Quick Start Guide: Read & Write Gold5 for Mac

Quick Start Guide: Read & Write Gold5 for Mac

Overview

TextHelp's Read & Write Gold is a literacy support program designed to assist computer users with difficulty reading and/or writing. ReadWrite Gold opens as a tool bar that can beused incombination with standard programs already installed onyour computer. The program has many features that support reading and writing including reading text aloud, assisting with sentence construction, organizing ideas, and many other features.

The directions below come directly from the “Read&Write Gold for PC Version 11 Quick Start Guide” created by Texthelp and found at the following link:

Note: Formatting modifications have been made below to ensure accessibility.

GettingFamiliarwiththeToolbar

ThedefaultRead&WriteGOLDforMacfloatingtoolbarinitiallydisplaysasfollows:

Youcanaddorremove toolsbyclickingonthe tools buttononthetoolbar(besurethat Displayoptionsischecked)andscrollingtotheCustomizeToolbartab,whereyoucan selecttoolstobeaddedtoorremovedfromthetoolbar.

ThefloatingtoolbarcanbeusedwhenworkingwithMicrosoftWordforMacand Safari.Additionally,Read&WriteGOLDforMaccanworkasafreestanding applicationtobeusedwithotherMacprograms,suchasTextEditor.Simplyclickon the green up and down arrowsbuttonandtheRead&WriteGOLDfullapplicationviewwillappear.

Note:Tolearnmore,clickontheHelpMenutoaccesstheToolbarvideotour.

Features on Read&WriteGOLDforMac

AfteryouinstallRead&WriteGOLDforMac,wehopethatyouwillexplorethe manyreading, writing,research,andstudyskillsfeaturesthatthe softwarehastooffer.

Note:Open Read&WriteGOLDforMacbeforetryinganyofthefollowingexamples.

Reading

TexttoSpeechisoneofthemostfundamentalsupportfeaturesof Read&WriteGOLD.Hearingtextreadaloud,usingcustomnaturalsounding maleandfemalevoices,inconjunctionwithdualcolorhighlighting,helpsthe readerwithcomprehensionandwordrecognition.Studieshavealsofoundthat students’writingskillsandattitudetowardswritingimprovewhentheyhave theirwritingreadaloudbacktothem(CentralWashingtonUniversity,Technology forLearningDisabilitiesProject).Toseethisstudyaswellasadditionalresearch studies, gotoTexthelp website:

Read&WriteGOLDforMacreadingsupports:

• MicrosoftWord–ReadtextfoundinWorddocuments.

• TheWeb–ReadSafariWebpages.

• AdobeReader–ReadPDFfiles.

• InaccessibleFlashandTextembeddedingraphics–Readtextthatistypically inaccessible.

• SpeakWhileTyping–Readwrittenworkaloudwhiletyping.

• DAISY –ReadDAISYbooksaloud.

To read a document

Follow these steps:

1) OpenaWorddocument.

2) Placethecursoronthetextyouwouldliketo read.

3) Clicktheplay buttonontheRead&WriteGOLDforMactoolbar.

4) Tostop reading,clickthe stop buttonandtopause,clickthe pause button.

5) Tofastforward,clickthe fast forward buttonandto rewind,clickthe rewindbutton.

Note:Formorereadingoptions,includingavailablevoices,pitch,andspeed,clickonthe toolsbuttononthetoolbarandscrolltotheSpeechTab.Tolearnmore,clickontheHelpMenufromthe Read&WriteGOLDApplicationMenuBartoaccesstheSpeechvideotour.

Toreadwebcontent

Followthesesteps:

1) GototheSpeechMenuontheRead&WriteGOLDApplicationMenuBarandclick onSafari WebHighlighting.

2) Openawebpage.

3) ClickonthetextthatyouwishtohavereadaloudandRead&WriteGOLDwill automaticallystartreading.

4) Alternativelyyoucanhighlighttextandhaveitreadbyclickingtheplaybutton.

