Free Resources from the Net for EVERY Learner

Supporting Universal Access and Universal Design for Learning

June 27, 2008
by Paul Hamilton
1 Comment

CLiCk,Speak for Firefox 3 (Firefox Add-on)

CLiCk,Speak is now available for Firefox 3.

CLiCk,Speak is a FREE tool that I believe needs to be available to ALL learners who have any reason to go online. It is a powerful tool, and one that is extremely easy to use for anyone who can use a mouse. The CLiCk,Speak toolbar installs with three buttons, as shown here.

In order to have text from a web page read aloud, simply place the cursor where you want to begin reading and click the green button. To stop reading aloud, click the red button. If you wish to read a selection of text, click the white button after selecting the desired text.

Under the Firefox ‘Tools’ Menu is an item called ‘CliCk,Speak Options’. You are able to adjust the reading rate and the pitch of the voice here.

As I repeat frequently, if schools are truly interested in supporting all learners, there is no excuse for continuing to insist on using Internet Explorer. If schools are really interested in trying to facilitate universal access, Firefox is a far superior browser because it is so much more accessible for countless learners. There is absolutely no monetary cost for using Firefox, but the potential to help learners with reading challenges is priceless!