Word prediction is an "intelligent" word processing feature that can alleviate writing breakdowns for a range of students simply by reducing the number of keystrokes necessary for typing words.
Word prediction works like this. As a student types, the software monitors the input letter-by-letter, and produces a list of words beginning with the letter sequence recorded. Each time a letter is added, the list is updated. When the target word appears in the list, it can be chosen and inserted into the ongoing text with a single keystroke. (Typically word lists are numbered and words can be chosen by typing the corresponding number).
Students with Motor Impairments
Many word prediction programs were first developed for students whose keyboarding skills were severely limited by their motor impairments. For students who cannot use the standard keyboard, alternate methods for selecting letters--switches, trackballs, head and mouthsticks--can be slow, increasing the gap between generating ideas and capturing them in writing. Word prediction can reduce this gap simply by reducing the number of selections necessary for encoding words.
Students with Learning Disabilities
Educators are beginning to see the power of word prediction for students with learning disabilities. Many students who are poor spellers avoid words they are unsure of and therefore have extremely limited writing vocabularies. Others are less constricted while composing, but find that spellcheckers frequently do not generate appropriate choices. Word prediction provides poor spellers on-line assistance, making the whole endeavor less stressful (Source article: NCIP).
People with Dyslexia also find TextHelp and Word Prediction programs invaluable.
Useful Text Help and Word Prediction Resources
- Word Q / Speak Q. A word prediction and speech recognition package.This word prediction has pretty good flexible prediction, so may well offer some competion for Co:Writer, but works with other applications. Some really nice features such as context sentences for homophones on the fly and text to speech that works beyond it's window. The speech is a plug in for the Word Q is interesting, but in my limited experience... ineffective! Teachers I have shown this to really like the other elements of the program though. Costs about £120. Free demo on the website, though I have problems with the download- have reported this. You can also contact them, or their UK distributor which appear to be REM for a demo disk. Definitely worth knowing about if you are doing any work with schools/students. More information about Word Q . . .
- ClaroRead. A text to speech support tools that allow computer users to read and write independently. By making a computer speak any text with a human voice, text documents can be proofed out loud along with web pages, e-mails and any other text. ClaroRead can reduce reliance on teachers, partners, support staff and parents by giving its user the opportunity to achieve the same standards as everyone else. More information about ClaroRead . . .
ClaroRead TooolbarClaroRead for PC V5 word prediction
(explained by the onboard voice)ClaroRead for PC V5 spell check tutorial
(explained by the onboard voice)ClaroRead for Mac V4
(explained by Acapela Rachael)ClaroRead for Mac reading in Safari tutorial
(explained by Acapela Heather)More on the ClaroRead YouTube channel . . .
Extract from AbilityNet Newsletter Autumn 2009. ClaroRead V5 has new some features including Visual highlighting. The new focus sentence feature greys or dims out sentences in MS Word not being spoken. This is helpful for focussing the eye on the text, and also tracking the position in a document. The word trail feature allows effective word by word highlighting, with minimal visual disruption.
The new ClaroCapture program lets you collect text from any document and web page, grouping it as a project file. This can be sent to Word or PowerPoint. Claro has always aimed to offer the highest quality voices and now has two new excellent voices, a Scottish female and an English male.
- Reading Made Easy. America and Canada. A huge range of products available. They have developed a complete suite of products that address "reading, writing and information transfer" needs for individuals with visual, cognitive and mobility challenges. www.readingmadeez.com/Products.php
- Virtual Reading Ruler by Crossbow Education. It works just like an ordinary reading ruler, removing the glare so stabilising the print on any area of the page. At the same time it can mark the specific line or paragraph being read. It can be used with any application - including the internet - and moves with the mouse. Read more about Virtual Reading Ruler . . .
- TextHelp Read&Write 8 / Read&Write 8 Gold - Auto copies to clipboard once highlighted and then reads out. Also converts docs into MP3 format. R&W Gold is good at detecting homophones and 'confusables', like rough and tough, through etc. Takes over control of spellchecker - using it's own. Uses speech to read out possibilities in the context of the sentence. Reads web pages and includes a Daisy reader. Also does a very good job at scanning in text - even from coloured brochures and then reading it out.
Read&Write Gold V8 ToolbarUsing TextHelp Read&Write Gold V8: TextHelp Read & Write Gold V8 Screenreader: Using Read&Write Gold to read PDF files Using Read&Write Gold with Vista and K12 Maps
Text Help Read and Write 9 has some new features including Screen masking, to help with some of the visual issues associated with dyslexia, the ability to block out any text you are not reading. Other options include:
- Tint my whole screen
- Tint the window I am typing in
- Tint the line I am typing on
- Tint everything except the line I am typing on
- Underline the line I'm typing on
- Underline my mouse point
The Screenshot Reader in Read&Write 9 GOLD speech-enables inaccessible text, such as 'locked' PDF documents or Inaccessible Flash. Examination boards frequently use inaccessible Flash for online exams. For instance, the City and Guilds GOLA exams are written in Flash. Read&Write 9 GOLD will read this text.
- Free Download. Sensory software free downloads. www.sensorysoftware.com
- Wordbar_v2 from Crick (and similar to Clicker 5) provides writing support for students. It is a toolbar which sits along the bottom of your screen and attaches itself to whatever word processor you are using. Every grid contains words or phrases that can be sent to the word processor with a click. Faster writing, improved spelling and accuracy. It includes high quality speech so you can hear words or phrases before you write. Good for 'mental blocks'. Free downloadable Grids
- Mind Mapping. Brainstorming and concept mapping tools for visual thinking and learning. Inspiration has a 'quick fire' mode which auto exports text into boxes. The 'outline' view almost creates the document - with headings etc. You can move information round in outline view by dragging and dropping. Also speech output. Mind Genius will convert mind maps into Word docs or Powerpoint. Inspiration_v76
Using Inspiration v8 - Lesson 1 Using Inspiration v8 - Lesson 2 Using Inspiration v8 - Lesson 2 Creating an outline in Inspiration v8
- Co-Writer. Works straight out of the box. In Word, the working window appears underneath. Everything stays in this window until the word is completed and then it is transferred to Word. Text is read out instantly Spells with you as you type. Prediction appears underneath the word being typed. (Best to turn off the word learn function for dyslexics). Co-Writer now comes preinstalled on the AlphaSmart. www.donjohnston.com
Co-Writer SE
- ieSpellCheck - a spell checker for Internet Explorer. A free Internet Explorer browser extension that spell checks text input boxes on a webpage. www.iespell.com/
- Inclusive Writer. Predictive text etc www.inclusive.co.uk
- Clicker. Text help with images www.cricksoft.co.uk
Using Clicker 5
- Widgit. Text help with images.www.widgit.com
- PenFriend XP. Highlight the desired text and copy to clipboard. It is then read out. Word prediction appears in a floating window. Minus point - you have to take eyes off screen to see keyboard. Program learns from what is being typed (word frequency and patterns). In setup, uncheck 'learn new words'. (for dyslexics). Can add words to lexicon, but any docs have to be saved to .txt format (then add from file). Penfriend now integrates with the newClicker 5.2. www.penfriend.ltd.uk
17/11/09 Note: The new version of Penfriend 3.3.2.7 xl, text prediction software, now has letter phonics available when you use the speak letters feature. Few text to speech programs give you this option so it is useful to have the choice.
- Tool Factory Reader.
Features on the tool bar include Font, Spacing, Homophones, Spell Check and Settings. Homophones are words that are pronounced alike although they differ in spelling and meaning, for example, “pair” and “pear”. Tool Factory Reader will highlight homophones in the document by selecting the “Show Homophones” button, or alternatively have them highlighted as you type. Then by clicking “Check” the document will review all homophones, suggest alternative words, and provide the meanings of those words. This check feature provides a single button for use in Microsoft Word that combines a homophone dictionary, thesaurus and spellchecker, making the checking of your text and documents easier and more comprehensive. Text can be spell checked individually or as a whole of a document, also featuring over 1000 pictures to help visualize word meanings. More information about Tool Factory . . . - Free Homophone checking software
tcpIQ Dictionary 1.1. This is freeware.
