Homes for Haringey improves accessibility with BrowseAloud

Wednesday 21 April 2010

Online services offered by Homes for Haringey are set to get even better as an innovative new product called ‘BrowseAloud’ is introduced on its website.

The organisation which manages and maintains over 21,000 tenanted and leasehold homes has an ongoing commitment to reducing online accessibility barriers.

Online visitors simply click the BrowseAloud icon on the Homes for Haringey homepage to download the product free of charge. BrowseAloud is a text-to-speech solution that reads all accessible website content aloud in a high quality human sounding voice which can be altered to suit the individual’s specific needs. As text is read aloud, words are highlighted; a useful tool which aids literacy and comprehension

Clio Rawlings, Web Editor for Homes for Haringey said, “As it is estimated that 10% of people in the UK have dyslexia to some degree, and over two million people are severely dyslexic, Homes for Haringey have recognised the importance of online accessibility to as many people as possible.”

The software has undergone some exciting new changes which include an on screen floating toolbar where the user can easily access all the key features of BrowseAloud. New features that have been added include a Translation tool; allowing for single word translations in English, French, Spanish, German or Italian, and a Screen Masking facility which allows users to mask information on the screen to help with concentration. This feature also aids those who speak English as a second language.

Find out more and download BrowseAloud.

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