Assessing students, access arrangements and changes to JCQ requirements
14th July 2016 -This week, we have a guest blog from Caroline Read, Senior Course Tutor at Communicate-ed, who tells us about the impact for this year on the changes to JCQ qualification requirements and what measures schools can take in the interim before the new qualification requirements come fully into force in September 2017.
Continue ReadingCreate audio files, customize your toolbar, and more with Read&Write for Google Chrome
12th May 2016 -Read&Write for Google Chrome users have yet another reason to be excited about the literacy support toolbar used by over 4.5 million students and teachers in classrooms across the globe. Today we’re excited to announce several new updates available for immediate use, including:
- Speech Maker - Select text in a Google Doc or the Web and create an MP3 file with a single click.
- Customizable Toolbar - You can now add, remove and re-order individual features on the Read&Write toolbar
- Keyboard Accessibility - Improved keyboard accessibility is now available. Just activate the toolbar and use your arrow or tab keys to choose the feature you need.
- Improvements to our Icons, Dictionary, Translator, and more!
Check out the quick video below, and continue reading for more details.
Continue Reading5 Tips for Studying More Effectively
5th May 2016 -As final exams are fast approaching, now would be the optimal time to review ways students can help themselves to truly understand and retain the information covered over the last term. We often assume that by high school students know not only methods to learn, but the ways which are most effective for the individual. But learning how to learn from lecture, reading, and videos is rarely the focus of any class. Here are five tips that will assist students in studying text more effectively.
Continue ReadingPDFs and Accessibility: What you Need to Know
21st April 2016 -Please note that this article has been updated as of November 2021 and can be found here.
PDFs have reigned as a standard document format among schools, businesses, and really anyone sharing information in the digital world. There are many reasons they have remained popular, so many in fact that we probably take for granted why they are so effective. PDFs are a perfect snapshot of a paper document, and can be universally opened across devices and applications with a consistent experience. Other documents like Word docs or Google docs may not always look the same when opened on different machines. PDFs are also easy to share, can be secured and locked down to prevent changes to the content, and are easy to create without advanced software or technical knowledge.
However, it’s important to remember that not all PDFs are created equal. In this article, we’ll look at two big questions you should ask yourself about the PDFs you’re using or creating, and we’ll discuss different Texthelp tools that can help you and your students make the most of PDFs as instructional content.
Continue ReadingLanguage barriers: taking the stress out of mastering English
14th April 2016 -Learning a new language is a big deal at any age. Mastery of their mother tongue is a child’s passport to understanding the world and interacting with others. Later on, grasping a second language – or a third, or fourth – can have an impact on employment and relationships that’s literally life-changing.
With almost a billion native and non-native speakers combined, English is one of the world’s most widely spoken languages – and it’s certainly the most important in terms of international communication.
Continue ReadingRead&Write is Still Free for Teachers
30th March 2016 -With over 4 million users, Read&Write for Google Chrome™ continues to be the top literacy support tool for Google Apps for Education users across the world. But did you know it’s completely free for teachers?
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