Free Resources from the Net for (Special) Education

Welcome to this Treasure Chest of Free Stuff.

The program I’m discussing today is a truly remarkable offering–a free talking word processor. Although it may not be quite as polished or refined as some commercial alternatives, EdWord is probably exactly what is needed for many individuals. The simplicity of EdWord’s interface, and the attention paid to accessibility make it worth a look.

EdWord (downloadable program) This free talking word processor is available from Deafblind Online. EdWord is part of a suite of programs from UMIST at the University of Manchester and Sense, “the UK’s leading organization for people who are deafblind or have associated disabilities.” Although the programs have been developed with the deafblind population in mind, they have the potential to be helpful to many others.

EdWord is intentionally a basic word processor, without the full range of features and options. It is nonetheless a fully functional word processor with all essential features. The developers have done a nice job of making menus and toolbars accessible. For individuals with low vision, the interface is clear, uncluttered and adjustable in terms of colour, contrast, size, etc. All menus, menu options, and toolbar icons speak their names as the cursor moves over them. Once EdWord is open, the talking tooltip feature extends to everything on the desktop.

EdWord can speak each character as it is typed or each word when the space bar is pressed. Once a word is typed, EdWord will speak it when clicked with the mouse. Unfortunately, Edword does not read sentences or selected text. To be fair, I found that if I positioned the cursor in exactly the right place immediately before a sentence, it would read the following sentence.

Amazingly, EdWord even provides symbol and picture support for writing. By using another associated free program entitled Symbol Set Maker, you can import and use commercially available symbol sets such as PCS, Rebus, or Bliss symbols. Alternatively, you can create your own symbols or even use photos.

In order to facilitate switch access, EdWord also offers a grid on the computer screen below the word processor, in the same manner as the Clicker programs from Crick. In combination with another companion program called Grid Editor, cells can be programmed in the grid to either send text to the word processor or input computer commands.

It should be noted that use of both Symbol Set Maker and Grid Maker require at least a modicum of tech savvy. Grid Maker also requires considerable time for ongoing programming. If, however, you are looking for a basic talking word processor with a significant range of accessiblity options EdWord is definitely worth a try. User manuals, in MS Word format, are available for EdWord and all associated programs. All associated programs and manuals are available from the same download page.

The two screenshots below show EdWord’s interface with and without a grid. (Click the thumbnail to enlarge and use your browser’s back arrow to return to this page.)

EdWord is available only for Windows, from Windows 98 on.