Add Immersive Reader to Home Page

[samplejm]

This idea has been developed and deployed to Canvas

For more information, please read through the  Canvas Release Notes (2021-10-16) - Instructure Community

---

This is the first page a student sees, not having the option to hear the page or have it translated places visually handicapped and EL students at an immediate disadvantage.

[Stef_retired]

Thanks for sharing this idea,  @samplejm ‌. As it moves forward for general discussion, please be aware that Immersive Reader is currently available in Canvas accounts as a free trial offered by Microsoft. Development of additional functionality will be as a partnership with Microsoft as a function of their willingness to devote development resources to expanding and extending the product offering.

[audra_agnelly]

Here to upvote this. I had not even noticed this feature didn't work on the homepage. If you open the same homepage from Pages, the Immersive Reader button is there, but when you're viewing the Front Page of the course from Home, the button isn't there. Sorry, but I don't see this as additional functionality rather than inconsistent behavior within Canvas.

[phillip-bernard]

Immersive Reader should be available across the entire platform and on all device types (including smartphones and tablets). Access and equity for emerging bilingual students, Blind or vision-impaired students, dyslexic students, students with ADHD, and others would be greatly improved. Depending on the context, workarounds to the current limitation either don't exist or require students to make extra clicks that create unnecessary friction in their learning experience. 

[glparker]

Here as well as I just learned that it doesn't work on the home page.    As much as I want it everywhere in Canvas, at the very least, the Home page, which is a Page, should support Immersive reader.    This oversight feels like a bug rather than something that needs a feature request.

[TMilich]

This is the best thing that has happened.  I used it in pages for some of my EL students and they are really sad that they cannot use it throughout the entire Canvas Platform.  I can't wait until (or if) this is part of all of Canvas.  I tried several languages with different students and they all said that it is very accurate and understandable.  

[matthew_taylor1]

I'd also like to see the ability to have this on the homepage.

[erinhmcmillan]

Comments from Instructure

The Microsoft Immersive Reader button can be enabled in User Settings, if not already enabled by the institution. Additionally, the Reader is supported in Assignments, the Course Home Page, and the Syllabus. This change allows additional resources to be used with the Microsoft Immersive Reader.

For more information, please read through the  Canvas Release Notes (2021-10-16).