Hover Speech: website toolbar

Click once to turn on

• You will see a purple line underneath

• The remaining tools, except for play and pause, will be shaded out

Move cursor over the text you want read aloud and HOVER

• Do not click or highlight text, just float your cursor over it

• Text will begin reading and keep reading until you click stop or pause.

When done reading, click the tool again to turn it off

TIPS FOR SUCCESS:

• After hovering your cursor on the text, It may take a second or two for the text to start reading

• If you move the mouse, the computer will jump and begin reading where your cursor is

• If reading does not engage, refresh the page, re-open toolbar, and try again.

Click to Speak: PDF toolbar

Click once to turn on

• You will see a purple line underneath

• The remaining tools, except for play and pause, will be shaded out

Move cursor to the text you want read aloud and CLICK to start reading

• Text will keep reading until you click stop or pause.

• When done reading, click the tool again to turn it off

TIPS FOR SUCCESS:

• Because the PDF reader is converting a picture into text, the text reader may jump around a bit or make errors with certain font types

• If this tool is not working, the PDF may be in 'view only' mode by the owner

• If you see an error message that no text can be found, the PDF is "inaccessible" and needs to be converted

• See PDF videos for troubleshooting

• Click Here to explore the PDF Reader toolbar.

Play: Google Docs toolbar

Put the cursor in the text you want read and then click 'play'

• The remaining tools, except for play and pause, will be shaded out

• Text will keep reading until you click stop or pause, or the end of the document is reached

Play is also a great tool for self-checking of student writing

Screenshot Reader: backup tool

Occasionally, you will find text that can't be read by one of these other reading tools, because it behaves more like a picture.

Common examples include text that is on a map, text that is printed in a speech bubble, or text in a side box or bar on a webpage or pdf.

In these rare cases, students can try Screenshot Reader

Click once to engage

Select text to be read by drawing a box around it

Refresh the page when done

TIPS FOR SUCCESS:

• The box needs to be extremely accurate and include all text

• Moving lines on the bottom of the box indicate the text is being converted

• Large amounts of text take a long time to convert

Prediction

Click tool once to turn on

• you will see a purple line underneath

• You will see a pop-up box with word choices in your document

• The word choices will change as additional letters are typed

• Move your cursor over the word choices and HOVER to have words read aloud

Click on your desired word, (or ctrl + the number), to put the word into the document

When finished with prediction, click the tool again to turn it off

TIPS FOR SUCCESS:

• If your word is not predicted, you may need to continue sounding it out and typing additional letters until it is predicted.

• If your word is still not predicted, this may be a clue that a beginning sound or a vowel sound needs to be changed in your word

• You can turn prediction on and off just for words you need help spelling

• You can also have the dictionary or picture dictionary open at the same time for added support

Talk & Type

Click tool once to turn on

• If you are asked to "allow or block" your microphone, always click "allow"

• You will see a red microphone icon pop-up

• Red microphone is ON Black microphone is OFF

"Write" your sentence by speaking with the mic on

• When finished, turn your microphone OFF by clicking on it

TIPS FOR SUCCESS:

• Turn off your microphone until you are ready to "write". Talk&Type will try and type any words it hears while the mic is on, regardless of who says them

• Speak your sentence at your normal rate of speed and volume. Talking too fast, slow, loud or quietly can decrease the accuracy

• Make sure you know what you want to say before turning your microphone on. Talk &Type will try and type everything, including "um" and "oops" and words you repeat

• It is helpful to practice saying each sentence, at least once, before turning on your microphone

• Saying your punctuation, such as "period" or "question mark" improves the accuracy of Talk&Type

• Try not to watch and worry about the text that is being typed. It will not always type as fast as you speak, and sometimes will go back and changes words based on context

• Even students with speech sound errors can have success with Talk&Type

• Using a headset with microphone can help in loud environments

Play

While the play tool is usually thought of as a reading tool, it is also very powerful for helping students re-read and revise their writing.

Students should be instructed to use the play button to listen back to sentences they write to ensure:

1. that they typed or spoke their sentence(s) completely, and without grammar or spelling errors

2. that the microphone correctly typed all their words, if using Talk&Type

TIPS FOR SUCCESS:

• If you press play after writing a sentence, it will read just that sentence

• If you put your cursor anywhere else in the document, it will read starting with that sentence and all the following sentences

• Because text-to-speech highlights each sentence in yellow, seeing several lines of yellow can be a clue to students that they have a run-on sentence

• Students may still need help in editing their work, but using the play tool may help them identify errors more independently

• For extra support, students can change their settings to have each word and/or each sentence automatically read back to them.

