Six Apps To Help With Reading

By JoLynne Lyon | April 12, 2017

Do you have resources for people with learning disabilities?

It's one of the most frequently asked questions I hear at public events when I'm representing the Utah Assistive Technology Program. We recently addressed the question in a webinar featuring Kent Remund of the Utah Center for Assistive Technology. Here are some resources and short videos on apps for reading and comprehension.

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Note
Prices vary and features change, so please, do your own research before you buy.

Read & Write for Google

Price varies. Free 30-day trial, after which a subscription is needed for premium features. At last check it was $129 per year for private use, less expensive in schools. More information at the texthelp web page.

This is a Chrome extension, available in the Chrome store; it works on a PC, Mac or Chromebook.

Features:

  • Reads what's on the page out loud for visual and auditory feedback to improve comprehension
  • Integrates with Google Docs to play back documents
  • Predicts words as you type them in
  • "Understands" phonetic spelling
  • Built-in dictionary
  • Allows dictation of documents
  • Collects highlighted passages and assembles them into a separate document

LiveScribe Echo Smartpen

$130 on Amazon

Features:

  • Pen records audio, has a camera that detects where the pen is on its specialized paper
  • Plays back the audio when the pen touches the paper where the notes were taken
  • Must be used with specialized paper
  • Can attach a headset
  • Notes can be dropped into a free program that stores all audio and text
  • Can be used as a calculator
  • Best for motivated students in secondary ed and college

Notability

$9.99 in App Store

Features:

  • Can type or hand-write notes on an iPad
  • Touch on the screen and audio will play back
  • Features similar to smartpen, but it's an iPad app

CoWriter

$34.99 in App Store

Features:

  • Predicts text
  • Reads back what the student has written
  • Predicts words that are spelled phonetically
  • Looks for information on educational websites to predict text that is relevant to the topic
  • Can be customized for students

Claro ScanPen

$6.99

Features:

  • Can take a picture of a document and read it back
  • Can change speed rate

Prizmo

$9.99

Features:

  • Scans page, allows people to add notes, can translate and read back.
  • Claro ScanPen and Prizmo are both featured in the short video below.

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