Listening to Learn:

Auditory Strategies for Literacy and

Education Success
October 29, 2015

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 Welcome!

Karen Narvol
Private Assistive Technology Consultant
and Trainer

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 Purpose of Todays Webinar
Begin a conversation about how educators are integrating
Bookshare into students curriculum (using the Bookshare
Mentor Teachers Google Group).
How are educators teaching and supporting students as they read,
listen, view, and interact with Bookshares digital media using
assistive reading tools?
How are educators supporting students in attaining literacy goals
and meeting academic standards through the use of Bookshare
books and reading tools?
To get us started, we will talk about the importance of
listening as a critical component of literacy.
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 Bookshare Mentor Teachers Google Group
Discuss specific topics regarding implementation of
Bookshare with students in the classroom
Enhance our professional practice by asking questions and
sharing ideas, strategies, techniques, experiences, and
resources regarding literacy and the use of Bookshare by our
students
Join the conversation!
http://communications.bookshare.org/mentor-teachers/

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Your Students

I am currently working with

students who have..

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 What is Listening?
Listening is the act of assigning meaning to what is heard
(Deshler, Ellis & Lenz, 1996, Teaching Adolescents with Learning Disabilities, as cited in Barclay, 2002)

Listening is understanding and assigning meaning by

reacting, selecting meaning, remembering, attending,
analyzing, and incorporating previous experience
(Hirsch, 1986, On Defining Listening, as cited in Barclay, 2002)

An active cognitive process

(Petress, 1999, Listening: A Vital Skill, as cited in Barclay, 2002)

Most students use visual cues to help them process what they are
hearing (Ratey, 2001, A Users Guide to the Brain, as cited in Barclay, 2002)
Students with visual impairments must make a conscious effort to
help compensate for visual information that is missing (Barclay, 2002)
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 What is Listening?
Listening:
Requires effort on the part of the individual
It is intentional
It is strategic
It requires self-monitoring
Individuals must hold information in memory, compare it to
background knowledge, predict what is ahead, and sustain
attention
(Rose and Dalton, 2006)

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 How do Listening Skills Support the
Development of Literacy Skills?
Hears the sounds of the language (phonemes)
Applies phonics and word-analysis skills in decoding
Asks and answers questions about key details in text read aloud or
information presented orally or through other media
Selects the main idea, summarizes, relates one idea to another, makes
inferences
Recounts or describes key ideas or details from a text read aloud or
information presented orally or through other media
Connects literary texts to personal experiences and previously
encountered texts to enhance understanding
(Barclay, 2002)

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 Correlation between Listening Comprehension and
Reading Comprehension
Learning to listen is fundamental in learning to read
(Hyslop & Tone, 1988)

Reading comprehension is strongly related to oral language

comprehension (Rose and Dalton, 2006)
When students are engaged in active, strategic listening, they
use the same executive functions used during active,
strategic reading (Rose and Dalton, 2006)
Listening and reading require the same skills, processes, and
strategies (Pearson & Fielding, 1983, as cited by Hyslop & Tone, 1988)
Between 65-90% of ones time is spent listening
(Gilbert, 2004, p. 20, as cited in Brady-Myerov, 2015)
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 What are the Domains of Listening?
Elementary
Phonemic and phonological skills
Listening and literacy skills
Listening comprehension of information that is orally presented
or read
Active listening
Critical listening during oral instruction
Listening and technology
Listening and social skills
(Barclay, 2002)

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 What are the Domains of Listening?
Middle School and High School
Active and critical listening
Listening and organizing information
Listening and technology
Listening during social interaction

(Barclay, 2002)

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 How does Listening fit into the
Common Core State Standards (CCSS)?
Students must meet standards for reading, writing, speaking,
listening, and language.
CCSS permit appropriate accommodations so that students
with special education needs can participate fully in the
curriculum.
Students can use braille, screen reader technology, text-to-
speech technology, and other assistive technologies for
learning in the subject areas.

(Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2010)

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 Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening,
and Language Standards
They use technology and digital media strategically and capably.
Students employ technology thoughtfully to enhance their reading,
writing, speaking, listening, and language use.
They tailor their searches online to acquire useful information efficiently,
and they integrate what they learn using technology with what they
learn offline.
They are familiar with the strengths and limitations of various
technological tools and mediums and can select and use those best
suited to their communication needs.

(Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2010)

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 Examples of CCSS Literacy Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.3.2
Determine the main ideas and supporting details of text read
aloud or information presented in diverse media and
formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.2
Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats
(e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it
contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.
(Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2010)

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 How do State Listening Standards Align with
CCSS Listening Standards?
Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Reading, Writing,
Speaking, and Listening. 1.6.8 Grade 8
Listen to others
Ask probing questions
Analyze information, ideas, and opinions to determine relevancy
Take notes when needed

Listen to selections of literature (fiction and nonfiction)

Relate them to previous knowledge
Predict content/events
Summarize events and identify the significant points
(PA Academic Standards for Reading,
Identify and define new words and concepts Writing, Speaking, and Listening,
Analyze the selections September 2013)

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 What is the Importance of the Speaking and
Listening Standards?

By adding the standard of Speaking and Listening, the CCSS

and many state academic standards recognize that listening
is crucial to a students success and readiness for college
and career.
CCSS elevates listening to an anchor skill, which cuts across
curriculum and is applicable in K-12th grade.
The CCSS Speaking and Listening standard requires
students to interpret information from diverse media formats
and to delineate specific arguments and claims.
(Brady-Myerov, 2015)
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 Legal Provisions
Provisions within IDEA 2004
Require state and local education agencies to ensure that
textbooks and related core instructional materials are
provided to students with print disabilities in specialized
formats in a timely manner.
Some students served under Chapter 15 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 may also qualify as persons with
print disabilities and need AEM.

(Section 300. 172, Final Regulations of IDEA 2004)

 Specialized Formats
IDEA describes four specialized formats of Accessible
Educational Materials (AEM) that can be used by and
with learners with print disabilities.

(Section 300. 172, Final Regulations of IDEA 2004)

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 How Does AEM Help?
Specialized formats enable students with print disabilities to
gain access to curricular content, master IEP goals, and
achieve academic standards.

Accessible educational materials provide students with the

same curricular content as print-based text. The use of
specialized formats is an accommodation for access to
curricular content.

(The National Center on Accessible Educational Materials)

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 Oral Literacies and Listening
For millennia, oral literacy was the means of acquiring and
passing on information
Invention of writing changed the status of oral literacies and
listening
In the digital era, traditional literacies are being blended,
redefined, and replaced by new media and communication
technologies

(Rose and Dalton, 2006)

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 Broader Palette for Literacy
Literacy is being redefined as reading, writing,
oral, and visual literacies
New technologies are raising the importance of
listening
Speech can now be made permanent,
transportable, viewable, and recordable
Digital natives listen to learn
Learning to listen and listening to learn are
critical to literacy
(Rose and Dalton, 2006)
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 Broader Palette of Literacy
Technology allows the storing and
manipulation of language
Speech can be captured in digital formats
Speech can be transformed in multiple ways
to support students learning
Listening experiences can be designed to
provide alternative learning opportunities for
diverse learners
(Rose and Dalton, 2006)
New technologies are redefining what it
means to be literate
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Your Students

My greatest challenge right now

for serving my students with print
disabilities is.

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 What are the Challenges for
Students with Print Disabilities?
Sensory and motor limitations of blind and visually impaired
students can negatively impact fluency and adequacy of reading
rate. (Barclay, 2002)
Students who are blind, visually impaired, or have physical
disabilities often struggle to navigate through and interact with
text. (Barclay, 2002)
Students with dyslexia struggle with the skills required to break
the code for reading. (Barclay, 2002)
Students with print disabilities may process information contained
in text more slowly and are more likely to experience cognitive
overload.(Sherman, D., Kleinman, G., Peterson, K., 2007)
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How is Listening an Alternative to the Limits of Print?
Benefits students with print disabilities, whose disabilities
significantly interfere with the fluent use of printed text
Lessens barriers to accessing the general education
curriculum and meeting academic standards
Allows students to keep pace with their peers in building
knowledge
In the modern era, every student needs to learn to listen and
listen to learn in order to be literate
(Rose and Dalton, 2006)

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 Using Audio Formats

Supplement braille with speech

Integrate large print with speech output
Digital text with computer software and synthetic
speech (Text to Speech -TTS)
Digital audio with DAISY playback devices (TTS or
human narrated voice)
MP3
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 What is Audio Supported Reading (ASR)?
A technology-based approach for
reading
Student simultaneously reads text
displayed on computer screen, device,
or with refreshable braille while
listening to an auditory version of the
text
Goal is to increase the rate that (AEM Navigator
students move through texts http://aem.cast.org/navigator)

