Web 2.0 Tools
Read&Write for Google:
What the app does:
Read&Write for Google offers a range of support tools to help learners gain confidence with reading and writing, such as:
- Hear words and passages read aloud with easy to follow along color highlighting.
- See the definition of words explained and with picture dictionaries
- Hear text translated into other languages
- Provides suggestions for the next or current word as you type.
- Turns words into text as you speak
- Highlights text in documents or the internet and collects the information to use in other documents
- Simplifies and summarizes text on web pages
How this tool could be used in education:
Read&Write for Google could be used in the classroom to help new readers and writers by boosting their confidence and offering them support in areas they struggle with. The tool has a feature that suggests words that students can use while writing to make their work flow smoothly and make sense. Students who struggle with writing or are slow writers can use the words to text feature, they read a passage to the app and the app converts what it heard to text. Students what are beginning readers and are struggling to pronounce a word can use the read aloud feature and have the word they are unfamiliar with read aloud to them so they can grasp the pronunciation, they can also use the definition feature to learn the meaning of that word so they can apply it in future contexts. In addition, this web tool has the ability to highlight words while it reads them aloud so students can follow along with the reader. ESL students of ELL students can use the app to translate English words that they are unfamiliar with to their native language so they can understand the meaning of the word and make a connection to the new word to a word in their own language that they are familiar with.
How this tool could remove or reduce barriers for certain learners:
As I said previously this tool can reduce barriers for ESL or ELL learners because it has the ability to translate words in English that they are unfamiliar with into words in their native language so they can form connections between the two words. This tool can also support inexperienced readers or even dyslexics by using the read-aloud feature to correct their reading miscues and help them with pronunciation. The tool can also assist slow writers by utilizing the words to text feature, students just need to read a passage to the app and the app turns into text. The app assists new writers by suggesting words for the student to use.
Read&Write for Google does not have a required age for users.
Read&Write for Google:
What the app does:
Read&Write for Google offers a range of support tools to help learners gain confidence with reading and writing, such as:
- Hear words and passages read aloud with easy to follow along color highlighting.
- See the definition of words explained and with picture dictionaries
- Hear text translated into other languages
- Provides suggestions for the next or current word as you type.
- Turns words into text as you speak
- Highlights text in documents or the internet and collects the information to use in other documents
- Simplifies and summarizes text on web pages
How this tool could be used in education:
Read&Write for Google could be used in the classroom to help new readers and writers by boosting their confidence and offering them support in areas they struggle with. The tool has a feature that suggests words that students can use while writing to make their work flow smoothly and make sense. Students who struggle with writing or are slow writers can use the words to text feature, they read a passage to the app and the app converts what it heard to text. Students what are beginning readers and are struggling to pronounce a word can use the read aloud feature and have the word they are unfamiliar with read aloud to them so they can grasp the pronunciation, they can also use the definition feature to learn the meaning of that word so they can apply it in future contexts. In addition, this web tool has the ability to highlight words while it reads them aloud so students can follow along with the reader. ESL students of ELL students can use the app to translate English words that they are unfamiliar with to their native language so they can understand the meaning of the word and make a connection to the new word to a word in their own language that they are familiar with.
How this tool could remove or reduce barriers for certain learners:
As I said previously this tool can reduce barriers for ESL or ELL learners because it has the ability to translate words in English that they are unfamiliar with into words in their native language so they can form connections between the two words. This tool can also support inexperienced readers or even dyslexics by using the read-aloud feature to correct their reading miscues and help them with pronunciation. The tool can also assist slow writers by utilizing the words to text feature, students just need to read a passage to the app and the app turns into text. The app assists new writers by suggesting words for the student to use.
Read&Write for Google does not have a required age for users.
Flashcard Machine:
http://www.flashcardmachine.com/
What the app does:
This tools allows students and teachers to create interactive digital flashcards that are excellent for memorization. Students create flashcards to study for exams digitally without wasting paper and they have the option to send the flashcards they made to their classmates. Teachers can create flashcards for their students and post them online so his/her students have something interactive to study besides reading off slides.
How the tool could be used in education:
This tool can be used in a wide array of aspects in education, as I stated previously, the Flashcard Machine can be used as a study strategy by students. They can create online flashcards that helps them remember important information for an exam, they can also send the flashcards they have created to their classmates. Personally, I know whenever I study for an exam I always make flashcards as a study strategy and I notice how long it takes me to make the flashcards and how much paper I end up wasting while making them. This tool minimizes the amount of time it takes to make traditional flashcards and does not waste any paper in the process. In addition, teachers can use this tool to show their students effective study strategies, they can create flashcards for their students to study from.
How this tool could remove or reduce barriers for certain learners:
This tool has the ability to change the way learners look at studying, it is an interactive method that keeps students engaged in their studies. A lot of younger children have difficulties staying focused and I believe this tool would help reduce barriers for these students in terms of studying and even just learning in the classroom. From personal experience, my parents were always looking for a way to keep me engaged and focused on my studies because I always found that just reading off notes was extremely boring and didn’t help me to really learn the material at hand. Then I started using flashcards and my parents would make studying with flashcards for me fun and interactive, and more importantly it kept me engaged and interested in what I was learning.
Flashcard Machine does not have a required age for users.
SpiderScribe:
What the app does:
SpiderScribe is a digital mind mapping and brainstorming tool. It allows users to organize and plan out their thoughts in an efficient manner. Users can connect their notes, files and calendar events in free-form maps. They can also collaborate their ideas with others and share their mind maps online with other users.
How the tool could be used in education:
This tool could be used to organize students’ thoughts if they are struggling to plan out their ideas. They can also link together related ideas and information. Teachers can use this tool to interact with their students, they could engage students in collaborating with them to create a mind map of related information. They could also use this tool to “spice up” their notes and present information in a unique and interesting manner.
How this tool could remove or reduce barriers for certain learners:
This tool could assist learners who struggle with organization and planning. For example, students could use this tool to plan out a short story they are about to write. This tool could also be used as a way to describe a character, they could list various characteristics about a specific character in a mind map to give the reader a very explanatory description of a character. Thus, this tool can be used to assist students in organizing their thoughts and arranging their thought process.
SpiderScribe does not have a required age for users.