Hopefully you caught the last post on Voice Typing in Windows 11! This post goes (yet another) step farther, and introduces the wonderful world of “Voice Access”!

What is Voice Access?

Voice Access is a feature available on Windows computers running Windows Version 11. It allows users to interact with, and control their computer, using their voice.

Launching Voice Access

You can launch Voice Access in a couple of different ways:

• From the start menu, select settings, then accessibility, then speech. Turn on Voice Access.
• In the Windows Search bar, search for “voice access”, then open the application.

Hint: With Voice Access open, right click on the Voice Access icon on your toolbar, and then select either “Pin to Start” or “Pin to Taskbar”

Getting Started with Voice Access

Voice Access has an amazing “Voice Access Guide” that is built right in. The first time you launch Voice Access, we’d highly encourage you to go through this guide. You can access the Voice Access Guide in the following ways:

• from the Voice Access UI (user interface, or window), select the help button, and then select the option to “Start Interactive Guide”
• say “Open Voice Access Guide” while Voice Access is on and listening

“States” of Voice Access

We like to think of the states of Voice Access like different phases of being awake.

If Voice Access is in the Sleep State, it’s not really listening to you, but, if you say the magic words (a voice command) it will turn on and listen (just like if someone is asleep and you yell loud enough, you’d probably wake them up).

Once you’ve “woken” Voice Access up, it’s in the Listening State, which is when it is fully awake and listening to anything you are dictating or any voice commands you are using.

The last state of Voice Access is the Microphone off State which means Voice Access isn’t hearing a thing you’re saying, not even voice commands. The only way to “wake” Voice Access (or to turn it on from this state) is to click on the Microphone button.

There are also keyboard shortcuts and mouse click sequences that you can use to move Voice Access between states.
Switch Between States with your Keyboard or Mouse, Microsoft Support

Using Voice Access

Using Voice Access may take some time, but it is helpful to think of how you might want to use Voice Access, and then stick to learning how to use it piece by piece. Given this is a lot of information to cover, rather than type it all out in this blog, we are going to categorize a few major ways to use Voice Access, and then reference Microsoft Support Articles.

Working with Windows (of Programs and Applications) with your Voice

Working with Windows of programs and applications covers actions such as opening or closing windows, switching between windows, scrolling through windows, etc…
Use voice to work with windows and apps – Microsoft Support

Using the Mouse with your Voice

You can move the mouse either using a grid overlay, or with motion commands, as well as perform mouse clicks all using your voice!
Use the mouse with voice – Microsoft Support

Interacting with Items on your Screen with your Voice

Interacting with items on your screen would account for actions such as selecting or focusing on an item.
Use voice to interact with items on the screen – Microsoft Support

Using the Keyboard with your Voice

Sounds similar to Voice Typing (or Voice Dictation), but adds in how to replicate common keyboard presses (e.g., pressing the “esc” key to close a window), with voice commands.
Use the keyboard with voice – Microsoft Support

Resources:

Set up voice access – Microsoft Support

Long time blog followers might remember a previous post about voice dictation built into specific applications… and while that post is still relevant today, Windows 11 has taken voice dictation in applications a step further, and made it available across (nearly) your entire computer!

Why Use Voice Dictation or Voice Typing?

• Save time!
  Most individuals can speak faster than they can type – using voice dictation can mean that your document/email/etc… is written in a faster time.
• Supports thought transfer!
  Some individuals find it difficult to transfer what they are thinking into written words, whether on physical or digital paper. Often, it’s easier to transfer our thoughts into spoken words, rather than written words.
• Write More!
  Similar to the above, with less of a barrier in thought transferring, and a faster means of getting your ideas out, you can write more! Hopefully reducing how often you lose your “train of thought”.
• Gets you started!
  No really. Sometimes just getting started is the hardest part of writing. With voice dictation, just start talking! Don’t worry about what your opening line is, or your thesis statement, just talk, and edit later.