Extra writing options: PDFs

All of these writing tools are also available on a PDF

To engage typing, click the large "T" in the PDF toolbar

• You will see a purple line underneath

Click on the PDF to create a pop-up text box

Begin typing or click on Prediction or Talk&Type, if needed.

When finished, click the checkmark.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS:

• You can resize and move the text box around your PDF so it fits in the desired area of the PDF

• You can change the font size and color so it stands out on the PDF

• If using Talk&Type, there will be a noticeable delay in your speech and the typing

• Remember to use play tool for self-editing

• Staff and students will only see the text added to the PDF, when the PDF is opened with Read&Write

• There is also the Pen Icon seen above which can be used to draw on top of the PDF.

• Click Here to explore the PDF Reader toolbar.

Dictionary

1. Select a single word from text, by double clicking on the word

2. Click the dictionary tool to get the pop-up window

• The play button can be used to read the word and each definition aloud

• You can keep the dictionary open and select a new word in your text

• The picture dictionary tool can be opened alongside the dictionary to help improve understanding

Picture Dictionary

1. Select a single word from text, by double clicking on the word

2. Click the picture dictionary tool to get the pop up window

• The play button can be used to read the word aloud.

• Can have picture dictionary open in the background / selecting a new word will adjust pictures displayed accordingly.

• Not all words will have an associated picture

• Attaching visuals with definitions can help improve student's memory

Collect Highlights

1. On a webpage, Google Doc or PDF, select the text to be highlighted

2. Then choose highlight color from toolbar

3. After selecting and highlighting all desired text, click on the Collect Highlights tool

This tool will create and open a new Google Doc with all the highlighted text

• Choose whether to organize the collected text by color of the highlights or by the order in which the text appears in the original source.

• The new Google Doc with selected and highlighted text also includes a citation link from original source

• The new Google Doc can be edited as needed

• Remember to rename the Google Doc as it is automatically saved in your Drive upon creation

Vocabulary List

1. On a webpage, Google Doc or PDF, select a single word to be highlighted (occasionally two word phrases, like "solar system," may also work)

2. After selecting word, choose a highlight color from toolbar

3. After selecting and highlighting all desired vocabulary words, click on the Vocabulary icon tool

Clicking this tool will create and open a new Google Doc with a table that includes four columns: the highlighted words; their definitions; associated pictures if available; and a blank column.

• The blank column could be used for students to improve individual understanding of the targeted vocabulary (i.e. use the word in a sentence; write the definition in their own words, list synonyms and antonyms.)

• The table in the Google Doc is completely editable

• Don't forget to rename the new Google Doc

Translator

Translates individual words only

• Use cursor to select word in text

• Click on Translate icon

• Use included Play button to hear pronunciation

• Can keep translation box open; when selecting a different word, new translation will appear in box

• Language choices in options on toolbar

This tool provides support for focus, attention, and tracking while reading.

• On a webpage, Google Doc or PDF, click on the Screen Mask tool

• You will notice a reading bar that moves along the screen following the cursor, as well as a change in the background color of the rest of the screen

• Click on the pop up settings window (looks like a gear) to change aspects like the height of the reading bar, as well as the colors and opacity of the reading bar and background

• This tool can be used along with the text reader

• Click on Screen Mask again to turn it off

Practice Reading Aloud

This allows for selected text to be sent to a new tab with reading support tools and a fast way for students to make an audio recording that can be sent to teachers.

• Use cursor to select desired text then click Practice Reading Aloud icon. A new tab will open.

• Selected text is displayed on new tab along with a reduced toolbar.

• Toolbar includes the following reading tools/supports:

  • • Hover Speech

    • Dictionary

    • Picture Dictionary

    • Play, Pause, Stop

    • Web Search

    • Screen Mask

    • and Translator

• After practicing the selected text, students can use the microphone to record themselves reading the selection, a separate Play button to hear their recording, and the airplane icon to share their recording with teachers.

  • • Students must type a teacher's name to share audio recording

This tool allows you to remove all of the visual clutter on a webpage that may either distract a student, or that may make the webpage difficult to navigate for students with visual impairments or other disabilities.

• On a webpage, click the Simplify Page tool (note: this works on MANY but not all websites)

• A new tab will open with just the text from the original webpage

• Students can use the R&W toolbar as needed on the new webpage

• Additional options are available to improve accessibility:

  • Simplify the text to change the amount of information, but not the context

  • Change the color of the font and/or background

  • Change the font style and size

  • Change the line spacing

  • Use the Discover feature to get in-context popup windows for many terms within the text.