Ginger

The second Web 2.0 tool that I would like to share with you is called: Ginger. Ginger is a tool used to assist individuals' with disabilities (as well as English language learners and young students) with the writing process.

Spelling requires an understanding of the phonological structure of language. However, this is the area that most individuals with learning disabilities (such as Dyslexia) really struggle.

"Spell checkers only suggest the correct spelling for 58 percent of identified errors, and as little as 37 percent for all spelling errors. In other words, 63 percent of the spelling errors made by persons with LD may not be detected by spell checkers" (MacArthur, 1996). The typical spell checker will list about 5 words for the one spelled incorrectly.

The majority of spell checkers are only useful if the spelling isn't too "far off" from the correct spelling of the word. Oftentimes, students' with disabilities spelling is so far from the correct spelling that the spell checker cannot recognize the correct word. Furthermore, a person with Dyslexia may also have a reading disability and be unable to recognize the correct word when it is suggested by the spell checker.

Ginger is an online spelling and grammar checker that relies on full sentence context clues to help the user with the writing process. Ginger premium also includes a text-reader that allows the user to select the word they intended to use, even if they can't read the word on the screen.

A feature of Ginger that I really think is great is that it doesn't underline incorrect words in red. This feature in spell checkers can be very disheartening for the student with a disability. There are also no distracting pop up windows with word suggestions.

The person using Ginger selects the sentence they want corrected and Ginger displays the entire corrected sentence, along with the original sentence. Background colors, fonts and text colors can also be changed in Ginger, which supports students' with visual impairments.

Ginger requires the internet and can be used with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Outlook.

I think this is an absolutely fabulous tool, I plan on using it with my students in the future.

You can try Ginger out by typing in a sentence on their blog to see how it works. You can then download if for a free trial. When you love it can't live without it, you can take advantage of one of their payment options:

Ginger Premium - Monthly Payment: $9.99 - Includes spelling and grammar correction, learn from past mistakes and a text-to-speech reader

Ginger Premium One-Time payment: $99.00 (same features as monthly payment)

Ginger - one time payment: $66.00 - Only includes spelling and grammar correction

References:

Feldman-Simon, M. (2010, June/July). A new generation writing solution. Closing the Gap,

Retrieved from https://www.closingthegap.com/solutions/articles/1798

*Note: I am in no way being compensated for my review of Ginger. Should the company wish to supply me with a this fantastic tool free of charge, I'd be over the moon!