Welcome to post four in our “Summer of Reading with Read&Write” series. For a quick reminder, Read&Write is free for all staff and students at RRC Polytech to use! While it has many, many, features, we’re highlighting the reading features in this blog series.

Disclaimer: this post assumes that users have both installed and signed into Read&Write, and self-registered in the Read&Write Tutorial in LEARN. If you haven’t, we suggest reviewing:

• Our Summer Reading with Read&Write – Kick Off blog post,
• Post two, Summer of Reading with Read&Write – Reading Basics,
• and post three, Summer of Reading with Read&Write – Unreadable Text,

Screen Masking

Do you find it difficult to read digital text? You are not alone. Bright backgrounds, small text, high or low color contrast, and long paragraphs may make digital reading hard. We get that. And this blog post is here to help!

Screen Masking is a set of tools within Read&Write. These tools aim at reducing eye strain, and make it easier to read or follow along while reading on-screen text. Screen Masking gives you tools to change how your screen looks so reading (or even viewing your screen) becomes easier and less tiring. You can adjust the colors, add helpful visual guides, and create a reading environment that works best for you.

Screen Masking Tools

Tint Whole Screen

Tint whole screen changes the color of the entire screen. It’s like putting a colored piece of glass over your computer.  You can customize the color and opacity of the screen. It reduces eye strain by lowering the contrast between the background and text.

Change Page Color

Change page color only changes the page’s color. It does not affect the toolbars or other panes (like Tint Whole Screen does). You can customize the color and opacity of page color. It reduces eye strain by lowering the contrast between the background and text.

Underline Typing Line

Underline typing line places a colored bar underneath where you are typing. You can customize the color, opacity, and size of the underline. This feature may help with visual tracking while typing.

Tint Typing Line

Tint typing line places a colored bar over the text you are typing. You can customize the color, opacity, and size of the underline. This feature may help with visual tracking while typing.

Underline Cursor

Underline cursor places a colored bar, the width of your computer screen, underneath your cursor. As you move your cursor, the bar moves too. It supports visual tracking while navigating your computer. You can customize the color, opacity, and size of the underline.

Reading Light

Reading light places a line of light across your computer screen that follows your cursor. You can adjust the height of the line so that it is the height of a line of text, supporting visual tracking. You can customize the color, opacity, and size of the light.

More Information

For more information, check out the Screen Masking section of the Read&Write LEARN Tutorial!

“Homework”

• Locate the Screen Masking feature in either the desktop or web extension (bonus points for locating it in both!)
• Explore the different Screen Masking Tools
  • Try each one, and play around with the available customizations

“Homework” Help: if you’re not sure which Screen Masking tools might work for you, we suggest trying the Tint Whole Screen option in a light grey or pale blue tone.

AI Usage Acknowledgement

This post was jointly written by Copilot and a human.