The Public Health Information Development Unit Speech Enables Website with BrowseAloud

Feb. 17, 2010 - PRLog -- The Public Health Information Development Unit (PIHDU) is located at the University of Adelaide and was established in 1999 to assist in the development of public health data, data systems and indicators. It has now implemented BrowseAloud on its website, to ensure that online content can be easily accessed by those who find it difficult to read text on screen.

BrowseAloud is a unique text-to-speech solution designed by Texthelp Systems, the worldwide leader in the provision of literacy software solutions. BrowseAloud reads all accessible website content aloud in a high quality, Australian-accented voice and highlights each word as it is spoken. This combination allows users to hear, see and track words as they are spoken, improving comprehension, word recognition and pronunciation.  

Online visitors can simply follow the links on PHIDU’s website – www.publichealth.gov.au – to download BrowseAloud, free of charge.

John Glover, Director of PHIDU explains, “BrowseAloud will help us to ensure that our website is accessible to a greater number of Internet users. It is very simple to use and offers a wide range of features to help our users navigate our website with ease.”    

The latest version of BrowseAloud comprises features such as a Translator, allowing for single word translation between English, Italian, French, Spanish and German;  Screen Masking,  allowing users to apply colour filters to the screen; a Talking Dictionary; Text Magnification; and an MP3 Maker.

BrowseAloud is used by over 3,000 organisations worldwide, including City of Burnside, City of Greater Bendigo, the University of New South Wales, Samaritans and the International Paralympic Committee.

David Sutton Consulting, an Adelaide-based consultancy company specialising in website implementation, is the prime reseller of BrowseAloud in South Australia. The company helps organisations to adhere to legislation and international guidelines on website accessibility.

David Sutton comments, “BrowseAloud perfectly complements the services we provide and will leverage the work that organisations do to make websites accessible to people with disabilities.”

To learn more about BrowseAloud, visit: www.browsealoud.com, or E-Mail: australia@browsealoud.com. For more information about PHIDU, visit www.publichealth.gov.au.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7a3edsG5dI



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BrowseAloud is the world leading text-to –speech solution from Texthelp Systems designed to improve website accessibility for those with literacy difficulties, dyslexia, mild visual impairments or where English is a second language.