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All-in-one Assistive Technology Tool
January 19, 2019

All-in-one Assistive Technology Tool

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Texthelp

Texthelp is currently being used throughout our school district to help students personalize the learning experience by tailoring it to their individual needs. For teachers, Texthelp's Read and Write chrome extension is a tremendous tool to differentiate the classroom, affording students a simple way to highlight online texts, use text-to-speech, and simplify the reading of a page. Students often need ways to assist them with reading online texts, and students with disabilities are always in need of a variety of tools to assist them with their learning. Texthelp Read and Write helps address a number of their specific needs, taking advantage of 1:1 technology in schools.
  • The online text-to-speech reader within the Read and Write chrome extension works really well. Having used it a number of times with students, the reader works quickly and efficiently, highlighting the words it reads as it goes along. Users can also highlight the text or paragraphs they want the program to read.
  • There is an integrated talk and type feature that is simple to activate and easily listens to the user's speech to type into online documents or text fields. The program is quick, and offers students with physical disabilities another way to complete an assignment requiring written text.
  • I really enjoy the highlighters. Close reading and analysis is often a difficult skill to master, especially online. Texthelp's extension offers a way for students to highlight online texts, then collect all of the highlights into a new google document that they can edit. This is great during research assignments.
  • The text-to-speech works well, but could use a more humanistic voice. It is quite robotic. As well, as a feature to increase the read speed.
  • A feature to clean up the page for easier reading and printing would be a nice addition.
  • Students who struggle with research and writing have shown growth in being able to take notes or highlight key words and phrases from online texts that they want to cite.
  • Students who need the added benefit of text to speech have seen growth in self-efficacy and self-esteem.
There are other tools that do similar things as Texthelp, but none of them are extensions that work within the chrome browser. They also do not incorporate all of the integrated tools that Texthelp does, which means users would need to go to different websites or apps to take advantage of the various features. Texthelp really brings them all together in one simple tool that has become a staple in the special education classroom.
Texthelp Read and Write is best used with students with disabilities who need assistive technology to help them in school, but can be used with all students, as it is a great tool to help students with reading and writing online, as well as research skills with the highlight feature or the built-in dictionary and word prediction. With most schools going 1:1 with technology, a tool that can assist students when the teacher isn't there is a bonus, as well as having multiple tools integrated within. Texthelp is great for students who have sight issues, as you can adjust the color of the text or the background page. Students who struggle with a physical disability can utilize Texthelp's Talk and Type to put their thoughts on paper.