Hearing text read aloud with the words highlighted as they
are spoken improves comprehension levels and word
recognition. Read&Write GOLD will read text from:
- Microsoft Word
- Web Pages
- PDF files
- Inaccessible Flash and Text embedded in graphics of video
- Instant Messages
- Email
- DAISY books
- Dragon Recognised text
- All content on your screen, including file names and tool
tips.
Text-to-Speech
It is easier to understand a block of text by listening to it,
particularly if you struggle with reading. Read&Write GOLD
reads text aloud to you from any document on your computer. Text
can be read using a male or female voice. You can select your
preferred voice and set the pitch, speed and volume to suit your
individual needs. Words are highlighted as they are spoken, which
helps you to track where you are on the page and it is proven to
raise comprehension levels by 20% (Assistive Software Tools for Secondary-Level
Students with Literacy Difficulties - Queen's University). The
software reads text on:
- Web pages
- Emails
- Microsoft Word documents
- PDF documents
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"With the use of a set of headphones,
students can have books from the Academy's e-Library read aloud
through Read&Write's text-to-speech
functionality; plus items from the internet, worksheets and their
own creative writing can be read back to them. Students can also
make revision notes and have these read to them, or use the
software to help learn poetry or lines for drama productions."
Marion Griffiths, Erasmus Darwin
Academy
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Screenshot Reader
Sometimes text is difficult to read because it is part of an
image or it is on a locked PDF document . Read&Write GOLD
has the ability to read this text no matter where it is. The
Screenshot Reader will read the text aloud to you with word
highlighting. You can then save or edit the text in Microsoft
Word.
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"My favourite feature on the
Read&Write toolbar is the Screenshot Reader because it breaks
down the barrier of access presented by locked PDF files which are
always about in the university world. It has made it much easier
for my students and for us. No more waiting for file
conversion!"
Kim Appleton,
Queensland University of Technology
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Daisy
Reader
Read&Write GOLD reads DAISY Books aloud with each word
highlighted as it is spoken.
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"My favorite option in Read&Write GOLD
is the DAISY Reader. With the networked Read&Write GOLD, we
save IT time (and annoyance) and the DAISY Reader video tour is so
good that we save assistive technology time
too!"
Monica Rathsack, Appleton Area School
District
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Screen
Masking
If you have trouble focusing on the screen or need a visual
tracking aid, the Screen Masking feature will assist
you. It masks out the active or non-active parts of the
screen, just like a coloured overlay.
Read&Write GOLD has unique screen tinting options to suit all
users including tinting the whole screen, mouse spotlighting, and
underlining the point in the document where you are
typing.
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"It is easier for me to read from my screen
when using the Screen Masking feature. I found out from my Needs
Assessment that yellow and lilac are the two colours that make
reading easier for me, so to have this on screen and being able to
use a screen overlay is valuable to me."
Amie Swinton, student at Carnegie
College & Telford College
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PDF
Aloud
The PDF Aloud tool will read content on a PDF document with each
word highlighted as it is spoken.
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Format.
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"My favourite feature is PDF Aloud; I use
this feature to read medical journals in PDF documents. When
reading alone, I tend to add in words that aren't actually there or
misread text. PDF Aloud helps me to break up large amounts of text
for more accurate reading and ensures I do not misinterpret words.
When reading, I follow the highlighting, this allows me to read
much quicker as this way I do not skip passages or have to re-read
lines."
Victoria McKnight, student at the
University of Ulster
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