Closing the socio-economic gap in early literacy. Closing the skill maturity gap in early literacy. Closing the "way our brains work" gap in early literacy. By bringing universally available text-to-speech into early primary classrooms.

1. Text-To-Speech from the Start A Primary Support for Lifespan Learning Ira David Socol Michigan State University speedchange.blogspot.com

2. PowerPoint will be posted via SlideShare at speedchange.blogspot.com Google “speedchange” or “ira socol”

3. “ Text-to-speech is the new black.” David Pogue in The New York Times Wednesday

4. Sophisticated text-to-speech systems are typically thought of as accommodations for readers who have already fallen behind their classmates, and for those diagnosed with specific learning disabilities.

5. These systems are rarely employed with students in the primary grades, and are rarely offered to most students, yet these are the very supports which may make the largest differences in school success, right from the start.

6. These technologies can re-shape the literacy playing field from the very beginning, and thus significantly alter the opportunities for school success by increasing access to curricular content for the most vulnerable students, by providing a series of critical supports.

7. Access Information Access Communication Build Vocabulary Build Sight-word Recognition Participate in Curriculum Engage Interests

8. Increase “Read-to Time” Solving the “Parent-to-Child Reading Gap”

9. Build Independence Access Text and Information Tools on their own Schedule.

10. Prove the Value of Literacy Demonstrating why reading is valuable and is more than just a school task.

11. Lifespan Technologies The ability to shift media into useful forms is now essential – at home, at work, even in your car.

12. “ Kids come to school at five all wanting to read, but by the time they get to me, they hate books.” - my mother, a long-time 3 rd Grade teacher

13. WYNN Chosen for the interface, and supports, which seem to support the greatest range of learners.

14. Using WYNN for basic reading for school reading for interest-based reading

17. Using WYNN for advanced studying for writing

19. Using WYNN Creating Books scanning from digital sources cameras and typing images

20. OnLine Sources Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg Australia University of Virginia Literature Network ABC Books Bookshare

21. The Copyright Issue You should own the book in some form. If you do, you can convert it for those who need to read it in alternative format.

22. Free Supports at Home Google Docs Firefox plus Add- Ons CLiCk -Speak , Dictionary Lookup , gTranslate WordTalk

23. Free Supports at Home Microsoft Reader with Text-To-Speech engine and Read in Microsoft Reader (RMR) add-ons - FREE http://www.microsoft.com/reader/downloads/ pc.asp (laptop/desktop PC) http://www.microsoft.com/reader/downloads/ tablet.asp (tablet PC, with "write notes in the margins!") http://www.microsoft.com/reader/developers/downloads/ tts.asp (Text-To-Speech) http://www.microsoft.com/reader/developers/downloads/ rmr.asp (RMR, creates one-click conversions from Microsoft Word) http://www.microsoft.com/reader/downloads/ dictionaries.asp (Dictionaries)

24. Free Supports at Home PowerPoint Books PowerTalk

25. Universal Design: Creating access to information and communication for all students, based in needs/preferences not diagnoses/pathologies.

26. Toolbelt Theory: It is our job to help our students assemble their lifespan toolbelts. Collect the tools which will help them in each and every situation.

27. speedchange.blogspot.com Ira David Socol Michigan State University