How to use Voice Typing?

Remember: Voice Typing is available to Windows computers, running Windows Version 11.

You can launch voice typing in one of two ways:

• pressing the Windows logo key and the letter h key at the same time
• selecting the microphone icon (next to the spacebar on the onscreen touch keyboard)

Voice Commands

A voice command is something that you can say, that the computer understands as something to do, not something you want it to type for you. Some of the more common voice commands are:

• “stop listening” = stop voice typing
• “hyphen” = –
• “exclamation point” = !
• “left parentheses” = (
• “right parenthess” = )
• “comma” = ,
• “period” = .
• “smiley face” = 🙂
• “heart emoji” = <3

We know, those last two were the most important ones!

Additional Information

For additional information, including a full list of voice commands, check out this article on Voice Typing, by Microsoft Support.

Are you a Mac User?

Don’t worry, your turn will be coming up!

Did you miss the Live Demonstration we held back on February 14th showcasing the awesome-ness that is Read&Write?

Were you overwhelmed by all of the phenomenal features available?

Do you want to rewatch the recording because it was too much greatness all at once?

Have you been waiting on the edge of your seat to share Read&Write with your coworkers and fellow students?!

…or maybe you just think Read&Write is a regular amount of amazing, but still want to watch the recording!

Well, wait no more! The recording is now available!
Recorded Version – Read&Write Live Demonstration

And just a friendly reminder, Read&Write is available to all staff and students at Red River College Polytechnic for the unbelievable cost of, free!!! That’s right, you can access Read&Write for free, right now (or shortly after you check out these resources):

• Read&Write at RRC Polytech Information
• Read&Write Self-Directed LEARN “Course”
  Think of this “course” more as a tutorial, or a way for us to house information. This course is completely optional – you are not marked, and it does not impact your grades. Pick and choose which modules you want to go through, and go through them at your own pace.
  • Enroll in the Read&Write Self-Directed LEARN “Course”

Just when you thought we had “cooled our jets” (or calmed down) with our posts about how great Edge is, here we are again! Surprize! Another post about why Edge is great, and you should use it as your primary browser. But first, let’s recap some of the other features of Edge we’ve highlighted…

Previous “Edge is Great” Blog Posts & Features Highlighted

Tech Tips: Work Smarter, Not Harder – Collections in Edge

• Immersive Reader
• Automatic meaningful text when copying/pasting links
• Sidebar feature
• Collections

Tech Tips: Work Smarter, Not Harder – PDF Files in Edge

• Read aloud
• notetaking on PDF files

Tab Groups

What are “tab groups” in Edge (and why should I care)? Tab Groups are a way to organize webpages in Edge. They allow you to take multiple webpages and group them together. Sound (kind of) familiar?… That’s because they are similar to Collections in Edge, but, there are a couple of key features that make Tab Groups stick out (and maybe work better for you than Collections):

Color!

Both Collections and Tab Groups allow you to custom name them so you can recall what’s stored in them, but Tab Groups allow you to choose a color for your group! (yes, we made a whole point, and the first point, about color!)

Maybe you want to have personal tab groups in one color, and school tab groups in another?

Pin Tabs!

What arguably could have been the first and most important point that makes Tab Groups stand out from Collections, is the fact that you can pin them!

What this means is that a pinned Tab Group will always sit in your tabs (and if you’ve colored them, they add a nice pop of color to your window!).

Practical Application for Tab Groups

Here’s a suggestion for students on how to practically use the Tab Groups to make your academic life easier (because isn’t that our goal here at Tech Tips?!):

1. Create a Tab Group for a course you are in (name it with either the course code, TEST-1234, or the name of the course)
2. Choose a pretty color for that Tab Group
3. Within the tab group, save (if available):
   • the LEARN course
   • your online textbook
   • additional resources from your instructor
   • YouTube or LinkedIn Learning tutorials
   • your notes (e.g. Word or OneNote online)
4. Pin the tab group so it’s always there
5. Repeat for all of your courses

Now every time you open Edge, a Tab Group for each of your courses is right there! Simply click on the Tab Group to expand the pages saved within – click on the Tab Group to open all of the webpages you need for that course!

