K5 Librarian: Google Read & Write - Resource for Accessibility

Classroom teachers are always searching for ways to meet the needs of all of their students. Unfortunately, with the variety of learning styles and abilities of students in regular classrooms, this is not easy to accomplish. Implementing Universal Design is important to meet the needs of students with disabilities.

Universal Design refers to the idea of designing spaces, products, services, and more in a way that makes them as functional as possible for people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. This differs from an accessibility approach in two noteworthy ways. First, it looks to improve usability for all, not just those who identify as disabled. Second, it focuses on finding one solution that will function equally for everyone, rather than fragmented approaches that divide users. (Spina, 2017, p. 28)

(Free use image of students on laptops)

Google Chrome’s online extension, Read & Write, is a powerful digital resource to provide literacy support to all students. The Read & Write extension is available to be downloaded online for each of these formats Chrome, Mac, Windows, and tablets. Read & Write is an easy to use toolbar that provides students with a wealth of resources, such as,

Listening to any document, PDF, or website using text-to-speech, which is highlighted to make it easy to follow along.
Text and picture dictionaries to explain unknown words.
Dictation to speech-to-text to help with writing and proofreading.
Simplifying text on a web page, like removing ads to and other items that may be distracting.
Provides tools to support students with dyslexia or other learning difficulties.
Screen masking tools to limit distractions.
Translation tools for English Language Learners.

(Images from Google Read & Write)

(Images from Google Read & Write)

Read & Write provides an optimal learning experience for all learners and coincides with the Universal Design for Learning. As Spina states (2017), “The flexibility built into this approach simultaneously provides a better learning experience for all students and offers a way for students with disabilities to participate without special accommodations” (p. 29).

These videos are great resources to introduce all the resources and tools Read & Write has to offer all of your students. The last video can be shared as an introduction to teach students how to use Read & Write and how teachers can use it with their students.