Getting to Know the Toolbars

The Standard Read&Write Toolbar

Options: ​This tool will allow you to choose the voice that reads
to you, the speed at which the voice reads, the ability to turn reading
on or off, and adjust the translator language.

Help:​ Clicking the help icon will take you to the support centre
of the Read&Write for Google Chrome web page.

TextHelp: ​This icon will take you to Text Help’s website. There is
more information here on the Read&Write program.

TextHelp PDF Toolbar

These features will be covered in more detail at the end of this document.
 Tools to Support Writing

Prediction: ​ Word prediction would be very helpful for emerging spellers and writers,
and one of the many means of Representation as well as Expression under UDL. As you type, a
list of word options will appear. Word prediction also pays attention to phonetics, so if you are
accidentally spelling with, say, an ‘f’ when it should be a ‘ph’, it will list other potential word
options for you. Using picture dictionary in conjunction with word prediction is especially
helpful.

S​ peech Input:​ This is a speech-to-text (dictation) feature. Click the speech input button
and begin speaking when you see the microphone. Click the microphone again when you are
finished speaking.
Dictation software is revolutionary for emerging writers, students with writing disabilities, or
those that struggle with written expression as they are able to express themselves verbally. It
takes time and practice to learn how to dictate, but the feature is very intuitive and easy to
learn.

Voice Note:​ Voice notes is a great communication tool that allows you to leave messages
or answer questions in a document. Used with G Suite which makes documents easily shared,
teachers may easily leave special instructions, formative feedback or questions via a voice note,
and students may easily respond or ask questions via another voice note.

Check It: ​Check It is a built-in spelling and grammar checker that should work in any
online word-processing software used in Google Chrome, including email. Simply click the
Check It icon and it will underline any perceived spelling and grammatical errors in purple,
offering suggestions on how to correct the error.
 Tools to Support Reading
The text-to-speech features in Google Read&Write support decoding of text under UDL’s
principle of Representation and greatly reduces stress and frustration for emerging readers.
This is one option that reduces barriers that arise from emerging readers and learners with
reading disabilities.

​ lay: ​This icon allows you to have text read to you. Place your cursor at the beginning of
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any text, then press the play icon.

​Pause:​ The pause button allows you to pause when text is being read to you. When you
press play, the speech will carry on from where you left off.

​Stop:​ The stop button allows you to stop when text is being read to you. You will have to
place your cursor in a new place before pressing play again.

Screenshot Reader: ​ When you select this icon, draw a box around an area of text you’d
like to read, then click play. This icon works well for areas of a website which the other reader
might not automatically read to you.

Screen Mask: ​This tool allows learners to focus on the area of text that they are currently
reading, as it blocks out selected areas.

The settings icon on the right side of this icon will allow you to change the width of
the mask and the color that covers the rest of the text.

Audio Maker: ​By selecting text and clicking the Audio Maker icon, this tool will turn any
online text into an audio file and download it for you, allowing you to save any text you like as
audio.

Practice Reading Aloud: ​Select some text that you would like to practice reading. It will
open the tool in a new tab, like so:
This tool allows you to practice
reading. Click the microphone to
record yourself reading the selected
text. This tool allows learners to
listen to themselves read, then send
the recording to their teacher (or
parents!) via Google Suite.
 Tools to Support Comprehension

​ ictionary​
D & ​Picture dictionary
The dictionary and picture dictionary features will define any word for you if you highlight the
word and then click the respective icon. Using the picture dictionary will allow you to have the
word’s definition read to you, while also being able to view an image of it. Both of these
features also fall under UDL’s Principle of Representation, particularly helpful for ELLs and visual
learners.

T​ ranslator: ​The translator in Read&Write for Google Chrome is especially helpful for
those who are learning English as a second language. You can highlight the word, then click the
icon to translate into a previously selected language.

Tools to Support Executive Functioning

Highlighting Functions

Highlight any text, then click the icon of the color you would like to highlight text in.

