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Adding Text to Speech to MS Word Word Talk is a 'plug in' template that adds text-to-speech to Microsoft Word for Windows®. Research and experience has shown that students with visual or reading difficulties can find it very helpful to have text read out by the computer. Supporting reading and study through ICT also offers greater independence and a useful life skill rather than relying on a human reader. Word Talk was developed by Rod Macaulay at TASSC in Aberdeen and the Scottish Executive Education Department and has been distributed on CD free of charge to secondary schools in Scotland. The program was formally launched in September at a series of presentations. It can be downloaded free of charge from the Word Talk website, www.wordtalk.org.uk. As the installation file is very large we would strongly recommend using broadband or a similar fast internet connection. If you can only access a slow dial-up connection, the CD can be obtained from:
The Rail Passengers Committee Scotland (RPCS) is the official, independent, voice of the travelling public. Together the Rail Passengers Council and Committees make up the RPC network, representing all passengers on the UK rail network. We consult and listen to passengers to work for improvements
to rail services that will benefit all passengers. The Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP)
for Accounting and reporting by charities has recently been revised and
applies to all but the very smallest charities. For information on future SORP training dates contact Pamela at Community Enterprise. email : pamela@communityenterprise.co.uk National Wheelchair Review of NHS Wheelchair Services in Scotland A review of NHS Wheelchair and Seating Services in Scotland has been published, following a consultation exercise seeking the views of all people involved in using or providing wheelchair services across Scotland. The remarks of the chairman, Professor Martin Ferguson-Pell, can be read here. My name is Erin Shamberg and I am part of a group of volunteers who have developed an online community site called Dating4Disabled.com. This site is aimed at helping disabled individuals develop their social, personal and romantic life in a supportive and understanding environment. We offer forums, private chats, a dating service and blogs, among other features, to facilitate personal expression and connection via an on-line community. We feel it is important for persons with disabilities
to have more opportunities for social and romantic interaction. Our site
is totally free and non-committal. Dating4Disabled.com was developed by a group of volunteers who wanted to provide more social, intellectual and romantic outlets for disabled individuals. This growing community has become a gathering place for the international special needs population, home to members from over 15 countries world-wide. It is a place for people of all nationalities, backgrounds and life-challenges to share, connect and just be heard. The Dating4Disabled environment is welcoming and user-friendly. Advanced internet tools make for easy communication, and facilitate a convenient and fun way to create connections within the disabled community. Members can come together through forums, a dating service, private chats, and blogs, among other features, providing people with mobility issues the opportunity to fulfill their social needs from the convenience of their own home. The site has also incorporated large font options and supporting icon comments to assist the visually challenged. The members of Dating4Disabled can network internationally in an understanding, safe and non-committal atmosphere. This unique cyberspace community facilitates an embarrassment-free opportunity for disabled individuals to express themselves, make friends, and hopefully find a partner for life, with out the pressure of uncertain face-to-face meetings. The support and understanding available in the dating4disabled family makes for an exciting new "home away from home". Our free membership is simple and quick. In the 2-minute sign-up, people create a profile which tailors their online preferences and enables other members to know more about them and what they are looking for. One can customise their interactions by type of relationship, life-challenge, location, interests and more. All these tools and features provide an enjoyable and valuable online experience. The potential for net-working, meeting new people and creating relationships is unlimited. Dating4Disabled provides its members with the opportunity to utilize the World Wide Web for their own unique needs, and to open windows of possibility to the international disabled community. Best Wishes, Hi, I am working as part of a team on the project The Making of Modern Motherhoods. This project is a very prestigious academic research project funded by the ESRC and is looking at women's experiences of first time pregnancy and ideas of motherhood with the aim to compare different women's experiences and changing experiences over time (looking at differences from previous generations). Prior to this project I have done a lot of youth work and research/consultancy work with young disabled people. My interest in disability lead me to start a PhD part-time at The Open University which is focusing specifically on disabled women's relationships with their bodies in pregnancy. Your website looks great - I wondered if you could give me any advice about trying to find women to take part in the Making of Modern Motherhoods project? I am currently posting messages on forums but I wondered if this was appropriate for your website? Do you know of any organisations and groups in the UK who may be interested in helping me? I am really keen to find women for The Making of Modern Motherhoods project as I think it is important that disabled women's experiences are not left out of mainstream academic research. (It would involve filling in a questionnaire and being interviewed in their home.) You can contact me or leave a message on: 0208 855
4774 Lucy Hadfield Dear Sir, Madam, BenToWeb (Benchmarking Tools and Methods for the Web) is a European project aimed at supporting the development of an accessible Web environment. In order to be able to ensure the accessibility for the different target groups, BenToWeb wishes to call upon the user expertise of people with varying disabilities. By means of a user test we want to investigate the accessibility of the BenToWeb developments. The first test sessions will take place in March. The actual test consists of a series of about 20 short exercises and will take about 30 minutes of your time. You can attempt the exercises at home or work by accessing our website. Test participants receive a reimbursement for each completed test series of 20 exercises by means of purchase vouchers by choice (e.g. Amazon, Tesco, Carrefour...) or an equivalent amount. If you are interested in participating in this test, and you have at least 30 minutes of time available in March, we would like to invite you to fill out the short questionnaire at: We require this information (name, age, assistive technology used,) so that we get an idea of how you access the Web. This data will be kept strictly confidential and will not be passed on to third parties. It will only be used internally for statistical purposes. Unfortunately, registration doesn’t guarantee
we can accept you as a test user as we require a panel of users who represent
the disabled community at large. It is possible that your user profile
doesn’t match the specific profile(s) we are looking for in the
first test series. However, more tests As soon as you have registered we will contact you personally in order to inform you if you have been selected and for further arrangements. Test users that are already registered at the ISdAC
database need to register again through the link above. It is technically
impossible to automatically link the individual data of interested test
users to the BenToWeb user profile questionnaire.
Furthermore, in order to safeguard the If you have any more questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Also, don’t hesitate to pass on this mail to anyone else that might be interested. Thank you! Indepen-Dance is offering a dance training day with award winning physical theatre company, Earthfall 29th September 2006 5 Langside Avenue Earthfall are a physical theatre company based in Cardiff. They tour nationally and internationally and have gained a solid reputation for their extensive performances and work with schools throughout the UK and overseas. The workshop will provide a unique chance for you to learn new and relevant skills with the area of dance theatre. The areas of focus for the workshop will be partner work, physical theatre, contact improvisation and contemporary technique. This course is aimed at social work staff, care workers dancers and those using dance/movement in a community setting workshops are practical therefore please dress appropriately. Cost £30 (£25 conc) limited free places
for GCC staff Claire Mitchell Supported by The National Lottery and Scottish Arts Council Please contact the editor@anAurora.co.uk with any stories or features that you would like us to publish for you. |
