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100 Powerful Learning Specialist and Educational Therapy Materials

This week I wanted to tell you about my online store, Good Sensory Learning. I’m Dr. Erica Warren, and I established this site so I could share all the materials that I have created over the last 20+ years as a learning specialist and educational therapist. When I first began my private practice, Learning to Learn, I had great difficulty finding fun and multisensory materials for my students that were effective and engaging. So back in 2005, I made it my mission to design and distribute high-end, remedial products as well as memorable, motivating lessons that bring delight to learning. If you would like to try a free sampling of my activities , CLICK HERE . How Are the Products Organized at Good Sensory Learning? You can download my Free Printable Catalog or you can browse the site using the grey “search all products” bar in the top right of any page with keywords such as dyslexia, working memory, and executive functioning. What’s more, drop down menus in the red banner allow you t
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Using Free Mac Text to Speech to Edit Student Writing

For many students, it is a struggle to edit one's own writing - if it is even done at all.  We all tend to read what we have written the way we meant to write it, and it’s easy to scan over misspelled words, word omissions, improper word choices and more.   Typos like “form” instead of “from,” will never be detected by a spell check and these types of mishaps can be very difficult to notice.  However, activating text to speech on the Mac can really help with the editing process.
using text to Speech
What is Text to Speech?
Text to speech is an assistive technology device that allows the writer to highlight text and with a simple command, the computer will read your writing aloud.  It uses computerized speech, but there are a couple voices that are quite realistic.  
 
How Can I Use This Technology on My Mac?
  1. Go to system preferences.
  2. Select “Dictation and Speech” which offers a microphone icon.
  3. Select a "System Voice" (my personal favorite is Alex), and pick a speaking rate by sliding the icon between slow-fast.
  4. Select the check box next to “Speak selected text when the key is pressed."
  5. Select the “Change Key” button and make your preferred selection.  Let me suggest using the control key and the letter s).
  6. Now, select the text that you want the computer to read and hold down the control key while selecting the letter S.
What Else Can I Use Text to Speech for?

If you find text on the Internet, and you would like your computer to read it to you, all you have to do is highlight the desired text and hit the control key while selecting the letter s.  You can also use this to edit your emails.  I do it all the time.

I hope you find this helpful!
Cheers, Dr. Erica Warren

Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning and Dyslexia Materials. She is also the director of Learning to Learn and Learning Specialist Courses.

· Blog: https://learningspecialistmaterials.blogspot.com/
· YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/warrenerica1
· Podcast: https://godyslexia.com/
· Store: http://www.Goodsensorylearning.com/ & www.dyslexiamaterials.com
· Courses: http://www.learningspecialistcourses.com/
· Newsletter Sign-up: https://app.convertkit.com/landing_pages/69400
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