Natural Reader Text to Speech Overview

How to use On-Screen Keyboard

On-Screen Keyboard is a Windows tool that functions as virtual keyboards that works exactly the same as the physical one but without having to press in keys, instead the user only need to use the mouse to point at the key he wants to press on the graphical interface provided to see the output on the application he is using.

To use the On-Screen Keyboard follow those steps:

Step 1: open start menu and search “On-screen keyboard” and click on the result

Step 2: make sure the tool is working by visually observing the result; the tool must appear like in the picture below

Step 3: test the tool functionality by typing text or performing a windows shortcut (as example I opened Microsoft word and typed a sentence using the “On screen keyboard”)

Example of the tool’s benefits:

Julia suffered from a concussion which affected her movement abilities especially the use of her fingers so she is constantly struggling when using her computer with typing on the keyboard, she can’t move her fingers quickly nor locate the keys she needs to press, now typing has become much easier for her since she got introduced to “On-Screen Keyboard” which allowed her to use only the mouse to interact with the system.

(important: this is just a functional example and the event included is not actual)

How to use Windows Narrator

This handy tool outputs a sound on headphones, speakers or any sound device installed on the computer of text reading chosen by the user; it includes text on screen, dialog boxes, menus and buttons.

To use the Narrator tool follow those steps:

Step 1: go to start Menu and search “Narrator” and click on the result

Step 2: Narrator window will be opened in the down right side of the screen and run automatically with its default settings

To change setting you can check and uncheck any option you see on the window, you can also change the voice settings by clicking on “Voice Settings” or get help by clicking on “Quick Help” or quit the tool choosing “Exit”

Example of the tool’s benefits:

Steve had an accident at work made him lose his sight 2 years ago, with already a large set of IT skills he needed only a tool to help him overcome his disability and interact with computers without having to visualize graphic output, Narrator tool helped by providing vocal notifications of all his actions on the computer.

(important: this is just a functional example and the event included is not actual)

How to activate Onscreen keyboard on Mac OS

1- Open the "system preferences" panel.
2- Click on "International" icon.



3- select the "Input Menu" tab.
4- Check the "Keyboard Viewer" check-button.


5- based on the language enabled on your keyboard setting, the flag of the country will be visible on desktop (In the picture below the language used with the American English). Click on the flag, on the drop down menu click on "Show Keyboard viewer".

6- the Onscreen Keyboard will be available for use.

How to enable Speech Recognition on your Windows Vista PC

Speech recognition is a tool that allows the user to fully control his computer using only his voice without having to press or type or click on anything. To set up Speech recognition tool here are the steps you can follow:

Step 1: go to start menu and search “Speech recognition” then click on the result “Windows Speech Recognition”

Step 2: a window like the one showed below will appear, click on “Next”

Step 3: the next window will ask you to choose your microphone type, choose yours and press “Next” (my Microphone is built into my Laptop)

Step 4: the next window will ask you to set up your microphone providing you with tips about the proper setting, follow the instructions then click “Next”

Step 5: the set up will ask you to record your voice saying a sentence suggested by the set up window and then click on “Next”

 Step 6: make sure the set up was correct (Windows is going to confirm that, see picture below), then click “Next”

 Step 7: Microsoft is going to ask for your help to improve their services by allowing them to review documents, you can choose to Enable or Disable documents review (I have picked not Disable documents review), then click “Next”

 Step 8: you can choose to print references sheet or not, then click “Next”

 Step 9: if you want to speech recognition to run every time you start your computer check “Run Speech Recognition at startup”, if you don’t want to uncheck it, then click “Next”

 Step 10: a window will appear informing you that you have successfully set up Speech recognition and you can start controlling your computer by your voice, Windows will also suggest you learn how to use the tool by taking tutorials, if you want to take them click “Start Tutorial” and if you don’t want to choose “Cancel”

Step 11: make sure the tool is working, see if the tool window appears like the one in the picture below

Example of the tool’s benefits:

Ann lost her arms after a traffic accident, she can’t use a mouse or a keyboard anymore, Speech Recognition helped her control her computer independently and effectively.

(important: this is just a functional example and the event included is not actual)

Voice Recognition Software for the physically disabled

Voice recognition software ppt from brittholman

Note: Original copyrights owner details are shown on the presentation's first slide. 

D2) Chosen accessibility tools for users with special needs

Chosen IT tool for visually impaired user:

The most suitable IT tool for a visually impaired user will be chosen based on his/her disability type (poor vision, partly blind or completely blind). For a person with poor vision the Windows Magnifier will be the ideal IT tool because of:

Free and accessible: Windows Magnifier comes already built in the most popular operating system in the world. It can be found on the accessibility tools panel.

Easy set up: one of the best Windows Magnifier advantages is its easy set up requirements, to run it, you can simply search it on the start menu search bar and click on the result for the tool to start functioning.

Screen parts Enlargement: Windows Magnifier can enlarge specific parts of the screen as the cursor hover over them, the size of the magnified area can be modified in the tool setting, this will help altering the functionality based on the degree of the visual impairment.

Chosen IT tool for the text reading:

For the text reading tool, I would recommend the “Natural Reader” because of its numerous qualities such as:

 Free to use and free to download: This tool is free to download from the developer’s website (http://www.naturalreaders.com/index.php) and completely free to use unless the user requires further advanced features available to whom ready to pay.

Reads and opens multiple types of documents: This tool has the capability reading out text directly from Microsoft Word, PDF and other documents formats.

Floating bar: the floating bar helps controlling reading text from a variety of other software application.

Change reading speed: this feature helps adjusting the speed of reading to suit people with different hearing abilities.

Speech with different voices and accents: the user can select one from different voice types based on factors such as sex of the voice (male or female) and the local accents (example: American English or British English).

Chosen IT tool for On-screen keyboard:

Because the two previously mentioned on-screen keyboard tools are with absolutely the same functions and features, we cannot pick one based on quality as both are related to different types of operating systems. Because Windows is the most popular operating system, I will state some of the advantages of Windows On-screen Keyboard.

Easy to set up: to open the on-screen keyboard on windows, you simply need to type “On-screen keyboard” on the search bar in the start menu and click on first result.

All you need buttons: the buttons provided by the On-screen keyboard are not only for writing characters, digits and symbols, but also for opening some utilities and execute some functions.

Easy to use: to press a button on the On-screen keyboard, you simply need to move the cursor over the desired button and click the right button.

Chosen IT tool for physically disabled user:

Taking into account that a physical disability would probably leave the user unable to use some input devices such as the mouse and keyboard. The tool I have chosen was the Windows Speech Recognition tool as it enables the physically disabled user to perform commands to the computer vocally. Some of the best features of this tool are:

Full control over computer: Speech recognition has the ability to listen to commands said by the user and respond to them simultaneously. After each command given, the computer responds with executing it and output the convenient result.

Write and edit text: if the user was willing to type a text on any application, speech recognition will instantly translate the words spoken into written text on the computer. The user can also edit the text written by performing certain commands.