Word – Immersive Reader 

Cost: Part of Office 365 and may be part of an Education and Work Office 365 account | Platforms: Browser-based. Can work in many browsers but built for Edge Browser. 

Purpose: A reading support tool that is embedded throughout the online version of Office 365. Not only does it read text aloud, also called Text to Speech, it improves the readability of information making it easier for you to read. Immersive can be found in the 'View' tab as seen above in the image.

Most useful for: Helps with a range of reading challenges and supports the understanding of written information. In particular, it is helpful to people who have dyslexia.

In this webpage we will explore Immersive Reader in Word but Immersive reader can be found throughout Office 365.

Its key features are: 

• It is a simple to use application in the online version of Word, that offers a range of options to help you read more effectively. 

• These options include increasing the text size. 

• You can select parts of speech in your Word document such as nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. 

• You can also increase the spacing between words which can make the information easier to read – improves readability. 

• A line focus tool help to isolate individual sentences so you can focus on a sentence without the distraction of other sentences. 

• A translate tool gives further comprehension supports especially for those where English is not their first language. 

• You can select a word and a speaker icon will appear that will sound out that word.  

Our Top Tip: 

Useful for proofreading assignments as you can hear mistakes as well as read for mistakes, always remember to allow time to proof read written work. 

Demo of Immersive Reader in Action:

Video source: AHEAD YouTube channel - video donated by Holly Murray. 

Go to the this Website for more information> 

For more Advice: 

• If you are a student in Higher Education, speak to your Assistive Technology Officer or Disability Officer /Learning Support Officer. 
• If you are a Student in the FET/ETB then it may be possible to speak to an Educational Needs Coordinator, Learning Support Coordinator, Student Access Officer, Student Support Coordinator or a Disability Support Officer for more information about assistive technology. 
• If you are an Employee and are interested in this technology then speak to your Disability Liaison Officer (public service) or your Line Manager to start the conversation.

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