Reflection 8: Inclusivity

Having been an EA, I am quite used to using speech to text and text to speech technologies. I have worked with multiple non-verbal students who use assistive speech technology in order to communicate. Having these technologies is an incredible way to be able to bring them into learning or ensure their needs are being met in the classroom. Teaching them ASL is another way to communicate, but it takes longer and technology makes it so everything they may need is all in one place.

During our Link2Practice, we had some students with dyslexia in the classroom. During free reading time, they were able to get a Chromebook, open an audiobook, and listen to it with headphones. They would also get the physical book and try to follow along while the voice read to them in the audiobook. This meant students were able to independently participate during free reading time. Before, they would not be able to participate without the teacher being hands-on and facilitating their reading but now they could do their own reading while their teacher did prep work or met with other students.

This video highlights the different ways speech to text and text to speech can help students (and teachers) have a better, more inclusive experience in the classroom. Having this UDL approach allows everyone in the classroom to feel supported and gives a sense of autonomy over their learning.