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 What are the Benefits of Assistive Reading Tools?
Level the playing field for students who need AEM for their
literacy needs.
Benefits
Improve fluency
Expand vocabulary
Activate prior knowledge
Develop comprehension
Increase motivation

(Gene Wolfson, 2008)

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 How do Auditory Features of AT Tools
Enhance Literacy Skills?
Current technologies enable ASR, including tablets,
smartphones, netbooks.
Students can switch between modes of access: visual,
tactile, audio, or a combination
TTS software programs offer powerful scaffolds
Online dictionaries
Choice of reading voice, rate, mode, and unit
Ability to annotate and bookmark
Tools for reading web pages and locked text (AEM Navigator
Pause to reflect on or replay a segment http://aem.cast.org/navigator)

Skip to various sections of text using navigation tools

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 How do Auditory Features of AT Tools
Enhance Literacy Skills?
Students using braille devices with voice output receive
reinforcement of literacy skills
Control speech output by customizing voice, volume,
pitch, rate
Multi-sensory access
Some books contain audio only, others contain text only,
and others contain both audio and text. Braille PDAs can
read multiple formats.
Quick and easy navigation (AEM Navigator
http://aem.cast.org/navigator)

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 How do Auditory Features of AT Tools
Enhance Literacy Skills?
Students accessing large print through software programs
that integrate large print with speech output benefit from a
multi-modal approach.
Control speech output by customizing voice, volume, rate,
mouse/typing/program echo settings, and verbosity
Multi-sensory access provides flexibility needed to sustain
reading for an extended period of time

(AEM Navigator http://aem.cast.org/navigator)

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 How do Auditory Features of AT Tools
Enhance Literacy Skills?

Students using DAISY book players

Customize speech output

Quick and easy navigation
Bookmarking
Players read multiple audio formats

(AEM Navigator http://aem.cast.org/navigator)

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 How does Listening to Learn fit within UDL?
Listening to learn in the classroom is an essential component
of a Universal Design for Learning approach to literacy.
Providing multiple means of representation, expression and
engagement are key principles for supporting diverse
learners.
UDL promotes flexible materials, techniques, and strategies
so instruction can be individualized for all students.
UDL increases the likelihood that diverse learners will have
access to standards-based literacy and learning strategies
needed to master that literacy. (Rose and Dalton, 2006)
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 Human Voice and Synthetic Speech
Advantages of human voice
Superior in ability to convey emotion, tone, pronounce words correctly
Uses appropriate phrasing and pausing
Offers strong model for oral language usage
Advantages of synthetic speech
Many TTS tools are available
Not linked to a specific text
Can slow down the rate of speech: the user has control over linguistic input for word
recognition and learning vocabulary
Can change voice and language (Rose and Dalton, 2006, and Learning
No large audio files to store Ally: How New Technologies are Changing
Synchronized highlighting of text What a Literacy Program Should Be)

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 What are the Benefits of Using Audio?
Can enhance the way a student with a print disability
interacts with text and augments the speed with which a
reader can acquire information
The task of reading and comprehending text can occur with
greater efficiency
Audio formats bypass sensory and motor skills associated
with decoding and rapid word naming
Allows the student to use his full capacity of working
memory to comprehend meaning
Students can read books at their comprehension level,
which helps to maintain grade-level proficiency (Barclay, 2006)
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 Conclusion
Listening can play an essential role in supporting learners
with print disabilities.
New technologies have restored the importance of listening
for acquiring literacy.
Tools, such as digital text with screen reading technology
and digital audio, offer powerful alternatives to traditional
classroom print-based materials.
Implementing strategies for the use of assistive reading
tools can mitigate the effects of a students disability on his
or her academic performance.

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Your Interests

In the Google Mentors Group,

I would like to share ideas
about.

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 Sample Questions for Google Group Discussions
What strategies or techniques do you use to teach the use of
audio formats to students with print disabilities?

If you have students who are using audio with other formats
(e.g., digital text, braille, enlarged print), are they having any
challenges using two formats simultaneously?

How do you incorporate audiobooks and digital books into

your students educational programs?

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 Sample Questions for Google Group Discussions

How do you teach students to connect listening strategies

and reading strategies?

