There is technology that allows you to take a photo of a poster, book, page from a magazine, etc. then convert it to text. From there it can be read aloud, translated, and read aloud in the translated language. It can also be brought into a word processing program for editing in the translated language to increase accuracy.
Here are some ways this technology makes content accessible to learners:
- Visually impaired learners can hear the content read
- Learners who are not reading at the level of the text can have the content read to them
- Learners for whom English is not their first language can have the content translated. It can also be read to them in their language.
How To:
Here is how this works:
First, on your phone, take the photo in Office Lens. Then save it to OneNote.
Next, go to your computer and open OneNote. Then, follow these steps:
- Go to “View” in the menu
- Select “Immersive Reader”
- o This converts the photo into text
- Go to the bottom of the screen a select the play arrow
- o This reads the text
- Select “Reading Preferences” in the top right part of your screen
- Go to “Translate”
- Pick a language
- Select “Document”
- o Now your document is translated
- You can go to the bottom of the screen and select the play arrow to hear the document read aloud
Here is a demonstration:
Your turn
What do you think? Is this something you might use with your students? How do you see using it?
Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) has worked as a public-school educator and administrator since 1997. She is a prolific writer best known for her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator. Nielsen is the author of several booksand her writing has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times,The Wall Street Journal, Tech&Learning, and T.H.E. Journal.
