What are Screen Readers and Reading/Display Tools?
Screen readers are special programs that read aloud the text on your computer or device screen. They help people who have difficulty seeing or reading by turning written words into speech or braille.
Reading and display tools help make reading on screens easier by changing how text looks or by helping you understand it better. These tools can:
Make the screen easier on your eyes (like changing colours or fonts)
Remove distractions from websites so you can focus
Summarise long pieces of text
Help you read faster
Improve your understanding of what you read
While screen readers speak the text out loud, reading and display tools focus on making reading visually and mentally easier.
My Computer My Way
This guide explains the simplest ways to make your computer easier to use, including reading, seeing the screen, and using the keyboard and mouse. Online guide
Claro MagX
Make small items bigger and change the contrast and colour to make images easier on your eyes.Claro MagX can be used to magnify anything using the lens on your mobile device and is therefore great for providing real time enhancement of all types of learning and teaching material. iOS; Android.
f.lux
Adapts the colour and brightness of your screen to the time of day. Windows download; Mac download; Linux download
Spreed
Speed read the web. Train yourself to double or triple your reading speed, without sacrificing comprehension. Absorb knowledge, faster. Online tool; Bookmarklet; Chrome extension; Bookmarklet for other browsers
Spritz
Spritz is a speed-reading plugin for your browser. Bookmarklet
Dolphin EasyReader
A free eBook reader for EPUB and DAISY formats, designed to support readers with visual impairments, dyslexia, and other print disabilities.
It offers a wide range of options to customise the reading experience, including font selection (such as dyslexia-friendly fonts), text and background colours, and synchronised highlighting. Users can magnify text up to 600% with automatic text reflow.
The app also includes text-to-speech functionality, allowing users to listen to content while following along with highlighted text. EasyReader provides direct access to accessible libraries such as RNIB Bookshare , making it easy to browse, download, and read materials in one place.
Google Colour Enhancer
A customisable colour filter applied to web pages to improve colour perception. Chrome extension
Google Headings Map
The headings map extension generates an index or map of any web document structured using headers and also shows the structure of sections of the document. Chrome extension
Google High Contrast
High Contrast lets you browse the web with your choice of several high-contrast color filters designed to make it easier to read text. Chrome extension
Mercury Reader
Clear away the clutter from all of your articles leaving only text and images for a clean and consistent reading view on every site. Windows download
Autoscroll in Adobe Reader
The automatically scroll (or autoscroll) feature is unique to Adobe Reader and this feature makes it easier for people to read through long PDF document, especially when documents have been magnified and reflowed to make them easier to read. Autoscroll allows readers to scroll through pages without using keystrokes or mouse actions. Online guide
Magnify and reflow in Adobe Reader and Microsoft Word
When reading information on a screen sometimes text can appear small and difficult to read. Magnifying or zooming text can make it easier and more comfortable to read written content.
Rewordify
Online software that helps improve reading by intelligently simplifying difficult English for easier comprehension. Web-based tool
Summarising text
Auto summarise tools are tools that give you an overview of the main points in a document. Different tools work in different ways but they are good ways to get the essence of an online document. QuillBot is a good example.