What's New in Assistive Technology!
Word prediction uses text suggestions to assist with writing in a word processing program. As students enter in the first letter or letters of the words, the program predicts the word that the student is trying to type. Words appear in a prediction list and students select their desired word from this list.
Read and Write offers text prediction, picture dictionaries, summary highlighters and a grammar, spelling and confusable words checker. It is available as a Chromebook extension and an iPad app with an accompanying 3rd party keyboard.
Speech-to-Text in Google
Tools>Voice typing>
A Microphone button will appear on the screen. Click it, then speak!
Speech-to-Text on the iPad
Settings > General > Keyboard > Enable Dictation
A microphone button will appear on the on-screen keyboard. Tap it, then speak!
Text-to-speech WHILE you are typing, on the iPad
Hear each word as you type it. To enable:
Settings>Accessibility>Typing Feedback> turn on Speak words
Clicker is an engaging and comprehensive multimedia literacy tool that offers differentiated supports to target literacy skills for learners of all abilities and access methods (e.g. switch access, direct select, eye gaze). Clicker's built-in speech and picture supports, accessible features, and customization options, promote student independence and confidence in writing and other literacy activities. Clicker's Sentence Sets, Connect Sets, and Word Banks provide structured sentence building supports.
PixWriter is a talking picture and word processor that combines symbol support with highlighted text and speech. You create illustrated buttons to form a word bank by simply entering text and the student clicks the buttons to create their writing piece. This is available for Mac and Windows laptops and as an iPad app through your AT Facilitator. Quick tips available
Boardmaker provides customizable and accessible writing templates across all platforms.
Annotating allows you to type, highlight, comment, or mark directly onto your PDFS.
Predictable chart writing in action - Jane Farrall
Developed at the Centre for Literacy and Disability Studies (CLDS), and written about by Dr. Gretchen Hanser (2006, 2009), an alternative pencil is defined as anything that provides a student with access to all 26 letters of the alphabet for use in writing. Students DO NOT need to know how to independently read or spell words in order to use any of the alternative pencils. There are no prerequesites!
Onscreen Keyboard
Adapted Keyboard
Speech Output Device
Alphabet Board
This site accompanies the SSD professional development course: Literacy for Complex Learners. The information is based on Comprehensive Literacy for All (Erickson, K.A. & Koppenhaver, D. A. (2020).