AI has stepped in to provide solutions for common obstacles that students with disabilities face. We should all want our educational institutions to be accessible to all, and the following AI-powered tools for students with disabilities ensure that every classroom supports inclusion.
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Voiceitt
Price: Free trial, quotes available upon request
Voiceitt is an AI-powered app that assists individuals with speech impairments, allowing them to communicate effectively with teachers and peers. It does this by recognizing and translating a user’s unique speech patterns into clear, understandable text or audio. The key feature of Voiceitt is the app’s ability to convert a user’s spoken words into text or repeat them in a synthesized voice. This is a game changer for people with severe speech impediments, as it allows them to actively contribute to their classroom’s dynamics.
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Unsplash
In addition, Voiceitt has real-time captioning capabilities. This allows students using Voiceiit to participate in student-directed activities, like group work. The real-time captioning ability of Voiceitt can also be integrated with other technologies, including Microsoft Teams and Zoom, making online learning more valuable.
Furthermore, students can use Voiceitt to dictate their homework and assignments. Perhaps best of all, Voiceitt uses machine learning to continually improve its understanding of a student’s speech patterns over time, leading to more accurate and effective translation.
Ava
Price: Quotes provided upon request
Ava is an app that is designed to provide real-time transcriptions of spoken words, making a classroom environment more accessible for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Using AI, Ava is able to listen to speech and transcribe in real-time, essentially providing and storing captions for class discussions, lectures and group work. In addition, Ava features the ability to convert typed text into synthesized speech, allowing users to communicate more effectively.
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Pexels
Ava can also be integrated with a number of videoconferencing apps, providing real-time captions for virtual discussions and lectures. The app supports translation of more than 16 languages, making it a useful tool for those whose primary language is not one used in the classroom. Ava is available on both desktop PCs and mobile devices, making it ideal for any setting.
Seeing AI
Price: Free
Developed by Microsoft, Seeing AI is an app that utilizes the camera of a user’s phone to audibly describe people, text, objects and environments that are in front of the camera lens. It has a number of features that are practical in learning experiences and the everyday world.
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Pexels
For example, the app can speak text as soon as it appears in front of the camera. Seeing AI also offers detailed descriptions of the environment in real time, including things like colors and brightness through the use of audible tones. It even identifies people’s faces and describes their facial expressions.
In the classroom, Seeing AI can be used to help students navigate their environment, giving them greater independence, while maintaining their safety. In addition, it can be used to read textbooks, handouts and other printed materials, allowing students to keep up with the curriculum without the need for assistance or requiring the teacher to provide different materials. Seeing AI can also help students socialize with their peers, helping them identify and recognize their classmates and teachers.
Braina AI
Price: Free with premium option
Braina AI utilizes artificial intelligence to become a supercharged personal assistant, designed to complete various tasks through voice commands and automation. The core functionality of Braina AI lies in its voice control capabilities. It can convert speech to text in over 100 languages, making it easier for students to take notes, compose emails and write assignments. In addition, the app can be linked with a PC, allowing users to issue voice commands to their computer with the mobile app.
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Pexels
The ability to use voice commands to take notes and compose written assignments can assist a wide variety of students. This includes individuals who have impaired vision or experience impairments in written expression, such as dysgraphia and reading disorders like dyslexia. Braina AI allows students to be productive in the classroom, promoting autonomy and self confidence.
Co:Writer
Price: Free with premium options
Designed specifically to support learners who experience writing challenges like dyslexia and dysgraphia, Co:Writer is an AI-powered writing assistant. It boasts a variety of tools, including the ability to predict words based on context and topic-specific vocabulary, helping students get their ideas out and onto paper.
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Pexels
In addition, the FlexSpell tool recognizes and interprets phonetic spellings of words and substitutes them for the appropriate spellings automatically. Co:Writer also has a speech-to-text function that allows students to convert their speech to text.
Co:Writer can be integrated into virtually every major educational platform, from Google Classroom, to Google Drive, to email clients and more. In addition, Co:Writer can be used in testing environments. It can be customized to state testing requirements, ensuring that students who use Co:Writer during assessments do not have an unfair advantage over other students.
Proloquo2Go
Price: $249.99
Proloquo2Go is an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) app designed to help people who have difficulty with speech, including students with autism, cerebral palsy or Down syndrome. Proloquo2Go uses AI to learn a non-verbal user’s speech patterns. Based on context, the app can then predict the next word in a given sentence. This enables users to communicate faster and more effectively.
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Assistiveware
Additionally, Proloquo2Go utilizes symbol-based communication. This allows users with varying literacy levels to communicate using easily recognizable images. It’s highly customizable and can be tweaked to match a user’s talking style and visual preferences.
Many of the AI tools listed above are easy to use, cost very little, and can be easily integrated into existing instructional practices. This assistive technology supports students so that they can thrive in the classroom and beyond and be more independent. If you’re a teacher, don’t forget to brush up on how you can use AI to support you in your role as an educator. If you’re not in education, you can still take advantage of AI at work and in your everyday life.
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Ryan Lynch –
Staff Writer
Ryan is an English & Film Studies teacher. He splits his time between Australia and the United States. He passes the time on long haul flights by playing retro video games from his youth.
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