student in library working on laptopThe University has licensed software which supports reading, writing, and research by making documents and files more accessible.

Software to support document accessibility

A tool now available to the campus community will help make materials more accessible.

The University has purchased an institution-wide licence for Read&Write, which supports reading, writing, and research by making documents and files more accessible. The software is free to all UWindsor employees and students.

Read&Write helps with language acquisition and improved writing, says Anthony Gomez, assistive technologist in Student Accessibility Services.

“It can be used as a screen reader for web-pages and documents and supports multiple languages,” he says. “With its word prediction, grammar, and spelling checkers, as well as the text-picture dictionaries for unfamiliar words, it can help develop writing skills.”

The program also converts speech to text or text to audio.

Read&Write can be installed on any computer — desktop, laptop, or tablet. There is even a Chrome extension that enables users to employ the tool however makes sense for them.

In-person training sessions were originally scheduled for the end of March but will be offered online in the near future. Keep an eye out for training dates through the Professional Development Calendar.

To download a copy:

  1. Click on this link, click “Try Read&Write Today,” then choose your platform.
  2. Window Users: Follow instructions on this page starting at “Installing Read&Write”
    MAC Users: Follow instructions on this page starting on step 4
  3. After product is installed, log in by selecting “Sign-in with Microsoft” and use your UWinID and password

Watch a short introductory video: