By Shawna Audet
I like to divide technological tools that help struggling readers/writers into two categories. The first type of tools are the ones that actually work to resolve the reading/writing problem. The second type of tools are those that allow students to show their abilities - not their disabilities - through accessibility features such as speech-to-text and text to speech.
Phonemic Awareness
Jollyphonics - excellent program to teach the phonemes
DaisyQuest - an app - not a program - but is proven to help
Decoding
Jollyphonics - for beginner decoding (K-1)
Lexia - student can do this online (only helps with reading - does not move the dial on writing)
Reading 101 - Free course for reading teachers - Reading Rockets
Remediation Programs that Work
Barton - you will hire tutor trained in the Barton method
Wilson - you will hire tutor trained in the Wilson method
Dyslexia Training Institute - you will hire tutor trained in the D.T.I. method
Fluency
Vocabulary
Word Wizard - app that lets you make personalized vocabulary lists with pictures - test feature too
Comprehension
Newsela - news articles with multiple reading levels from which you can choose
Readworks - reading passages with multiple reading levels from which you can choose
Recommended Apps - these apps are recommended by Reading Rockets, a trusted site
Accessibility Tools
Office 365 - Immersive reader (text to speech tool) - free accounts available for students
OneNote - Speech to text
Edge Browser - text to speech for websites - free download
Watch tutorials on how to use Office 365, OneNote, and the Edge Browser.
Other Tools
Core Phonics Survey - this 20 minutes survey can help you to find the gaps in your child's reading/writing skills
Phonemic Awareness Drill - this drill was developed by the Dyslexia Training Institute.
Blog about books that help students move from decoding to fluency
Syllable Card Drill - this a a great drill to get your child working on multi-syllable words