This section explores a range of digital tools to support the three principles of UDL. Choice boards are also explained and examples are shared.
Multiple Means of Representation
Give learners various ways of acquiring information and knowledge
Tools for Multiple Means of Representation
Screencasts
Screencasts can provide a learner-centred, engaging experience in school or at home because pupils can pause and replay content which allows them to progress at their own pace. Screencasts created by teachers can be used for many different purposes e.g. to reinforce key points of information in a lesson/ topic, explain a step-by-step solution to a maths problem, a scaffold to develop reading fluency etc. Screenastify, Screencast-o-Matic and Loom are popular screencasting tools. There are also in-built screen recording options on Microsoft, Chromebook and Mac devices.
Closed Captions (CC)
Closed captions display the text of the spoken word. It was developed to aid hearing-impaired people but can benefit all learners. You can enable closed captions on Youtube videos and when using the "Present" mode in Google Slides or Microsoft 365 PowerPoint to allow your voice be presented as text on screen as you speak. This can be particularly useful when recording a screencast of a presentation that you intend to share with pupils.
Audio Description
Audio description provides audio descriptions for visual content. It narrates the visual elements that would be necessary for comprehension without the ability to see the screen. It describes non-verbal cues like gestures, facial expressions, or eye contact, as well as objects or scenery that are important for understanding. It can be used to describe charts, graphs, and diagrams.
Text-to-Speech
There are many text-to-speech tools available:
Google Read Aloud A Text to Speech Voice Reader: A Chrome extension
Google Lens: A free app that has the ability to read out printed text (take a photograph of text in a book etc. for the app to read the text).
Microsoft 365 Text-to-Speech: Microsoft Word (online) document can read out written content.
Office Lens: An app that read out text in photographs. It can also convert photographs of text into Word documents.
Speech-to-Text/ Audio Transcriptions
Audio transcription is a written account of verbal communication (video or audio).
Google Browser: There is a voice feature on Google that allows you to search on the Google engine using your voice.
Google Docs Voice Typing: Type with your voice in Google Docs. Step 1: Open Google Docs and select Tools > Voice Typing. Step 2: Select your language and click the microphone icon. Step 3: Play the audio you want to transcribe or record yourself speaking and Google should automatically start transcribing.
Microsoft 365 Word Dictate: Type with your voice in an online Microsoft Word document.
Reading Digital Text
Helper Bird: This provides support for browsing, reading and writing. It has text-to-speech, voice typing, Immersive Reader, reader mode (removes distractions) and dyslexia fonts.
Accessibility - Your Powerful Web Assistant: A Google Chrome extension that can help you to read webpages more effectively in many ways. You can customise the font style and size/ modify colour contrast/ enable screen tint/ change the size and colour of the mouse/ use a dyslexia ruler/ enable text-to-speech/ remove distracting content).
Open Dyslexic for Chrome: An open source font, designed to increase readability for readers with dyslexia.
Microsoft 365 Immersive Reader: This tool offers a range of options to help the user read information online more effectively. These options include increasing the text size, increasing the spacing between words to improve readability, a line focus that isolates individual sentences or paragraphs to improve focus, a speaker icon to read the text-aloud, a word icon to sound out individual words, a translate tool and the ability to select parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs) in a Word document or website.
Online Reading Supports
In instances where you are unable to use sites that vary in Lexile levels, tools like Smmry or Rewordify can help pupils to summarise and simplify online text.
Google Read Along: A free reading app for Android that can also be accessed via the web browser to help learners learn to read. It has a reading buddy that listens to learners read aloud and offers support when they need it. There are hundreds of levelled readers to choose from and as learners makes progress, they can unlock stars and badges.
Colour and Contrast
Ensure that there is a suitable contrast between text and background. Certain background colours may make reading easier for some learners with dyslexia. Avoid patterned backgrounds.
Text Size/ Font
Ensure that the font size you use when creating content for learners is accessible. Fonts should be clear and legible. Accessibility-friendly fonts include Tahoma, Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, and Times New Roman. Slab serif fonts including Arvo, Museo Slab, and Rockwell are also considered to be accessible.
Digital Books & Audio Books
You can find read-aloud digital books on websites such as Get Epic!, Oxford Owl, Storyline Online, Book Trust - Story Time/ Brightly Storytime, Gearrthóga Físe.
You can find audiobooks on websites such as Storyberries and Léightleat.
AT Hive Website
AT Hive is an assistive technology website that was created to help people with disabilities in work and education settings.
The website asks three questions to help you identify the assistive technology that you're looking for:
What interests would you like to explore? (reading, writing, spelling and grammar, revision and recall, magnification etc.)
What devices do you use? (Chromebooks, Microsoft Surface, Windows computer, iPad, Android tablet etc.)
What platform do you use? (Google Workspace for Education/ Microsoft 365/ Not specified).
PDST Digital Technologies Youtube Channel - AT Hive Tutorial Videos
AT Hive: iPad Speech-to-Text
This video explores assistive technology suitable for reading and writing on an iPad using AT Hive.
AT Hive: Immersive Reader
This video explores assistive technology for reading if you have access to a Microsoft 365 Account.
AT Hive: Voice-to-Text
This video explores assistive technology for writing using Google Docs and Microsoft Word.
Multiple Means of Engagement
Tap into learners' interests, offer appropriate choice and challenges, and increase motivation.
Choice Boards
Choice boards are a powerful tool for engaging learners by providing options about how they learn and demonstrate their learning.
By offering pupils a variety of content types (text, imagery, video, podcast etc.) and activities (art, story, multimedia design projects etc.) to choose from, it also helps to cater to different learning styles, abilities, and interests within a single classroom to meet the diverse needs of pupils.
For greater engagement, ask learners for feedback on which activities they preferred and use this feedback to improve your choice boards over time. Alternatively, encourage learners to create their own choice boards for a topic.
Below are examples of choice boards. The first supports Multiple Means of Expression and is not subject-specific. The second and third examples combine Multiple Means of Representation and Multiple Means of Engagement and are subject-specific.
Click on the posters below to download and save them for your convenience.
Videos, podcasts, reading resources on the choice boards are hyperlinked.
Multiple Means of Action and Expression
Provide learners with alternatives for demonstrating what they know
