There is so much talk about the learning loss created from the pandemic and online teaching. What is overlooked is the learning gains some students experienced when they had access to accessibility features such as speech to text and text to speech.

Remote, online teaching gave students a choice. They could type in the online chat or use speech to text to type. The reading assignment could be accessed via text to speech. Suddenly, students who struggled with reading and writing could easily access the grade level content and keep up with their peers. Now that students are back in the classroom, I’ve been wondering a lot about these choices.

In-person instruction seems to have reverted back to what it was pre-pandemic. Texts are provided in hard copy and paper is provided for written responses. 

I see this in classrooms and even within my own instruction. On one hand students crave holding an actual novel in their hands and turning the pages as long as they can read it independently or with some support. But when that text is above their level, that hard copy text becomes inaccessible.

Similarly, with writing. No doubt that extended remote teaching had an impact on the development and efficiency of hand writing but it also created new opportunities for students to participate using speech to text. Suddenly students could express themselves in ways they were not able to with a pencil. No longer did they have to worry about spelling or struggle writing down their thoughts at the speed of their pencil.

Talking about pandemic-related learning loss is problematic in many ways. For my students who thrived using readily available accessibility features, their learning loss is happening now with the return of paper-based assignments in the classroom.