On February 2, 2022, Kathy Wood, ReadSpeaker; Jim Snyder, Quality Matters; Beatriz Flores-Martinez, Laredo College; and Candice McPherson, Virtual Arkansas, presented “Addressing Accessibility in Course Design and Practice with QM and ReadSpeaker TTS. Flores-Martinez from Laredo College spoke about how they are constantly searching for instructional technologies to incorporate into their online courses. McPherson is the Director of Design and Development for Virtual Arkansas to support state-wide virtual instruction. Snyder spoke about Quality Matters and how they are a global organization with 30+ countries and a process led by credentialed reviewers. Wood described ReadSpeaker and how they provide text-to-speech tools. They are used by 1,500 institutions and have a linguistics department. I didn’t know they can change voices and read acronyms. Woods used ReadSpeaker to read the first question for panelists: “Tell us how your institution came to utilizing Quality Matters and ReadSpeaker.” Flores-Martinez explained that the first QM certified course in Laredo College was in 2015 and since then they have over 100 courses that are QM certified! ReadSpeaker was evaluated, approved, and implemented at Laredo College. They now use it throughout the campus, and advisers speak about it. McPherson explained how they used ReadSpeaker on Blackboard and Moodle… and Canvas! The second questions was “Who do you think benefits from using Quality Matters and ReadSpeaker?” McPherson said all stakeholders. Feedback from teachers has helped them learn how to improve the experience for students, teachers, and parents. McPHerson explained that English language learners and students with dyslexia have benefitted by using the tools in ReadSpeaker. Flores-Martinez mentioned that ReadSpeaker provides students with tools that they can use on their own without having to come to campus to a learning center or for special accommodations. Their campus started using ReadSpeaker before the pandemic (2018) and have been using it successfully for learner independence. Wood mentioned that their team does a lot of demo and training for instructors. They also explained that ReadSpeaker is different from the Canvas Immersive Reader that is only available on certain pages. Flores-Martinez shared student feedback, and the comments emphasized student satisfaction. The last discussion question was “what differentiates Quality Matters and Rad Speaker from others?” Flores-Martinez answered by explaining that they share with students that ReadSpeaker won the 2021 industry award. McPherson spoke that they also use CourseArc and enjoy ReadSpeaker and how it works on multiple platforms. That’s awesome that ReadSpeaker is so interoperable! Wood said that they have LMS advisory boards and work on integration. Snyder explained that in their intro to QM course they integrate ReadSpeaker and receive favorable feedback. They also explained that ReadSpeaker is used in all QM professional development modules/workshops. I love it! I remember trying to figure out how they did it the first time I took a QM course. The ReadSpeaker demo included changing the font to Open Dyslexic, changing colors and speed, and pronouncing medical terms. They did mention some issues with the new Canvas quizzes. The hour passed by with so many questions. I would love to be able to use ReadSpeaker in modules we develop!