​Clear highlights: ​ Highlight the section that has already been highlighted that you would
like to delete. Click the clear highlights button to remove those highlights from the text.

​ ollect highlights: ​After you’ve highlighted some sections, you can collect your highlights,
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sorting them into which ones you would like to select for a new doc, and in which order you
would like them. Once you’ve organized your highlights, the program automatically opens a
new Google doc. The Google doc will contain only the sections that you’ve highlighted from the
previous text. It will also automatically cite the location that you’ve taken it from. This can be
helpful for building a bibliography or references page, highlighting key concepts as a learner
reads through the page, and breaking down learning content into smaller, more manageable
chunks. An excellent tool that falls under UDL’s principle of Representation.

Vocabulary:​ The Vocabulary Builder is helpful for assignments, and for students wanting
to understand words they may not have come across before. In order to use this, highlight
some words from a text, then click the vocabulary builder icon. A new Google Doc will open
with a vocabulary table, containing each word, its meaning, its symbol, and a space for the
student to write notes on each word. As an example, the notes the student writes/dictates
could be the definitions they got from using the dictionary tools.
 TextHelp PDF Viewer
TextHelp PDF Viewer is an incredible tool included with Google Read&Write to help students
with reading, writing and completing worksheets in school. Using an example of a worksheet
that my grade 2s completed last year, this section will go more in depth than with the other
tools as this tool is much lesser known.

The first step in using this tool is to open a PDF

using Google Read&Write. To do this, click on a
PDF in your Google Drive, select “Open with” and
then “Read&Write for Google Chrome.”

This is how the PDF should open:

This is the main toolbar:

Many of these tools are also featured in the main Read&Write toolbar and function similarly, so
you will be familiar with some of them by this point.
 Click to speak: ​This button triggers the Play, Pause and Stop tools. After clicking it, click
text anywhere on your screen to have it read to you, then use the Play, Pause and Stop buttons
to control the text-to-speech. When using these on a worksheet, students can have all of the
instructions and important information read to them.
Play, Pause and Stop:

Dictionary and Picture Dictionary: ​These tools function the same way as those in
the regular Read&Write toolbar. Select a word and then click the Dictionary or Picture
Dictionary icon. This is what came up for me when I selected “string” and then clicked on the
two icons separately:

Translator: ​This tool functions in the same way as the regular Read&Write toolbar. Select
a word and then click this icon to have the word translated into any language.

Highlighter: ​These tools function in much the same way as in the regular Read&Write
toolbar. When clicking the highlighter icon, the rest of the highlighting tools
appear:

By selecting text and then

clicking the yellow highlighter, I
was able to highlight some key
information in my instructions.
 T​ ypewriter: ​This tool allows you to add text to
any given location on the PDF with a text box. This
feature is fantastic for students who typically need a
scribe in order to fill out worksheets. When I click the
Typewriter icon and then click in the “Name” area, I
can type my name, or dictate it with features I am
already familiar with from the regular Read&Write
toolbar. I can then use this tool to fill in all of the
blanks on the rest of the worksheet.

These tools allow you to change the size and color of your font.
Any worksheet can be created in Google Docs and then saved as a PDF and it will work
seamlessly with the TextHelp PDF Viewer.

Freehand Drawing and Shapes Drawing: ​These tools allow you to draw anywhere
on the PDF or insert squares, rectangles or lines. These tools are excellent for visually
representing information in a response, drawing tables, etc.

I used TextHelp’s PDF Viewer during my Master’s Degree to

take notes on PDF printouts of PowerPoint slides. Using both
of the drawing tools, I was able to replicate a table that a
professor drew on the board.

As this tool allows you to change

the color of the shapes, I was also
able to get rid of the lines on the
PowerPoint slide print out before I
started typing my notes, giving
myself more room to type.

The tools in the bottom left-hand corner allow you to view

thumbnails of the different pages in the PDF, rotate the pages, or print or download the
document. It is important to note that downloading the document ​will not​ save any changes
made, though they will be saved to the PDF in Google Drive or can be printed for a hard copy.