How do you teach and support students as they read, listen,

view, and interact with digital media using assistive reading
tools?

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 Next Steps
Join the Bookshare Mentor group
http://communications.bookshare.org/mentor-teachers/
Watch for upcoming webinar topics:
Instructional Strategies for Audio-Supported Reading within the
Context of Listening to Learn
How Assistive Reading Tools Can Support Literacy
Join the conversation - Google Group discussions of specific
topics, starting with the Listen to Learn theme

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 References
Barclay, L. (2012). Learning to listen/listening to learn: Teaching listening skills to
students with visual impairments. New York: AFB Press.

Brady-Myerov, M. (n.d.). Understanding Auditory Learning: Integrating Listening into

the K-12 Classroom. From Learning and Teaching. Retrieved October 10, 2015, from
http://ltd.edc.org/understanding-auditory-learning-integrating-listening-k-12-classroom.

Brady-Myerov, M. (2015). Teaching Listening Skills: Ready to Listen, Ready to Learn.

From Edudemic. Retrieved October 11, 2015, from
http://www.edudemic.com/teaching-listening-skills-ready-listen-ready-learn/.

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 References
Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2010). Common core state standards for
English language arts and literacy in history/social studies/science, and technical
subjects. Retrieved October 1, 2015, from http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-
Literacy/.

Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2010). English Language Arts Standards
Introduction Students Who are College and Career Ready in Reading, Writing,
Speaking, Listening, & Language. Retrieved October 7, 2015, from
http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/introduction/students-who-are-college-
and-career-ready-in-reading-writing-speaking-listening-language/

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 References
Grover, S. & Hannegan L. (2012). At the core: Audiobooks promote critical reading
habits | Listen in. Retrieved October 13, 2015, from
http://www.slj.com/2012/08/collection-development/listen-in/at-the-core-audiobooks-
promote-inquiry-discussion-and-critical-reading-habits-listen-in/.

Grover, S., & Hannegan, L. (2012). Listening to learn: audiobooks supporting literacy.
Chicago: American Library Association.

Hogan,T., Adlof, S., & Alonzo, C. (2014). On the importance of listening

comprehension. From International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 16(3),
199-207.

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 References
Hyslop, N. & Tone, B. (1998). Listening: Are We Teaching It, and If So, How? ERIC
Digest. Retrieved October 12, 2015, from http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-
928/listening.htm.

Jackson, R. (2012). Audio-supported reading for students who are blind or visually
impaired. From National Center on Accessible Educational Materials. Retrieved
October 14, 2015, from http://aem.cast.org/navigating/audio-supported-
reading.html#.Vihk3KKi1J8.

LearningAlly. (n.d.) How new technologies are changing what a literacy program
should be. Retrieved October 2, 2015, from https://ltl.learningally.org/Listening-A-
Powerful-Skill/The-Science-of-Listening/Learning-Through-Listening-in-the-Digital-
World/How-New-Technologies-are-Changing-What-a-Literacy-Program-Should-
Be/148/
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 References
The National Center on Accessible Educational Materials. (n.d.). Tell Me More.
Retrieved October 7, 2015, from
http://aem.cast.org/navigator/help/tellmemore/l256?wicket:pageMapName=tellmemore

Pennsylvania Standards Aligned System. (n.d.). Pennsylvania Academic Standards

for Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening. Retrieved October 5, 2015, from
http://www.pdesas.org/Standard/StandardsDownloads.

Rose, D. & Dalton, B. (2006). Plato Revisited: Learning Through Listening in the
Digital World. From National Center on Universal Design for Learning. Retrieved
October 3, 2015, from
http://www.udlcenter.org/sites/udlcenter.org/files/Plato_Revisited.pdf

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 References
Sherman, D., Kleiman, G., and Peterson, K. (n.d.). Technology and teaching children
to read. Retrieved October 13, 2015, from
https://education.ucf.edu/mirc/Research/Technology and Teaching Children to
Read.pdf

Sullivan, S. (n.d.) Listening, the 21st Century Learner, and the Common Core
Standards. Retrieved October 8, 2015, from
http://www.tulpehocken.org/Downloads/Listening%20is%20a%20skill.pdf.

Wolfson, G. (n.d.). Using audiobooks to meet the needs of adolescent readers.

Retrieved October 1, 2015, from http://lmnet.wikispaces.com/file/view/EJ809473.pdf.

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