Tips for Teachers

Over the last half-dozen years we have received lots of educator feedback at all levels spanning the range of  department heads to part-time tutors.  The following is a list of pointers to the solutions many have overlooked within the capabilities of the HELP Read™ software:

• HELP Read™ is a reader only, indicating that the materials to be studied must be chosen, and often supplied, by the instructor as in clipboard text copied from a word processing document, from our link Library, or from web pages.
• Pitch, and Volume settings must be adjusted to accommodate the individual student.  There is no rule of thumb but generally we find that boys listen closer to higher pitched voice settings and girls listen a little closer to slightly to moderately lower pitched voice settings.
• Speed settings are highly subjective and may make the difference in holding (pulling) the student’s attention. Try setting the speed at the highest point on the slide-bar, this will most closely match normal talking rates, and give you a higher than excellent rate to adjust down from in matching your student’s perceptive reach.
• Single word highlighting pulls the greatest for word recognition and comprehension. Only those who prefer to scan their reading materials should use sentence highlighting.
• You can apply Read differences to the five reading companions as another way to store your *.voi (Select Voice) preferences for Pitch, Volume, and Speed by simply using the companion with altered settings then closing HELP Read™ without returning the settings to the original positions.  Also: you can turn off the reading companion under the View menu and still distinguish the settings from character to character.

Notes about the HELP Read™ Voice(s):

• _{Many have complained that they don’t like the HELP Read™ voice. When asked if they attempted to adjust the voice, surprisingly, none have answered to the affirmative.}
• _{All 5 standard Read *.voi (voice) files are set to read slower than normal talking rates.  This slower Read setting more closely matches the average speed that individuals are comfortable reading to themselves.}
• _{Many avid HELP Read™ users condition their praise by reporting that the software would be ideal if it only had a better voice. Usually the same email contains some indication that their reading levels and amounts have increased far beyond all hopes.}

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