Note:Tolearnmore,clickontheHelpMenutoaccesstheSafari WebHighlightingvideotour.

To read a PDF file with PDF Aloud

Followthesesteps:

1) Clickon the pdf aloudbuttontoopen aPDFfile.Browseforthefileyouwouldliketoread.

2) IfreadingaPDFfileinAdobe 9,thePDFfilewillopenwiththePDFAloudtoolbar displayed.Usethetoolbartoreadthetext.

3) IfreadingaPDFfileinAdobeX,thePDFfilewillopenbutPDFAloud willnot automaticallydisplay.AccessthePDFAloudtoolbarbyclickingToolsor ExtendedthenPDFaloud3 Toolbar.

Note:FormorePDFAloudoptions,clickontheAdobeReaderApplicationMenuBar,andclickon thePDFaloud3Menu.Tolearnmore,clickontheHelpMenutoaccessthePDF Aloudvideotour.

ToreadinaccessibletextwithScreenshotReader

(e.g.,textembeddedinan imageorinaccessibleFlash)

Follow these steps:

1) Clickonthe screenshot readerbutton.

2) Surroundthetextthatyouwouldlikeread.Read&WriteGOLDwillhighlightand readthetextoutloud.

3) Clickon thereplaybuttoninthelowerrightcornertohavethetextreadaloudagain.

4) YoucanalsoexporttheselectedtexttoWord.ClickonToolsinthe Read&WriteGOLDApplicationMenuBar,gotoScreenshotReaderOptions andselect“ScreenshottoMSWord”.

Note:Tolearnmore,clickontheHelpMenutoaccesstheScreenshotReadervideotour.

ToSpeakWhileTyping

Followthesesteps:

1) GototheSpeechMenuintheRead&WriteGOLDApplicationMenuBarandclick onSpeakasIType.

2) Selectwhetheryouwouldlikeeachletter,word,orsentencereadback.

3) Clickontheplaybuttonwhenyourwrittenworkiscompletetoreadwhatyou havewritteninitsentirety.

WritingTools

Read&WriteGOLDprovidesseveraltoolstoassiststudents with writing.Theseinclude:

Spelling

Read&WriteGOLDhasan advancedphoneticSpellCheckerto analyzeandcorrect spellingmistakes.Spellingmistakeswillbeidentified andtheSpellCheckerwindowwillprovidealistofsuggestedcorrections alongwiththedefinitionsofeachtoaidinmakingthecorrect choice.Both thesuggestionsandthedefinitionscanbereadaloud.

TotrytheSpellChecker,followthesesteps:

1) OpenanewWorddocument.Type

“Ineedtofinishmyfizixhomework”

2) Clickonthe spell checkerbutton.

3) TheSpellingHelperpanelappearswithalist ofsuggestionsanddefinitions.

4) Click on “physics” in the suggestions list.

5) Click on the definition and then click the play button. The meaning will be read aloud to you.

6) Nowclickonthe changebuttontomakethechange.

Note:Formorespellingoptions,clickonthe toolsbuttononthetoobar.ChecktheAdvanced optionscheckboxandscrolltotheSpellChecker Tab.Tolearnmore,clickonHelpMenuto accesstheSpellingvideotour.

Dictionary

Talkingphoneticdictionaries (basic,advanced,andweb)are availabletoprovidedefinitionsandalternativewordstohelpstudents expandtheirvocabulary,improve readingcomprehension,andenhance creativewritingskills.

TotrytheDictionary,followthesesteps:

1) HighlightawordinaWorddocumentorwebpageandthenclickonthe dictionary button.TheDictionarydialogboxwillopen.

2) Clickonthedefinition youareinterestedinandclickthe playbutton.The definitionandsamplesentenceswillbereadaloud.

Note: To learn more, click on the Help Menu to access the Dictionary video tour.

Picture Dictionary

Anonlinepicturedictionaryisalsoavailable.When youcome acrossawordyouareunsureof,youcansearchthepicture dictionaryforavisualimagetobetterunderstanditsmeaning.

