Now, let’s look at some other aspects of universal learning—particularly the ideas of multiple means of action and expression, and multiple means of engagement. Up to this point, I’ve focused a lot on what I’m doing as the teacher: organising, delivering, recording lessons for later. But another piece of the puzzle is about empowering students to show what they know in ways that work best for them.
One really useful, and often overlooked, tech feature that’s become so much easier to use lately is dictation and transcription. That is, being able to turn a sound recording—spoken words—straight into text with minimal fuss. It’s available in lots of platforms now, and it’s something you can easily hand over to students as a tool for their own learning and expression.
For example, speech-to-text is built right into many office apps these days. I use Microsoft Word myself, just because it’s what’s handy, but it’s certainly not the only option out there. If you launch Word, you just click “Dictate” and off it goes—everything you say into the mic gets typed out right there in the document. It’s as straightforward as that.
Now, what can you do with this? Well, sure, as a teacher you could use it to provide what you say in text form for students, though a recorded video sort of does the same job these days. But the real benefits kick in when you use it to unlock student thinking—especially for those students who struggle to get started on paper, or who freeze up when faced with a blank screen.
There have been so many times where a student isn’t writing much, but it’s clear there’s thinking happening under the surface. I’ll bring my laptop over, fire up the dictation feature, and just have a chat with them. They can talk me through their ideas, and I’ll prompt and ask questions as needed. By the end, we’ve captured a good chunk of their thinking in text, which I can send back to them—suddenly, it’s not about struggling to get words down, it’s just about editing and tweaking what’s already there. That first (and often biggest) hurdle is out of the way.
So when you really think about the needs of those students—the ones who need help organising their ideas, or who benefit from alternative ways to express themselves—speech-to-text opens a lot of doors. Instead of only having the option to write, students can choose to speak, and then edit their transcript from there. It’s a different pathway that’s often so much easier for them to access.
I’ve even found it useful for assessment. Sometimes, I’ll do verbal interviews with students—capture the conversation, generate a transcript, and include it as part of their assignment evidence. It streamlines things enormously, and it means their ideas aren’t lost just because writing is a struggle.
In the end, offering students the option to “write by speaking” and then polish their work by editing can really help them get over that first hurdle. What matters most is getting their thinking out of their heads and into the world—and now, with today’s tech, that’s more possible than ever.
Jak Baddams