Many students benefit from text suggestions to support their spelling and writing process. Windows OS has a built-in predictive text feature that when enabled, will work anywhere there is a text box or cursor and is available to any student.
Read & Write, our new assistive technology program, also has a word prediction feature. Word Prediction using Read & Write allows the user to customize their settings, with options of up to 10 words shown per prediction and a ‘hover’ option which will read aloud the predictive text when your mouse hovers over each word.
Additionally, Microsoft Word has built in spell check, grammar check, text suggestions and editing tools that support the writing process for any student!
Enable text suggestions in Windows
Turn on text suggestions in Windows to quickly complete challenging words and continue working efficiently. As you type, suggestions appear above your cursor, and you can easily select the one you want. Words are predicted based upon your spelling; as you type more letters, new and more accurate suggestions appear.
To begin, select (Start) > Settings. Alternatively, press Windows logo key + I to open the Windows settings.
In the Windows settings, select Time & language.
In the Time & language menu, select Typing.
In the Typing menu, turn on the Show text suggestions when typing on the physical keyboard switch. This enables text suggestions when you’re typing on a physical keyboard.
If you want to use text prediction in several languages, turn on the Multilingual text suggestions switch.
After updating the settings, try typing, for example, an email in Microsoft Outlook, a document in Word, or a comment to a blog post in your web browser. Suggested words appear as you type.
To insert a suggestion, do one of the following:
- Select it with your mouse, or with touch.
- Press the ‘Up’ arrow key, use the ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ arrow keys to navigate to the suggestion you want, and press ‘Enter’ to select.
To dismiss the suggestions without inserting any of them, click outside the suggestions window, or press Esc.
TextHelp: Read & Write
Word prediction is also available through our assistive technology program, Read & Write, for students who have this accommodation through their IEP or 504.
Before you type, tap ‘prediction’ to help. This will give you a list of words as you type to help create your sentence. Hover over any word to hear it read aloud or tap it to place it in the sentence.
Questions? Contact Erika Ture, Assistive Technologist at e_ture@saratogaschools.org.