Week 13: Infused Classroom- Immersive Reader

 This week I looked at Holly Clark's blog Infused Classroom and her review of Immersive Reader. 

What is Immersive Reader? 

Immersive Reader is a free Microsoft tool that was designed to help students with Dyslexia read. However, this has been such a hit in classrooms it can be beneficial for all students. Immersive readers supports users in reading comprehension and fluency. With this tool all students can have access to understanding regardless of their abilities. Immersive reader is versatile and according to Clark can be used with resources such as, "Canvas, Flipgrid, Wakelet, Flocabulary, Pear Deck, Kidblog, Buncee, Nearpod, Merge, and Thinglink" (Clark, 2021). There are a lot of possibilities for integration. In her article Clark highlights five key benefits of immersive reading.
  1. This tool can read online content to students.
  2. Embedded in the tool is a picture dictionary where student can click on a word and a picture associated with the word shows up. Additionally it has a pronunciation tool that helps readers pronounce words in the text.
  3. Can translate text in up to 60 languages! 
  4. Has a grammar tools that breaks up words into syllabus and parts of speech.
  5. It is available on edge browser which aligns with google chrome. 


 Can I use Immersive Reader in the classroom? 


My first year teaching I had a number of struggling readers. When you are reading at a Kindergarten reading level in third grade you are bound to get frustrated. I with I had known about this tool! The first way I could see myself using immersive reader is with my struggling readers. Having the pronounciation tool would be incredibly helpful. I remember working with one student and whenever he got stuck on a word he had a difficult time and would shut down. Using the pronunciation tool would allow him to be independent in his reading and could prevent the frustration that came with getting stuck on a word and needing to ask for help. 

Another reasons I could see myself using immersive reader is for the picture dictionary. My school has a very high number of ELL students. Having pictures associated with words could be helpful to my students who are still learning English. Similar to the pronunciation tool this would allow students to be independent in their learning and could support them with comprehension. 

What I love about Clark's blog is that she highlights that this tool could benefit all students! I am excited to try it out in my classroom. 


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