Support Tools

Google Docs - Voice Typing

Pupils will require a microphone for this to work. All Dell Chromebooks deployed for the 1-1 roll-out have a built in microphone. Voice recognition is getting better as time goes on.

To use this you need to open Google Docs. The option is inside the 'Tools' menu, under voice recognition.

Dark Reader

Changing the screen colour can be hugely beneficial for some children. This extension can be installed onto any users account who would like to change the background colour of any website.

Read&Write Extension

Read&Write for Google Chrome offers a range of powerful support tools to help students gain confidence with reading, writing, studying and research, including:

  • Hear words, passages, or whole documents read aloud with easy-to-follow dual colour highlighting

  • See the meaning of words explained with text and picture dictionaries

  • Hear text translated into other languages

  • Get suggestions for the current or next word as you type

  • Turn words into text as you speak

  • Highlight text in documents or the web and collect for use in other documents

Screencastify

Being able to record your screen and give feedback or give instructions to a class is a great resource.

Screencastify is a simple video screen capture software (aka. screencast recorder) for Chrome. It is able to record all screen activity inside a tab, including audio. Just press record and the content of your tab is recorded. So you can easily create a screencast for video tutorials, record presentations etc. It also supports desktop capturing, allowing you to record anything on your screen (not just tabs).

Draftback

​Draftback lets you play back the revision history of any Google Doc you can edit. It's like going back in time to look over your own shoulder as you write. This can let you track student improvement in their writing, evaluate group work, and more.

Fluency Tutor

Fluency Tutor for Google makes reading aloud more fun and satisfying for students who need some extra support. It’s a big help for struggling and reluctant readers, as well as students learning English as a second language.

OpenDyslexic


This extension overrides all fonts on webpages with the OpenDyslexic font, and formats pages to be more easily readable.


Other useful extensions

Google Translate

Google Dictionary

Grammarly

Check Mark

EquatiO