I recently discovered Talklets, a text accessibility toolbar for Web sites that could be of great help to people with cognitive disabilities. It can be seen in action on the Web site of Rok Talk, the developer, and on the Web site of Regional Support Centre, Scotland North & East. Take a look at it on the latter site. To do so, click the button entitled “Click to Show Text Reader” on the right of the home page, near the top. The toolbar then appears at the bottom of the page. The main part of it looks like this.
Features
Via simple buttons, the toolbar enables Web site visitors to:
- listen to the text of the entire page or just to the text to which a user points the cursor;
- record the text to a MP3 file that can be easily downloaded;
- enlarge, reduce or restore the text size;
- highlight the text in different colors; and
- see a help window that explains how to use each feature.
Extra features include enabling users to retrieve the definition of any word, change the pronunciation of a word, and highlight words as they are read.
The developer says the toolbar does not interfere with screen readers, and can be used by people who are blind (and don’t have access to a screen reader) via keyboard controls.
Follow-Up
I will be contacting Rok Talk to discuss its pricing structure and to determine if it would be willing to let me experiment with the toolbar on the future Clear Helper Web site.
Note: No endorsement is intended or implied for this product.