{"id":1833,"date":"2022-09-08T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-08T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2022\/09\/08\/transforming-literacy-learning-to-unlock-positive-futures\/"},"modified":"2024-05-31T18:55:02","modified_gmt":"2024-06-01T01:55:02","slug":"transforming-literacy-learning-to-unlock-positive-futures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2022\/09\/transforming-literacy-learning-to-unlock-positive-futures\/","title":{"rendered":"Transforming literacy learning to unlock positive futures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Today is International Literacy Day, a day designated by UNESCO1<\/sup> to highlight and raise awareness of the importance and incredible benefits literacy has for individuals and society. Literacy means more than just learning to read and write at school. It can open lifelong opportunities and has been shown to improve everything from individual financial prospects to community health2<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since 1966, UNESCO has designated a new theme each year that focuses on specific aspects of improving literacy. This year\u2019s theme is \u201cTransforming Literacy Learning Spaces,\u201d and the goal is to \u201cencourage educators to rethink the fundamental importance of literacy learning spaces to build resilience and ensure quality, equitable, and inclusive education for all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n To celebrate this International Literacy Day, we\u2019re sharing our latest Accelerating Learning paper, \u201cImmersive Reading: Supporting Student Focus through Read-Alouds<\/a>.\u201d We\u2019ll also highlight other literacy solutions<\/a> that can help students learn, practice independently to become more fluent readers, and give teachers the insights they need to provide individualized support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learning devices today have built-in accessibility tools that enable every student to build, practice, and gain skills to have a voice and choice in their education journey. Since 2020, we\u2019ve seen learning happen in various locations: in and out of schools, students\u2019 homes, libraries, museums, outdoor spaces, and more. But no matter where they are, students are using devices as a hub for learning. This is why learning devices are considered one of today\u2019s primary learning spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That may sound strange for a device to be a \u201cspace,\u201d but when leveraged effectively and designed with built-in accessibility tools, learning devices can provide many of the same benefits a classroom does\u2014including access to teachers. When thinking about transforming literary learning spaces, we can shift our focus on developing learning applications and tools to help support students attain greater reading fluency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the benefits of the increasing role technology has in learning is that when tools are built to support all learners, they provide unique ways for students to build skills and improve their education. One example of a transformational application that can facilitate reading and learning for millions of students is Immersive Reader<\/a>. This tool can read text in 85 languages, provide translations in more than 60 languages, and is available across the Microsoft 365 suite of tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDigital environments as literary learning spaces<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Unlocking the text<\/h2>\n\n\n\n