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The Student Toolbox gives students on-demand language support during a Pear Deck session. When a teacher turns it on, students can use Read Aloud to hear English slide text or Translate to view slide text in another supported language. A student opens the Student Toolbox and uses its Read Aloud and Translate tools during a Pear Deck session

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Turn On the Student Toolbox

Teachers control the Student Toolbox from their Pear Deck account settings. The setting applies to new sessions created after the teacher turns it on.
  1. Go to Pear Deck Home.
  2. Open My Account, then select Settings.
  3. Turn on Student Toolbox.
  4. Start a new Pear Deck session.
The Student Toolbox menu in Student View shows Translate and Read Aloud

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Use Read Aloud

Students can hear selected English text through text-to-speech.
  1. Open Student Toolbox in the lower-right corner of Student View.
  2. Select Read Aloud.
  3. Select the text on the slide that you want to hear.
  4. Stop the audio when needed. Read Aloud plays the selected text once and does not include speed, pause, or skip controls.
A Pear Deck slide open in Student View before the student selects text

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Use Translate

Students can translate selected slide text without leaving their Pear Deck session.
  1. Open Student Toolbox in the lower-right corner of Student View.
  2. Select Translate.
  3. Choose a supported language.
  4. Select the text on the slide that you want to translate.
  5. Copy the translated text or use Read Aloud to hear the translated text.
The Translate tool shows selected slide text and a language menu The Translate tool displays translated text in Student View The Student Toolbox supports these languages:
  • Arabic
  • Cantonese
  • Chinese (Simplified)
  • Chinese (Traditional)
  • English
  • Spanish
  • Vietnamese

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Verify the Student Toolbox Is Available

Join the new session as a student. The Student Toolbox button appears in the lower-right corner of Student View and includes Translate and Read Aloud. If the button does not appear, confirm that the teacher turned on Student Toolbox before creating the session. The setting does not add the toolbox to sessions created before it was turned on.
The Student Toolbox is available across all slide types, including interactive slides.

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Resources

Student Accommodations in Pear Deck

Review Pear Deck tools for read-aloud, translation, and reading-display support.

Compare Read-Aloud and Translation Tools

Compare Student Toolbox with Immersive Reader.

Present a Session

Start a Pear Deck session and invite students to join.
Last modified on September 22, 2026