Accessibility Features of Chromebooks & Google Classroom

Text-to-Speech:

• The free version of the Read&Write Toolbar gives full features for a 30-day trial period, but the text-to-speech features remain available indefinitely.
• On Chromebooks, text-to-speech can be enabled in the Accessibility menu to read sections of text (Settings > Advanced > Accessibility > Text-to-Speech > Enable Select-to-Speak).

Speech-to-Text:

• Within Google Docs, Voice Typing is available as a standard feature under the Tools menu.
• Within Google Slides, Voice Type Speaker Notes is also available under the Tools menu.
• On Chromebooks, speech-to-text can be enabled in the Accessibility Menu to work in any text field (Settings > Advanced > Accessibility > Keyboard and Text Input > Enable Dictation).

Web Page Readability:

• For students on Cameron's or Robin's caseload, they have access to the Read&Write Toolbar's Simplify Page feature to clear clutter from the page, as well as the Screen Mask feature which provides a shaded movable line tracker.
• BeeLine reader is available as an approved Chrome extension for students to aid with tracking from one line to the next while reading.
• OpenDyslexic font is available for students with Bookshare accounts, but has not been approved by ICTS as a Chrome extension.

High-Contrast:

• On Chromebooks, students can toggle on/off inverted colors to aid with contrast (Settings > Advanced > Accessibility > Use High Contrast Mode)
  Dictionary:
• On Chromebooks, students can right-click a word on any webpage to bring up the Look Up feature.
• For students with access to the Read&Write toolbar, they have access to both a regular and picture dictionary.

Cursor/Mouse-related:

• On Chromebooks, within the accessibility menu, changes can be made to the cursor size as well as highlighting the mouse icon when it is moving (Settings > Advanced > Accessibility > Mouse and Touchpad)

Organization:

• Google Keep is available to all students through the "waffle" in Chrome.

Other:

• Other accessibility features can also be toggled on/off or adjusted on Chromebooks within the accessibility menu. More information and step-by-step instructions are available here.