Read & Write Gold (RWG) is a tool you can use to help with reading, writing and researching. It works as a toolbar and is easy to use. To learn how to use the program after installing it, you can go to the “textHELP” button on the toolbar, and from there you can open the drop-down menu and watch video tours. Instructions for accessing RWG, please visit your class tab on Hornet HQ.
At this time, RWG is available to every faculty, student and staff member of the University of Lynchburg community. You can use it on any computer lab (PC or Mac), as well as on your own personal computer. You must be logged into the College’s server to be able to access it.
Using the Toolbar
From the RWG toolbar you can set your feature preferences, as well as determine the placement of the toolbar on the screen. Several pre-set toolbars are available, including: All Features, Reading Features, Writing Features, Research Features and Study Skills Features. You can determine the specific features you want on any of these toolbars, from just a few features to the full suite of tools, as well as customize the My Features toolbar.
Additional features, settings, video tours and support can be accessed by clicking on the arrow next to the “textHelp” icon and Online Help is always just a click away on the toolbar.
While the only way to really understand the scope of features available is to explore RWG on your own, here are a few of our favorites:
- Text to Speech
With Text to Speech, content is read aloud with dual highlighting. You can select your preferred reading voice, and set the pitch, speed and volume. You also have the option of reading word by word, one sentence at a time, one paragraph at a time or continuously. Individual words are highlighted in one color as they are spoken while the sentence is highlighted in another color – this dual color highlighting has been proven to raise comprehension levels by 20%.Based on anecdotal information, students who utilize the text to speech feature as part of their final editing process tend to improve their grade by a half-letter. - PDF Aloud
You can have any accessible PDF file read aloud with dual color highlighting. Choose your reading voice and voice speed and the content will be read back by word, sentence or paragraph. - Sounds Like and Confusable Words Checker
The Sounds Like (Homophone) and Confusable Words Checker identifies words that sound the same but are spelled differently such as “eye” and “I” or words that are commonly confused, such as “through” and “thorough.” When checking your writing aloud, these words might not be picked up. Multiple alternatives with audible definitions and sample sentences are given so you can be confident you have chosen the right word for your writing. Using this feature is often the last step when editing a paper before handing it in. - Fact Folder
Prepare, store, organize and collate information and facts for research assignments or when writing reports. Fact Folder captures text and pictures, classifies facts and records their source. The Fact Folder also automatically generates a bibliography of the information sources and allows you to add the date, author and category name. - Study Skills Highlighters
With the Study Skills Highlighters you can highlight words or sections of text, such as main ideas, supporting details and vocabulary words, from any Word document or web page. Highlighted text can also be exported to create study guides, outlines or complete assignments. Highlights from multiple documents or web pages can be collected into a single document including bibliography information. This is useful when gathering information for a project from many different sources and makes it easy to collate related information. - Vocabulary List Builder/Study Guide
You can easily build a vocabulary list by highlighting words in a document or web page or by entering words manually. The Vocabulary List Builder automatically creates a table in a Microsoft Word with the words, definitions and images representing each word. It’s easy to expand the table into a full-blown study guide that includes additional information beyond definitions.
