UMass Global Addresses Diverse Student Needs with ReadSpeaker in Brightspace
UMass Global's Education Model 2.0 (Ed 2.0) needed an accessibility strategy as dynamic as its student body, one that effortlessly served busy Gen Z and Millennial learners balancing coursework with daily life. By embedding ReadSpeaker directly into its D2L Brightspace LMS, the university transformed text-to-speech from a basic disability accommodation into an everyday, multimodal learning engine. From desktop study sessions to microlearning on the mobile Brightspace Pulse app, see how UMass Global leveraged seamless audio tools to boost engagement, support multilingual students, and bring Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to life.
What changed
- 184,000+ReadSpeaker activations and over 259 million characters converted to speech since October 2024
The story
The requirement
To effectively serve its diverse student population, UMass Global utilizes online learning strategies that successfully balance a wide variety of individual student needs. For example, UMass Global’s student population includes Gen Z students who expect technology-enabled, visually engaging, mobile-friendly, on-demand learning and Millennials who value flexibility, personalization, practical application, and clear progress monitoring. The university needed a way to design online learning experiences that were accessible, workforce-relevant, flexible, and learner-driven.
As part of its Education Model 2.0 (Ed 2.0) strategic initiative, UMass Global developed a modernized curriculum development model during the 2024-25 academic year. The university sought to implement a Universal Competency-Based Design model which required accessible personalized learning pathways, authentic assessments, and meaningful practice aligned with real-world expectations. At the same time, the curriculum needed to allow busy students to seamlessly integrate education into the realities of work, family, and daily life.
The solution
To help meet these needs, UMass Global integrated ReadSpeaker directly into its Brightspace learning management system (LMS). Rather than positioning text-to-speech as an accommodation or optional support mechanism, ReadSpeaker and Brightspace deliver multimodal access as part of the everyday learning experience. Because the interface is intuitive for students and instructors to use, it requires minimal training while immediately expanding access to course content.
The Ed 2.0 microlearning design, where courses are chunked into manageable modules and focused, 20-minute lessons, was a natural fit for ReadSpeaker in Brightspace. While providing audio support across the Brightspace LMS desktop interface, ReadSpeaker’s compatibility with the Brightspace Pulse app allows students to access on-demand learning on their mobile devices during work breaks, commutes, or personal downtime.
ReadSpeaker integration
The integration of ReadSpeaker has successfully advanced Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles across the university by providing instruction in multiple modalities. This implementation offers several key outcomes, including enhanced mobility and continuity, as students can listen to lessons while on the go and seamlessly return to the content later for deeper review; as one student shared, "I’m able to listen to most of my lessons on the app and then when I have questions, I can revisit a lesson as needed when I’m back at my computer."
Additionally, learners gain greater control through ReadSpeaker’s learning and personalization features such as a built-in dictionary to break down new terminology, voice options, adjustable playback speeds, and translations so that students can listen to content in their home languages. It ensures a more equitable global experience which is especially valuable for UMass Global’s global programs and multilingual learners, boosting confidence and comprehension across diverse contexts.
Ultimately, ReadSpeaker in D2L’s Brightspace has proven to be more than just a text-to-speech tool; it is an embedded accessibility and engagement solution that directly supports the four pillars of ED 2.0: Accessibility, Workforce Relevance, Flexibility, and Learner Driven design.
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