TotrythePictureDictionary,followthesesteps:

1) Double-clickawordinaWordDocumentoronthewebandclickonthe picture dictionarybutton.ThePictureDictionarydialogboxwillopenwithanyassociated image(s).Youcanclickthelinktoseeatextdefinitionwhichcanthenberead aloud.

2) Ifyoudouble-clickonanimage, itwillbeplacedintheWorddocumentnexttotheassociatedword.Adding imagestodocumentsbenefitsmanystudents especiallythosewhorequireaugmentativeandalternativecommunication andEnglishLanguageLearners.

Note:Tolearnmore,clickontheHelpMenutoaccessthePictureDictionaryvideotour.

SoundsLike andConfusable WordsChecker

The SoundsLikeand ConfusableWordsCheckeridentifieswordsthatsoundthesamebutare spelleddifferently(homophones)orwordsthatarecommonlyconfused.

TotrytheSoundsLike andConfusable WordsChecker,followthesesteps:

1) Open a Word document and type a sentence that contains ahomophone, such as “eye” or “I”, or a commonly confused word, such as“through” or “thorough”.

2) Click on the sounds like and confusable words checker button. The identified words will be indicated in blue and a dialog box will appear with alternate choices and their definitions.

Note:Tolearnmore,clickontheHelpMenutoaccesstheSoundsLikeand ConfusableWords videotour.

WordPrediction

Word Prediction can help develop writing skills by providing the tools to construct sentences with ease. Read&Write GOLD’s Word Prediction suggests words to use next based on the letters/words you have typed. As you type, a list of suggested words will appear in the Prediction Panel. Teachers and students can add to the Word Prediction dictionary as desired.

Usingaphoneticmap,WordPredictionalsopredictswhenwordsarespelled phonetically.Themapimprovesthequalityofthepredictionsuggestionlistand makesWordPredictionevenmorevaluableforstrugglingwriters. WordPrediction allowsstudentstoproducehighqualityworkandreducesthetimeittakesthemto doso.Italsoreduceskeystrokesforuserswithdiminishedphysicaldexterity.

TotryWordPrediction, followthesesteps:

1) OpenanewWorddocumentand clickonthe word predictionbutton.

2) Type “Myearlyeducationclasscont”.

3) ThePredictionPanelwillbepopulatedwith suggestionsforcompletingthenextword.

4) ToinsertanywordfromthePanel,double clickontheword.

AdditionaloptionsintheWordPredictionpanelincludedictionaryandhomophone supports,aswellastheabilitytohavethewordreadaloud.Allofthesearevaluable toolsforhelpingstudents improvetheirwritingskills.

Note:FormoreWordPredictionoptions,clickonthe toolsbuttononthetoolbar.Tolearnmore, clickontheHelpMenutoaccesstheWordPredictionvideotour.

ResearchTools

Read&Write GOLDprovidesseveraltoolstoassiststudents doing research forclassassignments.Theseinclude:

Fact Finder

Fact Finder helpsstudents tofindinformationquicklybysearching theweb forrelevantinformationaboutaresearch topic.

TotryFactFinder

Followthesesteps:

1) GototheToolsmenufromtheRead&WriteGOLDApplicationMenuBarand selectFactFinder,thenSearch.

2) Type“Sharks”intheManualTextSearchBoxandclickOK.

3) FactFinderopensabrowserwindowanddisplayssearchresultsfor“Sharks” usingthedefaultsearchengine(Google).Youcanchangethedefaultsearch engineintheManualTextSearchboxbyclickingonthe“Switchsite”button.

Note: To learn more, click on the Help Menu to access the Fact Finder video tour.

Online Fact Mapper

Online Fact Mapper allows students to produce a visual representation of facts and ideas on screen. Thisisusefulwhenbrainstormingandrevisingwork.WithFactMapper, youcanuseimagesandcolortohelprememberkeyfacts,brainstormideas,andoutlinekeyconceptswhencreatingdrafts.