The tcpIQ Dictionary is a free application that sits in your system tray monitoring clipboard. When you copy a piece of text into the clipboard, the dictionary opens up. Double clicking on the icon will take you to www.dictionary.com where the definition of the word will be displayed. It also features:
a thesaurus
spell check
search the word using Google
homophone look up
anagram look up
rhyming word look up
search the quotations database and
search the encyclopedia
its freeware
...and it can be set to run automatically on start up.
Goto website address http://wareseeker.com/free-homophones/ and scroll down the page.Grammarian Pro X 1.8.2. This shareware.
Grammarian PRO X reads through your text and analyzes each sentence for potential spelling, grammar, and punctuation problems. Has much more spelling and grammar checking power than the limited checkers in Microsoft Word and Microsoft Office. Has over 200 built-in spelling and grammar writing rules compared to MS Office s 26 error corrections. Checks a large number of homophones--words that sound the same but are spelled differently such as its for its, accept for except, loose for lose, to for too and two, and many more.
Goto website address http://wareseeker.com/free-homophones/ and scroll down the page.
- Free toolbar, which overrides the page settings for font size and colour. Very effective and easy to use. www.techdis.ac.uk
- Curser help. Find the curser. Follow.exe is no longer available. Alternative is Mouse&Caret. www.ahf-net.com/Mcbuddy.htm
- AlphaSmart Neo. A portable word processor. Just type in the text (disregard spelling), connect to laptop with Word running in the background. NeoSmart transfers text into Word, which converts (spell checks) on the fly - but autocorrect needs to be set up first. AlphaSmart Neo
The new AlphaSmart Neo 2
- Wireless Printing. NEO 2's built-in 802.15 wireless connectivity can be used to allow it to print wirelessly. This can include network printers.
- Responder. NEO 2 has the functionality of the Classroom Response System (CRS) built into it. Essentially, the teacher can pose a question to the class and the students can respond on their Alphasmart Neos. The results are returned to the teacher’s PC and these can be shown in a graph using the 2Know
software. - More Memory. NEO 2 has twice the 'Flash' memory of NEO 1. This allows for twice as much room for additional applications, such as the Accelerated Reader quiz-taker, and the Responder applications.
- Accelerated Reader. Using the Accelerated Reader SmartApplet allows a NEO 2 to be used to take Renaissance Learning's Accelerated Reader quizzes.
AlphaSmart Dana and AlphaSmart 3000. A teacher commented: "When I showed the AlphaSmart 3000 to three children, between ages 8 and 12, each of them was completely familiar with it, and began using it immediately. "I only have to remember which number computer I used and which number button to press," said eight-year-old Joshua Atwater. As they each quickly composed documents of their whimsy, it became clear to me that the AlphaSmart concept has merit in the education field, offering a simple solution for beginning computer users". (Source: Pencomputing) .The Alphasmart Neo and what it can do:
- Wireless Printing. NEO 2's built-in 802.15 wireless connectivity can be used to allow it to print wirelessly. This can include network printers.
- OmniPage Lite is a very basic scanner. Kurzweil 3000 is also very good. OmniPage Pro
Using the Kurzweil 3000
Using Kurzweil 1000
Text to Speech Resources
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- Examples: MS Word, Spellcatcher
Software dictionaries contain definitions of words and also help the user to avoid making mistakes by alerting them to spelling errors. Features can include spellchecking, word suggestion, word prediction, homophone support(where similar sounding words are flagged). A software thesaurus is a useful tool and increases the available word choices by providing a list of relevant words. A software dictionary or software thesaurus can be standalone or part of common software such as MSWord or part of a specialised reading and writing program.
Speaking Dictionary and Thesaurus
A speaking dictionary and thesaurus is useful to those with a learning difficulty and to anybody prone to spelling errors. It will give definitions and synonyms of words entered on a small keyboard, and reads them back.
A useful feature is that it can recognize when a misspelling is entered and will suggest the correct word.
Example: The misspelling Theater will result in the list of suggested words headed by Theatre.