Need more space? Have too many tabs open? You can click on the Tab Group again to collapse the pages saved within back into the Tab Group.

Finished with that course and no longer want it pinned? Either unpin it, or move it to one of your Collections!

Do you ever open up a Word document, and end up spending 5, 10 (or even more) minutes on adjusting things like font style/size/color, bolding or underlining words, or adding pages numbers?

This is because when you open up a blank Word document it is automatically formatted based off of the “normal” template, and that may not match your preferred style (or match accessible best practices). However, if you take a few minutes to adjust the “normal” template and save it, every time you open a new Word document, your saved styles and formatting will be used. Saving you those 5, 10 (or even more) minutes you’d spend formatting, every single Word document!

How to Adjust the “Normal” Template in Word

1. Open Word
2. Click on the “File” tab, and then select “Open”
3. Click “browse” and then type “C:\Users\user name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates” into the file path, edit user name to be your username, and then click enter
   • Hint: copy the file path above (minus the quotation marks) and then paste it into the file path instead of typing it out
4. Open the “Normal” template (Normal.dotm)
5. Adjust this blank document to have all of the different fonts, size, styles, etc… that you’d like to be default in Word for you
   • Don’t forget to adjust your heading levels as well!
6. After you’re done, click on the “File” tab, and then click save
7. Open a new blank document in Word, and it should be set with the formatting you just saved!

Video Instructions

Accessible Formatting

When you are adjusting your “normal” template, please make sure that you are following accessible best practices and selecting accessible fonts, colors, etc…
Accessible Documents – Red River College Polytechnic

• Sans Serif font such as Arial, Calibri or Verdana
• Minimum 12 point font (including headers, footers or page numbers)
• 1.15 line spacing (for larger fonts use a greater line spacing value)
• High color contrast between text color and page color
• Pages are numbered
• Text is not written in ALL CAPS
• There is adequate spacing between sections of text
• No watermarks or background text/images
• Appropriate use of heading levels

Additional Resources

• Change the Normal template (Normal.dotm ) – Microsoft Support
• Customize or create new styles – Microsoft Support
• Video: Check the accessibility of your document – Microsoft Support
• Video: Creating Accessible Documents in Microsoft Office – LinkedIn Learning

Hopefully we’ve sufficiently created “hype” around Read&Write and you know exactly what this software is, and how much it costs. But for those who may not have heard yet, let us formally introduce you to Read&Write!

Read&Write

Read&Write (also known as R&W) is an application with supports for, you guessed it, reading and writing. …but it’s so much more than that! R&W has features built in that allow students choice in how they interact with their course materials:

• Don’t want to read that online content? Listen to it!
• Don’t want to copy important information down by hand? Use the digital highlighters and export those highlights into a new document!
• Still learning English, or understand information better in another language? Translate the text into another language, and (for most translated languages) listen to the translated text aloud!
• Need a definition of a word but don’t want to open a new browser tab (because isn’t that a risky step towards distraction)? Use the built in dictionary or picture dictionary.
• Want to listen to course content while multi-tasking (maybe folding laundry or walking your dog)? Go ahead!

R&W has features that allow you to do all of the above (and more)!

R&W Cost

Free. $0. No cost, no credit card needed!

R&W LEARN Course

Interested in using R&W, but not sure how to make it do all of the magical things we’ve talked about?! Don’t worry, we’ve put together a Read&Write Introduction course in LEARN that is designed to walk you through installing and using R&W.

Think of this “course” more of a tutorial, or a way for us to house information. This course is optional. You are not marked, and it does not impact your grades. Pick and choose which modules you want to go through, and when you want to go through them.

Accessing the R&W LEARN Course

If you are not already registered, you can self-enroll in the Read&Write Introduction Course.

