Tools & Resources 

Fluency Tutor for Google Now Available

Jason Carroll , , , ,

Reposted with permission from blog.texthelp.com

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly two-thirds of students in the US today score below proficiency in reading. To assist with this, Texthelp announced at the California Google Summit this past weekend the availability of Fluency Tutor™ for Google.

Designed for the Google Apps for Education environment, Fluency Tutor for Google is a levelled reading and assessment tool to help teachers support and assess emerging or struggling readers. Feedback from the Summit was great and the purpose of this post is to share with everyone how to access. A short overview video, in addition to details on how the program works (and how to access for free) are below:


[youtube id=”HiFfrzTPBQE”]


Great for time stretched teachers, Fluency Tutor for Google allows teachers to choose reading passages based on content, lexile level, or reading age and share them with individual students or groups of students via Google Drive. Students can practise and record their assigned passages at school or home. Dictionary, picture dictionary, and translation tools are also available to provide additional support. Recorded passages are automatically shared back with teachers allowing them to measure progress over time.

Research has shown that students who read and reread passages orally as they receive guidance and/or feedback become better readers. Repeated oral reading substantially improves word recognition, speed and accuracy as well as fluency. Fluency Tutor for Google provides a way for students to do this within the Google Apps for Education environment.

For more information, or to try Fluency Tutor for Google visit Texthelp.com/FluencyTutor. There you will find access to frequently asked questions and a link to download the application from the Chrome Web Store.

FREE features available with Fluency Tutor for Google include:

  • The ability to share over 700 reading passages with students.
  • Student access to support tools such as text-to-speech, talking dictionary, picture dictionary, and translator
  • The ability for students to record themselves reading passage and listen back to hear how they did. Students can re-record an unlimited number of times.
  • Teacher ability to view student use of support tools.

Teachers can also choose to upgrade to a free 30 day trial of the Premium version anytime, which provides access to tools for assessing recorded passages for word accuracy, hesitation, and other metrics using an easy-to-use scoring system. Powerful analytical tools and the ability to see students’ progress over time is also available.

Jason Carroll

Jason first learned of Assistive Technology while working on his undergraduate degree where much of his spare time was spent assisting a regional education centre with basic technology needs. Amazed at how this technology could benefit so many students (particularly those he grew up with) he was hooked and immediately became an expert at the centre. After receiving his Masters, Jason returned to the coop to serve as a full time Assistive Technology Consultant serving over 200 schools in the central Kentucky Region. Since this time, Jason has trained thousands on Assistive Technology and Universal Design for Learning concepts throughout the United States and beyond. His focus is on integrating research based practices into the work he does and helping others ensure that what they are doing works. He specialises in assisting people to bridge the gap between operation of technology and actual implementation. Jason is a published author, has taught Instructional Technology and Universal Design for Learning at the University level, and spends a significant amount of time on e-Learning and blended learning initiatives. He is a graduate of the Assistive Technology Applications Certificate Program (ATACP) from California State University at Northridge and holds a Masters in Business Administration. Currently Jason serves as Product Marketing Manager for North America at Texthelp Inc. where he oversees new product launches and speaks nationally on a variety of Assistive Technology topics.

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