Cotman's website now speaks for Itself!

Following the re-launch of our website in May, Cotman Housing Association is delighted to announce that it has adopted Browsealoud, the assistive technology from Texthelp Solutions. This free service enables visitors to the Cotman website (www.cotman-housing.org.uk) to have the website read aloud.

Ben Veal, Information & PR Officer for Cotman Housing, explains “Ever since the launch of our new website, we have been looking for a way to increase accessibility for all of our residents, and we saw the benefits that Browsealoud would bring to our visitors by reading the text on our site aloud. We hope that our website will become the first port of call for people who want to find out information about the services we offer, and having assistive technology installed should ensure that each visitor can access all the valuable information available electronically”.

Reading large amounts of text on screen can be difficult for those with literacy and visual impairments and can mean that these members of a community can be excluded from the same information as their peers. Browsealoud works by speaking website content aloud when the user highlights the text that they wish to read. This greatly improves understanding of online information for those who find reading text online difficult, which is currently approximately 20% of the UK population.

Browsealoud is free of charge to users, with the cost covered by Cotman Housing Association. Web visitors need only download the application once and then all websites on the Internet that are Browsealoud-friendly can be read aloud for free.

As well as Cotman Housing, Browsealoud also works closely with British Telecom, British Airways, Churchill Insurance, The Victoria & Albert Museum, The British Council and The NHS.

For more information about the work of Cotman Housing, log on to www.cotman-housing.org.uk or telephone 01603 612927.