PROMOTION: TEXTHELP
NEW ZEALAND SCHOOL LEADING THE WAY WITH ACCESSIBLE CURRICULUM THROUGH CHROMEBOOKS AND READ&WRITE FOR GOOGLE
At a glance – About Waiau Pa School Number of students at Waiau Pa School: 350 Google Apps for Education 1:1 Chromebooks in the classroom Waiau Pa provides a strong emphasis on literacy and numeracy The school enhances student learning through ICT and a specialist music programme
The Challenge Waiau Pa required a resource compatible with Google Apps for Education to support their students with learning needs
The Solution Discovering a Word Prediction and Speech-to-Text tool that can integrate with Google Docs and Chromebooks to support students. Read&Write for Google has enabled students to work confidently and independently
Background Waiau Pa School is a rural school in New Zealand. There are approximately 350 students in years 1–8. The year 7 & 8 students attend Technology at Rosehill Intermediate and are then zoned for Rosehill College. At Waiau Pa there is a strong emphasis on literacy and numeracy and the school recognises the talents and abilities of all students through a range of varied programmes. The school enhances student learning through ICT and a specialist music programme. There is a high standard of teaching and learning with emphasis on creating an environment where students have fun and feel safe.
Challenge Waiau Pa enables 1:1 computing through the use of Chromebooks. Andrea Williams’ Year 5 & 6 class was the fi rst to use the Chromebooks and she struggled to fi nd the apps and programs that she could use daily. Andrea had a high level of students in
her class with learning needs, so she started by using speech-to-text apps to help with fl uency when writing but was desperately trying to fi nd a word predictive program.
Solution When Andrea was looking for a word
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predictive program for her Year 5 & 6 class, she found Read&Write for Google and began implementing it with her students and couldn’t be happier with the results. She fi rst started using it with two high-
needs students. In working with Ethan, one specifi c student with dyslexia, Andrea started using the text-to-speech and prediction as he struggles to read and make sense of a whole word. The new tool was a revelation for him as he was able to write more freely, focusing on the initial sounds of words and not getting stressed by trying to read and spell every word. Ethan would have previously been frustrated reading his work back to himself as he couldn't understand what he had written. Next, Andrea introduced highlighting and
text-to-speech options for the whole class to use. Students would use the text-to-speech function to make sure their work made sense. She gave colour instructions for highlighting which the students found extremely helpful – for example red highlights for adjectives, blue
“As a result of using Read&Write for Google, my students are able to work confidently and independently. Read&Write for Google has improved the quality of their written work.” Andrea Williams, Waiau Pa Teacher.
for similes, pink for speech, etc. This would allow students to monitor their own writing and be able to instantly see what they needed to add to their work, giving students more ownership and a much clearer understanding of what they needed to include in their work. This was the fi rst time Andrea’s students were able to use every feature on one toolbar on Read&Write for Google, rather than several diff erent apps; saving so much time.
Capabilities Waiau Pa students have found word prediction, speech-to-text, and the ability to play back what they have written to be hugely motivating, even for seniors. The students look at writing diff erently and objectively and now have the confi dence to write independently. It frees up teachers to be more available to support others rather than being 1:1 with struggling learners. “To fi nd a product that gives these
students independence, confi dence and the ability to complete tasks to the best of their ability has been wonderful,” says Andrea. The fact that Read&Write for Google
is an all-in-one toolbar in one place has saved Andrea and her students hours of time as they previously used diff erent apps for diff erent areas of support. ET
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