Page 57 - SEN116 January-February 2022

Assistive technology
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Tutor in your pocket
When children can read independently, teachers can connect, coach, and collaborate.
In most classrooms, a teacher’s time is usually divided, undemocratically. It is influenced by resources, numbers, student combinations, and the needs of learners who are unable to read or decode the resources in front of them.
In a recent survey compiled by Scanning Pens, asking 250 SENCOs and Literacy Coordinators about reading recovery needs in their schools, 84% said their students were not reading at age-appropriate levels at the start of this academic year. With 68% stating their students are reading at least 9 months below target age, the alarm was raised further with 69% of teachers surveyed saying their school isn’t equipped to provide the necessary recovery.
The pressure is on, and teachers feel the need to do better. To find a solution. But how can these questions be resolved when the demands from students outweigh the teaching supply?
There are reading solutions available that don’t require input from a teacher.
ReaderPenTM
Portable, text-to-speech devices, the ReaderPenTM decodes and accelerates learning independence.
When reading is covered, students can take control of their own learning journey.
ReaderPenTM plays back scanned text through headphones, or via the built-in speaker, as a way of supporting multi- sensory reading. As each word is spoken it is highlighted. This highlighting helps students to make the connection between the word and that word’s sound. How often do students
ask teaching assistants to read a sentence over and over? Rarely. Most students only ask once, even if they didn’t hear or comprehend the tutor’s response. With instant playback, students can listen to a sentence as many times as they like without feeling embarrassed.
The ReaderPenTM contains dictionary definitions to provide immediate validation. These quick definitions keep the flow of reading moving, allowing students to read at their own pace without having to go back and forth to a dictionary.
Trial free at scanningpens.com
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