It’s not too late to register for the live demonstration of Read&Write happening tomorrow! Wednesday February 14th from noon to 1pm!

Join us in-person at the Notre Dame Campus in the Connected Classroom (G139) or virtually through Microsoft Teams.

Read&Write (also known as R&W) is an application now available to all staff and students at Red River College Polytechnic, and boy, are we excited about to spread the word about this resource!

Who?

R&W is available for free to all staff and students

What?

R&W is an application with supports for reading, comprehension, writing, notetaking, translation, studying, and much more!

Where?

R&W is available for your laptop (Windows and Mac) and web browser (Edge & Chrome)

When?

Interested in a live demo of R&W? Join us for a live demo on Wednesday February 14th Noon-1pm!

• In-Person at the Notre Dame Campus, in the Connected Classroom (G139)
• Virtually through Microsoft Teams

Why?

Why are we excited to spread the word about this resource?

• R&W is free (and for the long-time blog followers, you know how much we love free supports)!
• R&W is amazing!

There are so many supports, and reasons why R&W is amazing, that we can’t contain them all in this blog post! Think of this post as us trying to generate some “buzz” or some “hype” about R&W, and spread the word about the live demonstration. There will be more information about R&W in the next weeks.

How?

Registration is recommended as there is a limit of 40 people for the in-person session:

• Register to attend in person

• Register to attend virtually (through Teams)

Accessibility notice: The primary entrance to this classroom requires stairs, alternate entrance requires going outside. If you have any access needs for this, or require any other accommodations, please reach out to eament@rrc.ca (preferably with a weeks’ notice).

More Information?

Read&Write, RRC Polytech

Last week we highlighted a great resource from the Academic Success Centre, and previous blog posts, all with supports for task & time management skills.
Time Management Skills (rrc.ca)

This week we’re going to build on those resources with a digital version of an office staple… that’s right, digital sticky notes (or digital post it notes)!

Why Digital Sticky Notes?

What we really love about using digital sticky notes is the fact that they automatically open when you turn on your computer. This can be really helpful if you’re one of the many who find their computer a major source of distraction. Instead of turning your computer on and surfing the web, online shopping, or scrolling through endless social media posts, that sticky note being the first thing you see when you turn your computer on might just convince you to start on your schoolwork first (and take a break later).

Uses for Digital Sticky Notes

While you can put almost anything onto your digital sticky note, here are a few suggestions on how to use them to support your newly found task & time management skills:

• keep a running to do list
• remind yourself of the most pressing tasks you need to complete
• list upcoming assignment due dates or test dates
• write down an inspirational/motivational quote
• or a positive affirmation

Resources

• Get started with Sticky Notes – Microsoft Support
• Stickies User Guide for Mac – Apple Support

Our friends over at the Academic Success Centre (ASC) are offering a four-part, totally online, drop in, no registration required, free, workshop series called Understanding How You Learn… and it starts tomorrow!

While this isn’t specifically technology related, it falls in line with our belief that everybody learns differently. This workshop explores four topics that impact learning in a very significant way, with the aim of understanding and leveraging the influence they have on learning.

Workshop Topics:

1. The Brain and Learning – Friday January 19th, 12:15-12:45pm
   How does the brain learn? What can you do to maximize your brain’s learning potential?
2. Critical Thinking and Learning – Friday January 26th 12:15-12:45pm
   What is critical thinking? Why do we talk about it so much?
3. Stress and Learning – Friday February 2nd 12:15-12:45pm
   How does stress impact your ability to learn? What can you do about it?
4. Procrastination and Learning – Friday February 9th 12:15-12:45pm
   Why do we all procrastinate so much? How can we control it?

For more information on the above topics please check out the ASC’s webpage: Understanding How You Learn Workshop Series

How to Attend?:

No registration is required for this event! Simply use this link to log on to the workshop!

Questions?

email: tutoring@rrc.ca