Clicker/DocsPlus updates and opportunities for extended trials
There have been significant new updates to the Clicker software (and its secondary school equivalent, DocsPlus) that will be a fantastic boost for many of our students.
Full Widget Symbols Integration
The biggest news, especially for our borough, is that Clicker now comes bundled with Widget Symbols for free. This was previously available as a third party add-on, but at £99 per machine it was too expensive for most settings.
Tower Hamlets already provides Widget Online to all our borough schools. Clicker now includes the Widget symbol set embedded into the word predictor, spell-check, Clicker Sets, Word Sets and the document itself.
Google Classroom / Microsoft Teams Intergration
This long-awaited feature makes saving and sharing work directly to your school’s learning platforms (like Google Classroom, MS Teams, etc.) much easier and more streamlined than was previously possible. This has always been an obstacle when embedding the software within schools – particularly on iPads and especially within Secondary settings, where work is increasingly uploaded to Google Classrooms or Microsoft Teams.
Already have Clicker or DocsPlus?
If you are already using Clicker in your school, make sure you’ve updated to the latest version to access these new features!
You’ll find the Widget Symbol set in the “options” tab, under Pictures – Picturize:
Evaluation Trials
We understand that school budgets are under pressure. As educators, we all know that we often have to trial several approaches to overcome barriers to learning before we find one that works for each student. Crick offer a one month trial with all their products, but sometimes that’s not enough time to evaluate a new learning tool. With this in mind, the Learning Advisory Service has a small number of licenses for extended one term trials. If you have a students you feel may benefit from Clicker or DocsPlus get in touch.
As always, we’re happy to support with training and support around making effective use of assistive technology to support inclusion within Tower Hamlets Schools. This may include exploring new tools, or simply ensuring that your making best use of the tools that you already have in place.
Please get in touch if you’d like to discuss how we may be able to support you.
Using Everyday Technology to Remove Learning Barriers
This guide has been adapted from a presentation to Tower Hamlets’ seconded SENCOs. It outlines practical strategies for embedding assistive technology (AT) into classroom practice — not as an add-on, but as part of everyday, inclusive teaching.
AT is no longer optional. It’s a priority area for the Department for Education, aligned with wider reforms in digital inclusion and SEND support. The tools themselves — speech-to-text, immersive readers, guided access, and more — are already built into the devices and platforms we use daily, and are developing fast thanks to advances in AI.
At the same time, schools are under huge financial pressure. The effective use of assistive technology isn’t just good for learners — it’s good for budgets, workload, and whole-school strategy.
Done well, it can:
Empower students to work more independently
Free up support staff to focus on interaction, not transcription
Help teachers focus on relationships, wellbeing, and learning — the reasons most of us came into education in the first place
What does it include:
Built-in accessibility tools in Microsoft, Google, and Apple ecosystems
Strategies for supporting literacy, focus, and access needs
Setup checklists for devices and learning platforms
Training tips for students and staff
Advice on adapting tools over time
Common barriers — and how to overcome them
AI-powered supports for differentiation and planning
This isn’t about buying new kit. It’s about using what we already have, better — to reduce barriers, improve outcomes, and create classrooms where all learners can thrive.
If you’re based in Tower Hamlets and would like help implementing any of this, refer via the online form, or contact me at ben.annett@towerhamlets.gov.uk. Or if you share an interest in technology, inclusion or education reach out on Linkedin.
As part of our “5 Minutes for Inclusion” series, here is a short PowerPoint introducing Immersive Reader, a powerful and free tool built into Microsoft products.
It’s effective at increasing the reading fluency and comprehension of your learners, supporting students with learning differences like Dyslexia, and helping emerging readers build their confidence.
Immersive Reader is a powerful reading support tool built into many Microsoft programs, including Word, PowerPoint, OneNote, Teams and Edge. The tool provides a set of features that support reading that are particularly useful for people with literacy difficulties. Best of all, it’s bundled with 365 for free!
The features available within Immersive Reader varies between programs, and you can see them on the Microsoft Immersive Reader webpage. They generally fall into:
Text-to-Speech. The natural reading voices really are very good.
Coloured themes.
Different fonts, text sizes and spacing for text.
Line focus.
Picture support.
Turn on Immersive Reader
Click on “View” and then “Immersive Reader”
Access text preferences
Try the different text preferences.
Text size – between 14 and 96 point.
Increase spacing – between letters, words and lines of text
Font – choose between Calibri, Sitka and Comic Sans
Themes – change the background colour. Many learners find black on white text challenging.
Grammar options
And the grammar options…
Syllables – break words into syllables to aid decoding.
Parts of Speech – colour and/or label nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs.
Reading Preferences
Line Focus – You can highlight one, three of five lines of text. You can move the highlight up or down using the arrow keys on the keyboard.
Picture Dictionary – Use Boardmaker symbols when a word is clicked on. Also listen to any word in isolation.
Translate – Translate text into one of 100 languages.
As mentioned – Immersive Reader is available in all the office apps. It’s also within the Edge browser on websites that have enabled it. Look out for the Immersive Reader icon in the right-hand side of the address bar.
Windows has a number of features built into to make using a computer easier for people with disabilities. The Ease of Access Centre (shortcut Windows key + U) is way to get to these quickly, and to have some guidance on what to use.
Who is it for?
Users with a broad range of difficulties including:-
blind and visual impairments,
physical disabilities,
cognitive difficulties,
difficulties with text.
The options make the computer behave slightly differently to how it normally would. The options all have shortcuts to enable them, and include:-
Sticky keys (press shift 5 times) – a facility that lets you use the keyboard one handed. Any function that requires holding down two or more keys – such as Ctrl/Alt/Del can be done one key at a time. Useful for those who have restricted mobility in one hand.
Filter keys (hold shift down for 8 seconds) – a way to limit repeated key strokes for users who have a tremor. Ordinarily you can hit a key to repeat a letter and it will immediately appear. With filter keys you can set a delay for the second key press.
Narrator (Windows key + enter) – a screen reader that reads the on-screen text including the dialogue boxes and warnings that appear.
Speech to text (no shortcut) – a function that lets you dictate to your computer.
High Contrast (Ctrl + left shift + PrtScreen) – to make the screen easier to read by using yellow text on a black background and enlarging the icons.
Magnifier (Windows + + to turn on, Windows Key + Esc to turn off) – enlarges sections of the screen as you pass the mouse over them.
On-screen keyboard (no shortcut) – for users using a touch screen, switches, or eye-gaze.
Mouse options include – changing the size and colour of the cursor, adding a trail to make it easier to see, showing its position when you press Ctrl, and changing the thickness of the cursor.
How do I use it?
These options make Windows computers for people with a range of difficulties, whether they are physical in operating the keyboard, visual in working with the screen, or with literacy and both reading and writing text.
As with most things on a computer you can often get to them in different ways. The easiest is probably to hold down the Windows key and press U.
What else is there?
Some of these options, such as Narrator and Speech to Text are not very sophisticated and there are commercial products that do it all better, but the Ease of Access Centre can get you started.
