I love to read. If I am not working or spending time with my daughters I am reading. But when I was in elementary school reading was what I dreaded the most. In my classes we had the “blue birds” and “red birds” reading groups. I was a blue bird. A weak reader. Stuck in a group with the other weak readers. Thinking back on that time as an adult it was a deflating time as a kid. I know the teacher did it so she could work with us in a small group but the rest of the class knew we were the weak readers.

Whether students need help in reading or other aspects of learning the subtle differences some teachers do to provide more accessible learning, while unintentional, can have devastating effects on students. Different color handouts for various reading levels or pulling students out to get extra attention all can stigmatize, cause anxiety and push students away.

Inclusion means that learning together is a better way that benefits everyone. Inclusive learning is about embracing all. It’s making a promise to each student to do all we can to help them belong to the community of learners.

This is where #Edtech can help.

Keep in mind, our focus is to create environments where every student can succeed. It’s not on a singular app or website or tool. It’s how these tools support learning and strong pedagogy.

Immersive Reader from Microsoft is one of the strongest pedagogically focused edtech resources out there. It is a powerful tool that can help all students become stronger readers and writers while letting them do it when and how they need it. Students can turn it on when they need it and use any of the features they want any time.

What makes it great?

• Breaking down sentences in to individual word parts like syllables and parts of speech.
• Line focus
• Changing fonts and colors for students who are dyslectic or have vision impairment
• Read aloud
• Translation in to multiple different languages, with read aloud
• Picture dictionary

This is just a sample. There is so much more that it can do! Immersive Reader WORKS ON ANY DEVICE and can be found in a multitude of products both from Microsoft and others. And its FREE!

Immersive Reader is just one tool that you can use to create more inclusive spaces. Microsoft Translator and Office Lens (both, you guessed it, free!) are others. Check out the learning paths in the Microsoft Educator Community for any time professional development (yep, free) to learn how all these Learning Tools can support you and your students!