Text to Speech, a reminder

As the school year starts it is nice to have a refresher on some tools, tips and tricks. Over the course of the next couple of weeks I am going to be reposting a few of my blogs, the ones that I feel are the most helpful as both AT and UDL tips and tricks.

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Text to Speech is a tool that has multiple uses. It can be used to help with reading and writing. It can be used by students and teachers.

I use text to speech to edit my writing. I listen to what I have written to help with sentence structure or misused words. It helps me improve my writing. I use text to speech to edit all of my blog posts.

Text to Speech can be a useful tool for struggling readers, English language learners, or readers with dyslexia as well. Using Text to Speech as a reading tool can help a variety of students and adults.

On a Mac follow these directions to enable Text to Speech.

Try it out for yourself.  I am sure you will love it!

Screencastify

Wow! Here it is already Wednesday and I have not posted yet. The start of this school year is hectic and I apologize.

Are you looking for a Screen Video Recorder.  Screencastify might be the answer.

The Lite version of screencastify offers:

▸ 10 minute recording limit per video 

▸ 50 videos per month 

▸ Screencastify watermark

You will be able to easily create a screencast for video tutorials and record presentations.  It also supports desktop capturing, allowing you to record anything on your screen with audio.

Follow my tutorial for setting up Screencastify and start exploring all of the possibilities.

Scrible

If you haven't noticed yet, I love Google Extensions. There are so many wonderful things they can do and most of them are FREE.

  Scrible is a Google Extension and a Google App.  The app lets you annotate, bookmark, save, manage & share online articles. The extension offers a tool bar that is a great way to annotate, tag and share online articles and webpages.  Both the app and the extension offer a Scrible account for storing your information.  The app and extension have features that let you:

• move the tool bar, starts at the bottom of the page
• highlight text
• add post-it
• change text color
• Underline 
• Bold 
• Italic
• Strikethrough
• e-mail or save the annotated file for later

The extension also:

• Notifies you when you’re on a webpage you previously annotated
• Prompts you to load your previous annotations
• Automatically loads your most recent annotations while you browse the Web

To create a Scrible account go to www.scrible.com

Invert Colors / Gray Scale

Hello Bloggers!  Summer for our technology department is a busy time and this sure has been a busy summer.  I am sorry for the late post today. 

Inverting colors or using gray scale can be a very helpful tool for students with vision issues.  It can be helpful for students with light sensitivity or who are color blind.   

Setting up these two different options are available within the Accessibility Features on your computer.  As a primarily Mac district here is a Mac tutorial on how to make the changes, to Invert Colors or use Gray Scale.

EasyBib

In a previous Blog post I discussed Cite this for Me: Web Citer, a Google Extension.  Another options to help with creating a bibliography would be EasyBib!

EasyBib is a Google Docs add-on that allows you to create a bibliography, automatically.  You can cite books, journal articles and websites simply by entering the title or URL.  
This add-on lets you format in MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard, and over 7K other styles.  When you have finished adding your sources, EasyBib will generate your bibliography, alphabetize your citations and add them to the end of your paper, with just a couple of mouse clicks.   




     

Select Manage Bibliography from the drop-down and begin filling in the information in the sidebar.

Google Docs add-on Highlight Tool

This add-on lets you highlight text directly in a Google Doc, using a convenient sidebar. Any information that opens as a Google Doc, or can be opened as a Google Doc, can use the Highlight Tool.

Open the sidebar by choosing "Highlight Tool > Start". Then create highlighters and use them to highlight selected text. 

Highlights can be named by the color you are using or by the function of each different color (e.g. noun, verb, adj. or topic sentence, supporting fact, conclusion).

This is a test of Google Highlight tool add-on.

There is an almost unlimited wheel of colors.

Colors can be named based on color, or use.

"Share Highlighters" and "Import Highlighters" allow sharing of highlighters between different users.

Doc Tools, a Google Add-On for Google Docs

Doc Tools is a set of single-click tools that let you perform a number of varied actions while working in your text.



You can perform a few "quick" actions from the drop down by highlighting the text and selecting a feature:

- Arrange your table rows or list items in ascending or descending alphabetical order. 
- Convert numbers to words or vice versa

- Quickly change the case of your words, in multiple different formats:

     - change it to all uppercase or lowercase 

     - capitalize each word
     - capitalize each sentence 
     - toggle case 

Or, you can have a side bar of actions by selecting Start from the drop down:

- Increase and Decrease font until you find the right size
- Highlight important information

- Arrange your table rows or list items in ascending or descending alphabetical order. 

- Convert numbers to words or vice versa

- Quickly change the case of your words, in multiple different formats: 
     - change it to all uppercase or lowercase 
     - capitalize each word
     - capitalize each sentence 
     - toggle case