Note:Tolearnmore,clickontheHelpMenutoaccesstheFactMappervideotour.

Study Skills Tools

Whenreadingdocuments, books,orjournals,studentsoftenusecoloredmarkerstohighlightportionsoftextwhichareparticularlyrelevanttothesubjecttheyare studying.UsingtheStudySkillstoolsinRead&WriteGOLD,studentscandothison thecomputer.

The Study Skills Highlighters

The study skills highlighters canbeusedtohighlighttextinWorddocumentoron thewebusingdifferentcolors. Thisisespeciallyusefulwhenyouwanttoselecttext andcategorizeitseparatelybytype(e.g.,mainideas,supportingdetails,vocabularywords,etc.).Userscanalsocollecttheselectedtexttocreateanew document.Thismakesiteasytocompleteanassignment,startanoutline,orcreate astudyguide.

TotrytheStudySkillsHighlighters

Followthesesteps:

1) OpenaWorddocument.

2) Selectsometextandclickonthe (Highlightgreen)button.Thetextwillbe highlightedingreen.

3) Selectnewtextandclickonthe (Highlightpink)button.Thetextwillbe highlightedinpink.

4) Clickonthe (CollectHighlights)button.TheCollectHighlightswindowis displayed.

5) Makesurethefollowingoptionsareselected:

• Greenhighlighterradiobutton.

• Pinkhighlighterradiobutton.

• Clickonyourchoiceof“Separateentrieswith”and“Separatecolorswith”

options.

6) ClicktheCollectHighlightsbutton.Thehighlightedtextwillnowbeinsertedinto anewdocument.

Note:Tolearnmore,clickontheHelpMenutoaccesstheStudySkillsvideotour.

AVocabularyList

A vocabulary listcaneasilybebuiltbyeitherselectingwordsina documentusingthehighlightersorbyenteringwordsmanually.AWord documentwillbecreatedwiththevocabularywords,dictionary definitionsforeach,andimagesrepresentingthewords.Thistool helps improve andexpandstudents’vocabularyskills.

TotrytheVocabularyListBuilder

Followthesesteps:

1) UsetheStudySkillsHighlighterstohighlightseveralwordsinadocumentor webpageandclickonthe vocabulary listbutton.

2) AVocabularydialogboxwillopenwiththehighlightedwordsthatyouhave chosenintheVocabulary List.

3) ClickOK.Adocument willautomaticallybecreatedwiththosewordsaswellas definitionsandimagesassociatedwiththosewords.

Note:Tolearnmore,clickontheHelpMenutoaccesstheVocabulary ListBuildervideotour.

Other Tools

Weinviteyoutotryoutotherfeatures foundinRead&WriteGOLDforMac, suchas:

• Online Translator–Providessingleword,paragraph,orblockoftext translationinto multiplelanguages.

• SpeechMaker–Easilyconvertanytextinto asoundfile,suchasMP3.

• ScreenMasking–Tintthescreenusingcolors, likeanoverlay andmask thescreen.

• VerbChecker–Helpsstudentsdetermineandusecorrect verbconjugation.

• MacCalculator–Assistswithmathcalculationsandconversions.

• Scanning–Scansingleandmulti-pageprintdocumentstobereadaloud.

Minimum System Requirements for Read&Write GOLD for Mac

• Intel Core 2 Duo

• 1.83 GHz processor

• Mac OS 10.5 or above

• 512 MB RAM (1 GB preferred)

• 1.5 GB of free disk space

• Speakers, Sound Card, DVD Player (for installation purposes only)

• Internet connection for certain features

• PDF Aloud requires Adobe Reader or Acrobat Version 9 or above

Contact Information

Texthelp Systems Inc.

600 Unicorn Park Drive

Woburn, MA 01801

Texthelp Website:

Phone: 888-248-0652

Fax: 866-248-0652

General Inquiries:

Technical Support Phone: 888-248-2479

Support Inquiries:

Assistive Technology Resource CenterMindy Fletcher

Colorado State UniversityJanuary 2014

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