Overview of Recommended Tools
Interacting with your Course Materials:
Our office provides both Kurzweil 3000 and Read&Write Gold as the recommended tool for interacting with the course content we offer you.
Comparison of Kurzweil and Read&Write
Based on Preferred Platform
| Platform | Recommended Option |
|---|---|
| Desktop | Equal |
| Mobile | Read and Write |
| Web | Read and Write |
Based on Reading Type
| Reading Type | Recommended Option |
|---|---|
| Textbooks | Kurzweil 3000 |
| Websites | Read and Write |
| PDFs | Kurzweil 3000 |
| ePubs | Read and Write |
See our full comparison of Read&Write and Kurzweil 3000
Text-to-Speech Tools:
TTSFox/ ATbar
There are many text-to-speech options available to the public for free. If you are looking to read the web, and want something a little more compact than Read&Write and Kurzweil, our recommendations are: TTSFox for Firefox and ATBar for Chrome.
Speech-to-Text Tools:
Google Voice Typing (windows)/ Mac Dictation (Apple)
While Dragon Naturally Speaking continues to be the leader in speech-to-text, there are free options we feel are just useful for writing your papers. For Windows, we prefer Google Docs, which has a built-in speech-to-text editor. You will need to use the Chrome browser to access it. For Macs, we recommend the built-in Dictation tool.
Do it yourself converters:
Sensus Access
All Rutgers members have access to Sensus Access, which allows students to convert 'image-only' PDFs to searchable documents. You can also convert common file types into PDFs, Word Docs, and MP3 audio files.
If you have questions or need support using this assistive technology, send us an email at radr.aft@echo.rutgers.edu or schedule an online support call..