Tech Tools to Support Literacy Accommodations
by
PSN Team 
Print This Article
As the summer comes to an end and school preparations start, many of you are, like us, reviewing accommodations with your child’s teachers and paraprofessionals, as well as with your child if appropriate for their age and cognitive level. So, how do we make the most of the accommodations without going overboard? Accommodations come in lots of different forms and levels of support. They are great for “leveling the playing field” for students with disabilities when used appropriately. When not implemented consistently or when used in a way that offers more support than the student needs, they can undermine the original purpose of having them.
With this in mind, we started thinking about what seem to be the most common types of accommodations used in classrooms, those intended to support reading and writing needs. At BridgingApps, we get a lot of questions about how to support these needs! We decided to offer you some inspiration for supporting your child in the classroom and at home by sharing apps, both for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets and for your PC, that support literacy. We hope that you will find at least one tool that works for your child and maybe even for you, as these apps are helpful for people of all ages.
Hope you all have a great school year!
Read&Write for iPad
By: Texthelp Ltd.
The Read&Write app offers an alternative keyboard for your device that allows you to type and have what you have written read back to you with the touch of a button when using apps such as messages, notes, and other productivity apps. It also has an option to add Read&Write to your Safari web browser toolbar, allowing the user to have any webpage content read aloud to them. Read&Write is easy to use and installation is quick, mostly involving giving the app permission to access your keyboard and Safari content.
Free • Offers In-App Purchases
SnapType Pro 2
By SNAPTYPE, LLC
SnapType Pro 2 is the newly updated version of the much loved SnapType app used by occupational therapists and teachers for years. SnapType Pro 2 allows students to complete worksheets without the worry of their handwriting being illegible. They can quickly “snap” a picture of the worksheet, or virtually anything, and then “type” directly onto it. This app could greatly benefit users with handwriting difficulties related to dysgraphia, low vision, low muscle tone, Parkinson’s, and more.
$29.99 • Offers In-App Purchases
Glean Notes
By: Sonocent Ltd
Glean Notes mobile app allows you to capture information by recording classes, highlighting key information to aid in studying, and then syncing them seamlessly with the web app to add slides. This is a great tool for older students who have difficulty taking notes during lectures as well as those who prefer to have the visual input of a lecture to look back on when studying.
Free
Morphic
By: Raising the Floor
Morphic is an all-in-one accessibility shortcut for your computer, making it easy for anyone to access the accessibility features built into the operating system of your PC or Mac. Morphic easily allows users to adjust the screen size, open a magnifying tool, take quick screenshots with a snipping tool, read a selected piece of text, and even change the screen contrast & color, all from one simple toolbar. Morphic Basic is free to download and is packed with features; however, they also offer a subscription for users to purchase additional features, such as creating custom toolbars called Morphic Plus.
Free • Offers In-App Purchases
Learning Ally Audiobooks
By: Learning Ally
Learning Ally provides access to audiobooks for students identified with dyslexia or other reading disabilities who struggle with decoding, fluency or comprehension, as well as those who are blind or visually impaired and those with a physical disability that prohibits them from reading traditional print. We love all of the wonderful features built into Learning Ally, such as the ability for the user to customize the appearance of the text, background, highlight colors, as well as the pitch, speed, and volume of the text being read to them. Learning Ally is unique in that the reader sees each word highlighted as it is being read.
Free • Offers In-App Purchases
Check out BridgingApps App Search Tool to search for apps, create lists, and share them.
BridgingApps, a program of Easter Seals Greater Houston, is a community of parents, therapists, doctors and teachers who share information about using mobile devices with people who have special needs.
Amy Fuchs is the Program Manager at BridgingApps and a former special education teacher. Amy Barry is the Digital Marketing Lead at BridgingApps and mother of five children.
Cristen Reat is co-founder of BridgingApps and a mother who found success when using a mobile device with her younger son who has multiple disabilities. We share a passion for using mobile technology to enhance the lives of people of all ages with disabilities.
Helpful Articles
- Tech Tools to try in 2024
- App Spotlight: AVAZ Together
- 7 Apps for Students with Special Needs Back to School Success!
- Life-Changing Apps for People with Disabilities
- Tech Tips for Your Smart Home
- Embracing Your Child’s Best Ways of Learning 12 Different Ways to Learn
- How Technology Aids Families with Disabilities
- Language and Literacy Learning: Success With Technology
This post originally appeared on our July/August 2023 Magazine
