Everyone learns and shows what they know in different ways. Macs can assist you and match your learning style. Your Mac is a powerful tool. It can do a lot!!! It has the ability to make reading and writing tasks more doable, in the way that works best for you.
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The Eugene School District primarily uses Mac laptops for grades 6-12. Many of the tools listed below will also pertain to Chrome books and PCs.
There are very good accessibility features that are already built into Macs, and to supplement those tools, all students and staff have a subscription to Read&Write for Google Chrome by Texthelp.
Explore further down this page to find instructions pertaining to specific accessibility features.
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How to digitized paper materials or inaccessible PDFs-go to UDL/AEM page
The UDL/AEM page on this website shows educators how to create digitized, accessible curriculum, and this page walks students and staff through the process of setting up their computers with tools so that they can access the digitized text. If some assignments are not digitized, students are encouraged to contact their teachers to convert the format.
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READING SUPPORT
Text-to-speech (TTS)
TTS is commonly used to read text on the screen aloud by a computer or other device. It can be helpful or even critical for a variety of students. It supports those with visual impairments, learning disabilities, attention issues, or motor challenges. It can also build reading skills and improve comprehension of the material when students read and listen to text at the same time. TTS is invaluable for our students whose primary language is not English. (see ELL supports page on this site) There are many voices to choose from and speed settings can be individualized. There are many language options as well.
Text-to-Speech Overview –video and slideshow
Mac Built-in Text-to-Speech
Students, staff, and families can set up the built-in Mac text-to-speech features using the resources below for support. The built-in TTS features will function in any application:
The Mac text-to-speech feature known as “Speak Selection” will read any selectable digitized text on the screen with the keystroke combination Control + R. (select the text, then hit Control then R.) For more robust text-to-speech support, the Mac feature known as “Speak items under the pointer” can be set up to read aloud text under the cursor/pointer. This allows text-to-speech accessibility with menus, prompts, buttons, etc.
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- 2023/24 Student MacBooks (Mac OS Ventura)
- Mac Text-to-Speech -“Speak Selection“
- Staff MacBooks (Mac OS Monterrey)
- Mac Text-to-Speech -“Speak Selection“
- Mac Text-to-Speech -“Speak items under the pointer“
- Mac Zoom -For visual support and activating “Speak items under the pointer”
- High Quality “Siri” Voices -For Mac Text-to-speech
- Staff MacBooks (running MacOS 11 Big Sur and older) – PDF Instructions
- 2023/24 Student MacBooks (Mac OS Ventura)
Google Read&Write Text-to-Speech
The Google Read&Write extension will read most text accessed through the Google Chrome Browser.
Google Read&Write text-to-speech has dual highlighting, which in the Google Chrome browser, is superior to the built-in Mac text-to-speech features, and offers many additional tools.
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- How to Access Google Read&Write
- How to use Google Read&Write text-to-speech features
- How to choose a preferred voice and adjust the speaking rate –PDF Instructions
- Refer to the Google Read&Write tab above for more info on Google Read&Write features
Using Text-to-Speech in Canvas
In Canvas on a Mac, both the built-in Mac TTS and Read&Write TTS tools work well to read the selected text. Students accustomed to using the built-in Mac TTS may find it easier to continue using it in Canvas too. Students using the Read&Write extension for other types of support may want to use it for TTS also. video
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Writing Support
Speech-to-Text
Speech-to-text (Dictation) can help students express what they know. Allowing students to submit their ideas using their voice can be a great 1st step in the writing process and can help students get their ideas into written format.
Speech-to-Text Overview –video and slideshow
Students, staff, and families can set up dictation on 4J Mac computers using the resources below for support. There are 3 main dictation tools available to students on a Mac.
- Built-in Mac dictation -Press the F5 key to allow text to be dictated anywhere writing occurs while using the Mac. ***Except for Google Docs when using Google Chrome***
- PDF Instructions 2023/24 School Year -OS Ventura
- PDF Instructions 2022/23 School Year -OS Monterey
- Video Instructions
- NOTE: Older Macs are set up to activate dictation with the keystrokes FN FN.
- Google Read&Write -The Talk&Type feature will provide speech-to-text only in the Google Chrome Browser. For example, it can be used in Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, Canvas, and most websites with the option to write.
- How to Access Google Read&Write
- How to use Google Read&Write “Talk&Type”
- Voice Typing -Available only in Google Docs when using the Google Chrome browser. Select Tools > Voice Typing
Using Dictation (speech-to-text) in Canvas
In Canvas on a Mac, both the built-in Mac dictation and Read&Write “Talk&Type” tools work well for speech-to-text. Students accustomed to using the built-in Mac dictation tool may find it easier to continue using it in Canvas too. Students using the Read&Write extension for other types of support may want to use “Talk&Type” for speech-to-text also. If typing in a Google Doc, it is best to use Read&Write -“Talk&Type” or the “Voice Typing” tool. The “Voice Typing” tool can be found in Docs under the “Tools” tab.
Watch the video to see the built-in Mac dictation tool with Canvas. video
Watch this video to see how to use Read&Write “Talk&Type” to dictate in Canvas.video
Here are a few tips when using speech-to-text (dictation):
- Rehearse a given thought/idea using slow & clear speech for practice.
