Providing accommodations for students with special needs is top of mind at Formative. Teachers on a Gold plan can provide accommodations to students at the global level, setting up the accommodation once and have it applied for every formative.
Once set up, the Text to Speech accommodation will go into effect whenever a formative is assigned to the student with the accommodation. The student with the accommodation will have access to the Text to Speech play icon on all items* that support the feature, when opening the formative.
*Text to Speech Compatible Items:
Question prompts in all question types, with the exception of:
* Drag and Drop
* Fill In the Blank
* Inline ChoiceAnswer choices for the following question types only:
* Multiple Choice
* Multiple Selection
* True/False
Text to Speech can pick up and read aloud the following elements:
Text input
Math input (typed in or entered using the in-app math keyboard)
Hyperlink Text
LaTex
Subscripts and Superscripts
Note: Files such as PDF or Image, Video, Emoji, or embedded content are incompatible with Text to Speech.
When creating a formative, teachers will be able to see which items are compatible with Text to Speech in their Preview mode.
What happens if my formative has items that are incompatible with Text to Speech?
Items that are incompatible with Text to Speech will not have the play icon next to them. These items will require a different method to read aloud such as the teacher recording themselves reading, or an aid reading to the student in real-time.
When assigning a formative to a class that has students with a Text to Speech accommodation, a message will pop-up prompting you to re-check the formative for compatibility with the Text to Speech feature.
To set a global accommodation for Text to Speech:
Go to your "Classes" tab (now located on the left-side menu)
Expand the view for the class the student is a member of
Click the "eye" icon
Next to the student's name click "Add accommodations"
If the student already has a different accommodation in place, click the pencil icon next to their accommodation
Toggle the Text to Speech button on
Click "Update" to save
Once a Text to Speech accommodation has been set for a student, the status under "Accommodations" will change the accommodation in place.
To remove an accommodation:
Go to your "Classes" tab (now located on the left-side menu)
Expand the view for the class the student is a member of
Click the "eye" icon
Click the pencil icon next to the existing accommodation
Un-toggle the Test to Speech button
Click "Update" to save
NOTE: Accommodations are set globally on the student level. This means that once accommodations have been set for a student, they will apply for that student across the board: on all formatives and in all classes!
If a teacher changes or removes an accommodation from the "classes" tab - it will effect the student's accommodations for all classes and other teachers as well.
The student's Global Text to Speech accommodation doesn't apply to my class / subject - What do I do?
If a student has a text to speech accommodation and a teacher assigns a formative to their class, the teacher can remove the text to speech accommodation for that student for that specific formative, without affecting the accommodation on other formatives or classes.
When assigning a formative, if there are any students in your class with global text to speech accommodations, you will see an indication of the number of students with accommodations (in general) next to the "Accommodations" setting.
To remove a Text to Speech for students with a global accommodation:
Click the carrot next to "Accommodations" to reveal the list of students with accommodations
Click the pencil icon next to a student's accommodation to reveal the accommodation settings
Remove the Text to Speech for the student by toggling off the Text to Speech button
Click "Update" to save the changes for this specific formative
The Student's View
When students with a Text to Speech accommodation in place open a formative, they will see the a menu of Text-to-speech icons at the top right corner of their screen.
Students will click the Text-to-speech icon to turn the capability on, and then they will proceed to click on the text they wish to have read out loud. The reader will be able to read aloud all text items that are compatible.
When the reader is on, students will be able to pause and unpause, as well as stop the reader on the go by clicking the appropriate icons.
Students also have the option to adjust the speed of their reader by clicking the speed adjustment button and choosing their preferred speed from the dropdown:
