Fluency Tutor is Ideal Use of TexttoSpeech

No assistive technology can replace a skilled, attentive teacher. But teachers must divide their time among all students.

Applications that facilitate teacher-guided self-learning are, in my opinion, some of the most effect uses of technology.

I wrote about one this week: Fluency Tutor an online application developed by Texthelp Systems, makers of the literacy program Read&Write GOLD.

Fluency Tutor enables students to improve oral fluency - a key building block of reading comprehension - by providing written passages students can listen to via text-to-speech and record themselves reading.

Students then submit their oral tests (called assessments) to their teacher to grade. They can see how they did and chart their progress all in one intuitive interface.

I liked the interactivity: students who might normally need to be read to can listen online, use the dictionary to learn words, and practice as much as they need to - at school or at home. Fluency Tutor also enables teachers to grade work when it's convenient.

It's technology that relieves, rather than replaces, the teacher.