- After activating the dictation microphone, wait 1 second before
speaking. - Dictate punctuation/endmarks (in addition to auto punctuation)
- Start/stop the microphone between thoughts/ideas, unless capable of
clearly speaking multiple sentences with endmarks and without long
pauses or excessive background noises. - Look away from the screen while dictating to reduce distractions and
increase focus on the intended speech.
Word Prediction
Word prediction can support students with spelling, reading, and motor challenges. It predicts word choices and completes word spelling based on phonetics and context. It can help build spelling skills and increase the use of vocabulary. Students with motor challenges and learning disabilities can type out more words with fewer keystrokes.
Word Prediction Overview –video and slideshow
District MacBooks have 2 robust word prediction programs available to all students. Both programs are Google Chrome extensions and must be accessed within the Chrome browser by “syncing” to a 4J username and password. Both provide spelling and vocabulary support in a variety of languages in any writing area in Chrome.
Read&Write
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- Visually supported vocabulary
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- Visual toolbar for easy access
How to Access Google Read&Write
How to use Google Read&Write Word Prediction
Co:Writer
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- Best word prediction algorithm -“better predictor”
- Topic dictionaries for specific vocabulary
How to Access Co:Writer
How to use Co:Writer
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PDF Accessibility
Canvas “Student Annotation”
The recommended method of assigning PDFs to students is to use the Canvas “Student Annotation” submission option. This will give students full access to both reading and writing tasks. Both Read&Write and Mac Accessibility features work well with this option. It presents the fewest steps for students to access and submit their PDF assignments.
***Teachers***
Slideshow Instructions for assigning PDFs in Canvas with “Student Annotation”
Video Instructions for assigning PDFs in Canvas with “Student Annotation”
Canvas PDFs without “Student Annotation”
If the “Student Annotation” option is not available to students in a Canvas assignment, students can use both the built-in MacBook text-to-speech and Google R&W text-to-speech features with read-only PDFs.
If annotation and other features are needed for writing accessibility, there are some good work-arounds that students can use:
OrbitNote Chrome Extension
OrbitNote is a Google Chrome extension that provides great reading and writing accessibility with PDF formats.
- How to open PDFs with OrbitNote–Instructions
- How to use reading/writing accessibility tools in OrbitNote –instructions
Preview Application
Download and open accessible PDFs in the PREVIEW application
Download and open PDFs in the PREVIEW application first. Then use the text-to-speech accessibility feature Control R to read selected text aloud. Use the “Markup” feature to annotate using the keyboard or voice/dictation F5.
Screenshot inaccessible PDFs/text and open it in the PREVIEW application so it can be read aloud
If a student is assigned a PDF and the text is not selectable, this means it has not been scanned on a school copier using the OCR (optical character recognition) option. It is considered “inaccessible” for students using text-to-speech. STAFF: See this video on our “Creating Accessible Educational Materials (AEM) for UDL” tab for staff instructions on OCR scanning.
Solution: Students can screenshot images and inaccessible PDFs on their Macs, open them in PREVIEW, which will convert the text (in the moment/not permanently) with OCR, to allow text-to-speech accessibility with the reading content. Students can also annotate the screenshot in the PREVIEW application.
Capture photos of paper documents and open them in the PREVIEW application
If a student is handed a paper worksheet or quiz and cannot read the text, there are options for converting this text in-the-moment. The student can also mark up/type on the worksheet if needed.
- Use the camera that is built into the laptop with the application PhotoBooth to take a picture of the worksheet and annotate on top of it if needed. NOTE: Use good lighting and bring the document closer to the camera for smaller font sizes.
- Another way to send a photo from a smartphone or tablet to a laptop is to upload/save the photo to your Google Drive on your device, then open the photo in your Google Drive on your laptop. You can download the photo, then open it in Preview.
- Take a photo of a worksheet with an iPhone or iPad and connect it to the laptop with a cable/adapter. Send the photo to the Image Capture application. You can then open the photo in Preview on the Mac and use the text-to-speech and annotation/markup features to complete the worksheet. See video
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Open Dyslexic Font
Converting web content with the OpenDyslexic extension in Google Chrome –Instructions
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Simplifying a Webpage to reduce clutter
Some webpages include ads and a lot of visual clutter that can be distracting to students. To simplify a web page, the student must be in Safari.
Tap on this icon in browser bar. 
You can toggle between show reader view and hide reader view.
If you want to share this simplified web page with a student, who can then use the text-to-speech tool to read it, go to FILE to EXPORT AS PDF. Share this PDF with student in Google Drive.
If a student wants to mark up this PDF after reading it, have them save the web page in BOOKS. Go to the share icon to see the list of places that you can send this page. Go to More if you don’t see BOOKS. Check the Save to Books box to add it to the list.
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When they click on the PDF in Books, it will open in Preview and allow them to mark up the page. Click on the pencil icon to use the tools. 
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Closed Captioning in Chrome
There is a simple way to activate Closed Captioning (CC) in Chrome: video
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