Reading Comprehension & nT – December 2011
Reading Aloud – Riding the Sound Waves to Success
Did you know that netTrekker offers text-to-speech support for all of the content and information in our interface? How does adding auditory support to text-based information benefit learners? The benefits of bringing flat, text-based content to life for learners are numerous…
- Personalize a student’s experience by converting text to speech to increase comprehension – give them the independence and choice for when to seek assistance with material using the read aloud tool.
- Improve the skills associated with reading, predicting, writing, speaking and listening.
- Increase vocabulary by letting students listen to material well above their reading level.
- Develop imagination, foster curiosity and increase attention span with read aloud.
- Increase a student’s ability to maintain sustained silent reading.
- Engage students – listening to information being read aloud is fun! Leverage the power of a tool that is fun and works like a super booster to literacy at the same time with netTrekker’s Read Aloud.
netTrekker Global Portfolio
Check out some of the great ideas for using Read Aloud with resources in our Global Portfolio collection. Be sure to hover over the item to see the description of how to use the Read Aloud tool most effectively and what settings to pick – launch the resource and turn on the Read Aloud tool and highlight text on the page to begin.
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How can the Read Aloud function in netTrekker help you reach more of your literacy objectives with your students? Are there specific students that you see this tool being more useful for than others? Join us on Facebook for the conversation! Share your thoughts on our Facebook wall!
ELL Resources: Inspired testimonials from NT101 Participants
No two children, like the beautiful butterflies that open this blog, are identical. And like butterflies, netTrekker’s ELL Channel and differentiated instruction features help each learner to take flight. As the school year is quickly coming to close, I’m reminded that it’s IEP and 504 plan time. These very important meetings dedicate time to students with special learning needs to have their plan re-evaluated and decide what should be included for the following year.
As the netTrekker 101 online course facilitator, I just wrapped up module six on using netTrekker with English Language Learners. The course participants filled the discussion forums with very thoughtful content which may be helpful to those of you who are writing IEP and 504 plans.
I am delighted to share with you several of the participants’ comments from the discussion board about the Dictionary Hot Key, Read Aloud, Readability, and other refinement features in netTrekker. Enjoy these testimonials from passionate educators.
“ I love these features!! What a wonderful service for students!! First of all, the students LOVE to use earphones—I KNOW they are not just skimming over the information because they are sitting there listening to the netTrekker article…in TOTAL!!
It’s also a great feature for one of my teachers who is legally blind. He loved it because he could listen instead of using his super magnifiers & putting his face up to the screen.
I loved the dictionary hot button when I went to some science related websites via netTrekker. There were words that I didn’t know & instead of moving ahead, I stopped to find out the meaning of the word.
Wonderful Service to students and teachers alike!!!”
Gina Lunsford, Woodlands Christian Academy, TX
“As a high school English teacher, I think the best feature from this week is the read aloud button. In my classroom I have so many different levels (especially reading levels). Many students struggle with reading on their own. This button makes it an even playing field.
I look forward to utilizing this to help the students grasp concepts better in my classroom.”
Carrie Brisbane, Charter Tech High School, NJ
“Even as a regular education teacher my students can benefit from the readability tab and read aloud feature. There are low-level readers in our classrooms as well and it can provide that extra support that the student may need.
I love the dictionary hot key feature because it provides not only a definition but word origin as well. It is always fun to discuss with students where words originate from and how they came to our country.”
Kalin Wilburn, Mansfield School District, OH
“The read aloud feature allows students to explore and learn on their own even if their English reading skills are not particularly strong. Many second language learners learn spoken language much faster than written language because they are immersed in the spoken language of their second language in their new country. Read Aloud provides these learners the opportunity to strengthen their reading skills because the see the words as they listen to the reading.”
Sarah Garrett
Glacier Hills Elementary, MN
To take full advantage of the many resources to support ELL students and to customize enrichment resources for all of your students, visit the ELL Channel in netTrekker.
A few spaces are still available for the Summer 2010 session of NT101. TO REGISTER: Contact your Account Manager. If you have questions or need additional information, please e-mail Amy Ellisor, the NT101 Course facilitator, aellisor@nettrekker.com.