Overview

Welcome to lesson 3 of 13 in the Accessible Reading for Educators Course. In this lesson you will be introduced to the EasyReader Education Plan and the EasyReader App.

Lesson Objectives

After studying this lesson, you will be able to:

• Identify key features of the EasyReader Education Plan and EasyReader App that support students with print disabilities.
• Explain how the EasyReader Education Plan benefits both educators and students.
• Describe how to install the EasyReader App on various devices and platforms
• Compare the EasyReader App’s capabilities under the Education Plan with a standard e-book reader.
• Evaluate the usefulness of the EasyReader App for inclusion in a school’s accessible learning strategy.

This lesson should take no more than 10 minutes to complete.

The EasyReader Education Plan

The EasyReader Education Plan from Dolphin Computer Access helps Educators make accessible curriculum resources available to students with a print disability through the EasyReader App.

EasyReader App is a free e-book reader designed for people with a print disability. It enables users to login, download, and read text-based and audio-based books directly from Accessible Libraries Services from around the world.

EasyReader App enables users to change how text appears within books, for example, change the font type, font size, letter and line spacing, and screen colours to better meet personal reading preferences. Users can also use a high-quality text-to-speech (TTS) voice to read the text aloud.

The EasyReader Education Plan unlocks premium features within the EasyReader App. These features are designed specifically to assist students in their studies. It also lets teachers manage accounts and monitor and measure student engagement.

Premium features unlocked

The EasyReader Education Plan unlocks the following premium features in the EasyReader App:

• Synchronised settings enable students to transition seamlessly from one device to another. Library books, reading position, bookmarks, clipboard texts, and key text and audio settings are all synchronised when a student logs into a new device.
• Direct access to Google Classroom and Microsoft Education enables students to easily locate, download, and read documents uploaded by their teachers to these platforms.
• Direct access to Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive enables students to easily locate, download, and read documents they save to their personal cloud storage.
• Direct and unrestricted access to additional voices including support for more than forty languages, enabling students to read text using a voice they prefer and one that is appropriate to the language of the text.
• Ability to import an unlimited number of files including PDF files from external sources.
• Ability to export bookmarks and notes to help students create revision sheets, guides, or references to assist in the writing of essays.
• Ability to query images embedded in books using AI technology.
• And much more.

In addition, the Education Plan offers Educators:

• Management of student logins.
• Insights into student engagement with the App and reading material.
• Access to Library mode for Windows (especially designed for public resource centres where computers are shared).

Installation of EasyReader App

EasyReader App supports iOS, Android, Amazon Fire OS, Windows, and Mac computers. It is free to download and install.

Because it is free, this removes any obstacles IT Teams may encounter during the setup process, and helps parents avoid any barriers installing the App onto a child’s device at home.

To install on a device (excluding Windows):

1. Visit the App Store, for example, Apple App Store, Amazon App Store, or Google Play. If the student is using a Chromebook device, then they must ensure Google Play is enabled.
2. Search for "Dolphin EasyReader" (developed by Dolphin Computer Access).
3. Choose the download option.

To install on a Windows computer:

1. Visit Download EasyReader App for Windows.
2. Complete the download process.
3. When download is complete, follow the on-screen instructions to install the software.

Once downloaded, the student must login to their Account to gain the benefits of the EasyReader Education Plan. In an upcoming lesson you will learn more about student logins and the sign-in process.

Network information for IT Teams

Dolphin recognises that a school’s IT Team’s time is a valuable commodity. To ensure your students and staff can use the EasyReader App without barriers, Dolphin have prepared key resources to help IT team set up and configure EasyReader App across school networks: EasyReader: Key information to share with your IT Team and Deploying EasyReader Network Installation.

Summary

In this lesson you reviewed what an EasyReader Education Plan offers and the sources from which you can obtain the EasyReader App. You also learnt about useful resources available for IT Teams wishing to deploy the EasyReader App on a school network.

Quiz

Below are three sample quiz questions based on this lesson.
Please spend no more than five minutes considering the answers to these questions.

1. An EasyReader Education Plan (blank) premium features in the EasyReader App.

   1. unlocks.

   2. blocks.

   3. hides.

2. Which of the following statements is FALSE?

   1. You can install EasyReader App on a Windows operating system.

   2. You can install EasyReader App on an Android device.

   3. You can install EasyReader App on an iOS device.

   4. You can install EasyReader on a Linux operating system.

3. An EasyReader Education Plan enables teachers to create and manage the login process for students. Is this statement true?

   1. Yes.

   2. No.

End of Lesson

Thanks for completing this lesson. Please click the 'Next Lesson' option below to continue to the next part of the course.

If you would like to revisit a previous lesson, please scroll to the top of this page and visit the Course Outline Menu. to find the lesson you wish to revisit.

But before you move on, here are the answers to the quiz questions:

1. Unlocks.
2. You can install EasyReader on a Linux operating system.
3. Yes.