical approaches. This will allow teachers to quickly and consistently assess writing.

There is a big buzz around machine learning - how big a role will this have to play in education in the year ahead?

Machine learning is incredible. It’s a hot topic everywhere at the moment and it’s going to be as relevant in education as it is anywhere else.  Children learning how to develop machine learning technologies in class and then implement them is something that would have been inconceivable ten years ago - now it's just the norm!  What they can do in one day or even in an hour of code project is truly fantastic.  For example, they can build their own machine learning based technologies on raspberry PI's and Play’s at home.  Google have also introduced a new thing called AIY - the Artificial Intelligence Yourself version of DIY, which allows the user to use kits and devices to build intelligent systems that see, speak, and understand. Then start tinkering. Take things apart, make things better. See what problems they can solve.  It’s very cool stuff.

What are your EdTech trends for 2019?  Tell us in the comments below, we’d love to hear your thoughts on this...

A fresh new year is upon us once again and we’ve caught up with our ‘chief geek’ Martin McKay - our Chief Technology Officer and one of the founders of Texthelp, to see what his predictions are for Education Technology this in-coming year.

The Future of Education Technology: Trends for 2019

As 2019 progresses, we caught up with our ‘chief geek’ Martin McKay - our Chief Technology Officer and one of the founders of Texthelp, to see what his predictions are for Education Technology this year.

Blog

5 steps to inspire reading

Championing Workplace Diversity through Technology

Transform PDFs with the Texthelp PDF Reader

Universal Appeal: the biggest ever UDL‑IRN Summit

Technology & Pedagogy: Powering 21st Century Learning

The Future of Education Technology: Trends for 2019

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