Normalized claim
Quantified impact: 560% increase
Usage increased by 560% between February and May 2020
Last evidence check: Jul 22, 2026
Enhancing Accessibility and Engagement with Microsoft Immersive Reader
Use case typeAccessible learningUpdated Jun 13, 2026
Schools are using Microsoft's Immersive Reader to improve text accessibility and comprehension for diverse student groups. Real-time language translation and text-to-speech features are key.
- Organization
- Chicago Public Schools
- Industry
- Education
- Location
- Global
- Published
- August 2020
Reported outcomes
+560%
quantified impactOther quantified impact
Strategic outcomes
New product / capabilityAdded text-to-speech and translation supportNew product / capabilityExtended language and voice supportEcosystem & partnershipsIntegrated accessibility tools into partner softwareCustomer experience & trustImproved reading and writing comprehension
Why do we believe this?Outcome claims, sources, and evidence checks
Why do we believe this deployment?Customer identity, provider attribution, maturity, and source checks
- Customer
- Chicago Public Schools, Code.org, SAFARI Montage
- Provider
- Microsoft
- Maturity
- Production
- Linked source
- Azure Blog
Distance learning created barriers for students with different learning needs Limited accessibility for non-native English speakers due to lack of translation tools Educators struggled to engage students remotely and support diverse learning styles Student comprehension challenges in reading and writing, especially among those with learning differences Spike in demand for accessible learning tools, with a 560% increase in Immersive Reader usage during early 2020 Deployed Microsoft Immersive Read
Customer identity supportedSource describes one deploymentMaturity supported
Primary read
Use case focus
Showing 3 of 5
- 1Real-time Text-to-Speech Conversion for Digital Classrooms
- 2Automated Language Translation for Student Learning Materials
- 3Personalized Reading Assistance for Students with Learning Differences
- Distance learning created barriers for students with different learning needs
- Limited accessibility for non-native English speakers due to lack of translation tools
- Educators struggled to engage students remotely and support diverse learning styles
- Student comprehension challenges in reading and writing, especially among those with learning differences
- Spike in demand for accessible learning tools, with a 560% increase in Immersive Reader usage during early 2020
- Deployed Microsoft Immersive Reader, integrated with Azure Cognitive Services, to provide text-to-speech and translation
- Added new neural Text-to-Speech voices and extended language support
- Enhanced Immersive Reader SDK for easier integration and better functionality in third-party educational products
- Partnered with educational platforms to integrate accessibility tools directly into their software
- Over 23 million people now use Immersive Reader monthly to improve reading and writing comprehension
- Usage increased by 560% between February and May 2020
- Expanded text-to-speech support to 15 new neural voices, improving accessibility for more students
- Broader language support with the addition of five new Translator languages
Sources & evidence1
Evidence: Medium60/100Evidence strength
- Customer explicitly identified
- Deployment status explicitly supported
- Quantified outcome available
- Technical implementation details available
- Recent evidence check available
- Last evidence check: Jul 22, 2026.
Live sourceStill referenced
The case's original source is still reachable.
- Cited source last checked Jun 12, 2026 — ok (0/1 broken).
Measures whether this deployment's public evidence persists — not whether the system is still in production.
Type: Blog PostPublished: Aug 25, 2020Publisher: Azure BlogEvidence: VendorConfidence: Medium
AI-generated summary. Verify important details with the linked sources before relying on this case.
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