aclJohn's Inclusion Finds

MyStudyBar is a comprehensive set of open source and freeware applications to support learners with literacy difficulties.

This short video clip provides an introductory overview of its main features (can also be watched at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8yBchrTRgQ)...

Although MyStudyBar is designed to work with Windows Vista and Windows 7, mainly because of the improved SAPI 5 voice (Anna) and of course the excellent Windows Speech Recognition, it will also run on Windows XP, but th...

I've often asked the question, what will you do if a Learner asks for notes as an audio file? I've suggested that one solution is to use Audacity to record an audio version, when you proof read text. By reading it out loud I know you will spot errors and, as a bonus you then have an audio version for all learners.

CarryoutText, like the example I've just given, allows those who...

• find reading difficult or, in some cases, impossible;
• can understand spoken but not written English; or
• pref...

I quite like the fact that this Text-to-speach software is called Balabolka; a Russian word that means “chatterer”. 

The Balabolka I'm bringing to your attention is a very good free text-to-speech software for the PC, running in all versions of Windows–from  Windows 2000 through Windows 7. 

There are two versions of the program..

1. installed on a host computer, and
2. a portable version that will run from a USB flash drive.

To be honest, I've only tried the portable which works very...

It is difficult for me to assess the value of this online software as I can see.

WebAnywhere is a web-based screen reader for the web. It requires no special software to be installed on the client machine and, therefore, enables blind people to access the web from any computer they happen to have access to that has a sound card.

The huge plus is WebAnywhere...

• will run on any machine,
  
• will run on heavily locked-down public terminals,
  
• will run regardless of what operating system ...

JISC Techdis have launched a new browser toolbar (to replace their 2005 version) that will hopefully, for many, make browsing the web a better experience.

The toolbar enables users to very easily...

• adjust the magnification of a web page,
• change the font style and colour,
• check spelling and
• have the text read to them.

This toolbar will work with...

• Firefox,
• Google Chrome and
• Internet Explorer and

...can either be downloaded and installed into the browser or actually added to your ow...

I can hear Chrissie and Keith (Senior Adviser and Technical Adviser) tut, tutting at me for even flagging up software in Alpha; but here goes anyway.

Twitter has emerged as one of the world’s most widely used social networking services.

Twitter’s appeal lies in...

• its simplicity, and
• the way it fosters a sense of immediacy.

Communication on Twitter must be brief and to the point, because “tweets” are limited to 140 characters; it doesn’t have to take up a great deal of ...

Making Money Easier offers a set of guides designed to help adults with a learning disability think about...

• money,
• banking and
• planning their life.

The Easy Guide to Banking would make an excellent resource for teaching Managing Money at Entry 2.

Find out more at http://www.making-money-easier.info/.

The Oska Bright website <http://www.oskabright.co.uk/> as some excellent guidelines on making films which are suitable for sharing with adults with learning disabilities.

Content includes...

• Making a story

• Using a camera

• Using Lighting

• Music and sound

• Finishing touches and

• Things to remember

Find out more at http://www.oskabright.co.uk/Film%20making.htm.

In their words...

"Ever read one of those top ten lists or photo galleries where every item is on a different page? You spend more time clicking "Next" and waiting than actually reading anything. PageZipper is a free bookmarklet which automatically merges all the "Next" pages into one, so you can skip directly to the stuff you want." 

To add Page Zipper to your browser and/or to find out more g...