Digital accessibility is often immediately associated with the needs of people with disabilities. However, the concept of inclusion has been expanding as schools, universities, and educational platforms begin to adopt strategies that benefit students with diverse backgrounds. This was the topic of the Conexão Bett , which featured Rafael Rocha, business development manager at ReadSpeaker Brazil .

With more than 25 years of global experience, the ReadSpeaker develops text-to-speech technologies integrated into educational platforms and virtual learning environments. These tools allow content to be read aloud, accompanied by visual highlights and customization features, offering different ways to access the same material. ReadSpeaker is a partner of Bett Brasil.

According to Rocha, the adoption of this type of solution affects various areas of the educational institution, from the production of materials to the student experience.

"Once you consider the content and incorporate it into your institutional design, the material that will be made available on the platform begins to serve different audiences—students who are neurodivergent, have low vision, or have ADHD or dyslexia—without the need for separate adaptations. This takes the pressure off the teacher," he explains.

In addition to reducing the need to produce specific versions of the same content, the technology expands learning opportunities by allowing each student to choose how they want to engage with the material.

"The most important impact is giving students the opportunity to choose how they want to access that content, whether they need assistive technology or are just any other student at the school," he says.

To illustrate this principle, the executive draws on the concept known as the “curb cut effect.” Originally designed to facilitate the movement of people with limited mobility, sidewalk ramps have come to benefit a variety of other groups, such as people with strollers, cyclists, delivery workers, and travelers with luggage.

According to him, this concept also applies to accessibility technologies: features developed to meet specific needs end up improving the experience for everyone.

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Results Observed in Education

During the conversation, Rocha gave examples of how the use of TTS (Text-to-Speech) can contribute to the teaching and learning process. One of the examples cited involved ReadSpeaker’s partnership with the University of Barcelona and the Moodle platform. 

According to him, when evaluating students’ use of technology—specifically those whose native language was Spanish—reading aloud helped improve academic performance and reduce the time it took to complete activities by about 20% among the participants. Among students who consumed content in another language, the impact was even greater.

"When this was applied to students who consumed content in a language other than their native language, 65% showed improvements in their grades and course completion rates," he reports.

According to Rafael, similar results have also been observed in bilingual and international schools that use this type of resource.

Universal Design for Learning Expands the Concept of Inclusion

Another topic covered in the episode was Universal Design for Learning (UDL), an approach that aims to develop educational environments and materials capable of serving different types of students from the outset, rather than relying on subsequent adaptations.

In Rocha's view, this is one of the key differentiators of the approach adopted by ReadSpeaker. "When we focus solely on the disability, we often end up applying Band-Aid solutions. At ReadSpeaker, accessibility tools are built into the product from the start, rather than being added midway or at the end of the process," he says.

He points out that this approach caters to both students who use assistive technologies and those who simply prefer to consume content in different formats.

As an example, the executive cites the simultaneous consumption of text and audio—a practice already well-established on digital platforms and social media—through subtitles and multimodal content.

"Students can read, listen to, and follow along with the highlighted text all at the same time. This is very important for people with dyslexia or ADHD, but also for those who simply prefer to study while commuting or doing something else," he points out.

From the perspective of Universal Design for Learning, Rocha concludes, offering multiple ways to access content is no longer a strategy focused solely on inclusion but rather becomes part of a pedagogical approach that recognizes the diversity of learning styles.

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