Literacy is a key skill for student success in all subjects. But literacy rates have dropped a lot because of the pandemic, especially in math and reading. How can we help our students improve their reading skills and enjoy text more?
One way is to use the Immersive Reader on the myViewBoard Whiteboard. The Immersive Reader is a tool that changes the way text looks and sounds, to fit the needs and preferences of different learners. It makes text easier to access and understand, and more fun to explore.
In this article, we will talk about what the Immersive Reader can do, why it is important, how we can use it in different subjects, and how to make the most of it in our classrooms.
What the Immersive Reader Can Do
The Immersive Reader is not just a tool that reads text out loud. It has many features that change text in real-time, to match different learning styles. For example, it can:
Read Aloud: Read text with natural voices and different speeds.
Text Preferences: Change the text size, font, spacing, and color.
Grammar Options: Show different parts of speech, like nouns, verbs, and adjectives through color-coded distinctions, to help with comprehension and writing.
Reading Preferences: Use line focus, picture dictionary, and translation to make text simpler and clearer.
Why the Immersive Reader is Important
The Immersive Reader is important because it helps us personalize the reading experience for our students. It supports not only students who have learning differences, like dyslexia, but also students who are learning English, by making language easier and more accessible.
The Immersive Reader also helps our students develop a positive attitude towards reading, as they can choose how they want to read and learn. They can also explore text at their own pace and level and feel more confident and independent in their learning.
Moreover, the Immersive Reader helps us differentiate our teaching and assessment, as we can easily adjust text to suit the needs and abilities of our students. We can also keep track of how our students are doing and give them feedback and support.
How to Use the Immersive Reader in Different Subjects
We can use the Immersive Reader in many ways, in different subjects, to enhance literacy and engagement with text. Here are some examples:
Language Arts: Make literature more interesting by analyzing challenging prose and poetry, using the Grammar Options to understand the language, structure, and meaning of the text.
Sciences: Make science terms and concepts easier to understand, using the Pictionary to make abstract ideas more concrete and visual.
Social Studies: Make history texts and documents more alive, using Reading Preferences to connect with past events and cultures in your own language.
Phonics: Enhance understanding of syllables, sounds and pronunciation in phonics education using the Grammar Options and Voice Settings.
How to Make the Most of the Immersive Reader
To use the Immersive Reader effectively, we should:
Use it Regularly: Use the Immersive Reader in our daily lessons, in different subjects, to help our students get used to it and comfortable with it. We can use the Immersive Reader to introduce new topics, review key concepts, or check learning outcomes.
Teach and Encourage Students How to Use it: Show our students how to use the Immersive Reader by themselves, to help them become more self-reliant and confident in their learning. We can show them how to access and change the Immersive Reader’s features according to their needs and preferences.
Share your experience
Share your experiences, challenges, and successes with the Immersive Reader with other educators in the comments down below. We can exchange tips, creative lesson ideas, and feedback, and learn from each other.
Check out this video on how teacher JoanaChua uses Immersive Reader in her classroom:
To read more on her experience and insights, you can also check out her lesson resource post.
Let’s Try the Immersive Reader
Let’s try the Immersive Reader on the myViewBoard Whiteboard today. You can learn more about how to access and use this tool in our Knowledge Base and join the conversation in the comment section. Let’s work together to improve literacy for our students, one interactive reading session at a time.