Recommended
Updated June 03, 2025
Recommended
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Read&Write
Read&Write is used by learners to work independently - a growing number of staff encourage the use of Read&Write in their lessons too. Read&Write allows learners to access written text and also understand it. Learners also use it to draft and proofread written work. The screen masking feature is one of the most popular features on the toolbar (alongside the speech options) - lots of learners now seem to struggle to see contents on their screen clearly and screen masking helps to address this.
Pros
- text to speech - any text can be access on the screen no matter how it is formatted
- screen masking - one of the most popular features at college
- voice typing - lots of learners use this alongside conventional typing, to dictate words they can't spell without interrupting their flow, or start off pieces of writing.
Cons
- I'd like to see some of the newer features on Read&Write for Google Chrome such as the AI beta, Simplify and Rewordify available on the Windows version
- An RGB number added to the screen masking so that it can be tinted to an exact colour for a learner who has a particular colour that works for them
- More ways for hearing impaired learners to access the toolbar - a dictionary of signed words, for example
- More pictures in the picture dictionary!
- As learners using Read&Write in lessons can use the Read&Write exams toolbar in certain exams, this reduces the need for human readers in exams.
- We save on the amount of monitor overlays we need because of the screen masking feature
- Learners who would not be motivated to work from home do so, because they are supported by their Read&Write toolbar
The personalisation in the toolbar is really handy - learners can use what they need and take off the toolbar anything they don't need. This can be a little difficult to train, as there's so many features to look at and you need a good idea of how the learner works in class to be able to show them the features that would help them the most (and often, they're not aware of what might help them).
I have sent a great example of this to [...] at Texthelp today. It's a blog post I put on my staff intranet last week containing a piece of work done by a dyslexic learner before and after she used Read&Write to proofread it, with an explanation as to which features she used to achieve her final version. It's a really interesting read.
- Aorato (discontinued)
Prior to getting Read&Write at college we used the free apps Orato and ColorVeil. Orato had about 5% of the features Read&Write has, it would often crash and only read text you could highlight. Orato just had screen masking. To be fair, this freeware was never intended to be a match for Read&Write .
Do you think Read&Write delivers good value for the price?
Not sure
Are you happy with Read&Write's feature set?
Yes
Did Read&Write live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of Read&Write go as expected?
No
Would you buy Read&Write again?
Yes
Read&Write Feature Ratings
Using Read&Write
1000 - Educators and Students
3 - We rely on the team at Texthelp for technical support. We have quite a few users now who can offer support with particular features.
- learners use to work independently out of class
- dyslexic staff use it to proofread their feedback, etc
- staff and learners use it to tint their screen to a colour of their choice
- We combine the use of text to speech and voice typing for written work
- Some tutors provide their feedback via voice note rather than typing or writing it out
- We have been looking at turning some of our documents into audio files using AudioMaker, although this hasn't been wildly successful.
- I'd really like us to be able to turn some of our key documents into audio files using AudioMaker
- I'd like to create some revision activities that incorporate Read&Write
- I'd like to encourage more staff to become Certified Users of the software
Comments
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