Read and Write

Now and then Read and Write Gold is still recommended for students, especially special ed. Any time I used it, it felt bloated especially in a computer lab context. With that said one of its nicer features was the ability to have text read to you.

The Chrome App Store has Read and Write which has many of the same features as Read and Write Gold.  It integrates with Google Docs with the ability to read text, highlight, word look up, and the ability to turn text into symbols.

But before we go any further you need to make sure Chrome Sync is set up correctly.  If you use Chrome regularly you should have received a message about syncing so there is a good chance it is already set up. Easiest way to tell is by trying to add a simple app from the Chrome Store. If not I wrote a post on using an alternate gmail account to setup sync.

Now you are ready to add the Read and Write Chrome App.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/readwrite-for-google-docs/inoeonmfapjbbkmdafoankkfajkcphgd?utm_source=chrome-ntp-icon

You may receive some scary sounding messages. This is actually a good thing. If a third party needs access to your Google Drive it should have some justification. Since this app functions inside of Google Docs it will need access to both read and write permissions. These rights are needed in order for certain functions to work such as highlighting, text to speech, and dictionary look up.

Below is a video about how Read&Write functions. I found it pretty cool. This app is applicable to teachers and 4/5 students and above. If you try it out let me know your thoughts in the comment section.