MyStudyBar Version 2

MyStudyBar is a new tool to help overcome problems that some students experience with studying, reading and writing. The tool consists of a suite of portable open source and freeware applications, assembled into one convenient package. Easy to install, simple to use, handy and effective, MyStudyBar provides comprehensive learning support at the desktop, where it’s needed. And the icing on the cake is that it’s COMPLETELY FREE to download and use.

MyStudyBar has been produced by Craig Mill and the team at RSC Scotland North & East which created the award-winning AccessApps software suite and, though primarily designed to support learners with literacy-related difficulties such as dyslexia, offers potential benefits to all learners.

Key Features

MyStudyBar puts a range of individual and essential tools at your fingertips, designed to support the complete study cycle from research, planning and structuring to communicating in writing or speech. MyStudyBar has 6 sections; each has a drop down menu offering personal choice, flexibility and independent learning, particularly for learners who require additional  support. And, with over 15 apps to choose from,  it’s the perfect study aid.

Examples include: Xmind for planning and organization; T-Bar for customising font and colour backgrounds; Lingoes – a talking dictionary; LetMeType for help with text input, and Balabolka for converting text to audio. And, just in case that’s not enough, there’s even a speech-to-text facility (for users of Vista and Windows 7) to let you talk to your computer.

You can use MyStudyBar straight from a USB stick (if, for example, you’re using a machine that’s not your own) or you can install it directly to the desktop (technical staff in colleges or universities also have the choice of installing it on the network for everyone to use). However you choose to use it, MyStudyBar pops up on your screen like this:

MyStudyBar Version 2

So How Do I get It?

You can download the application from the RSC Scotland North & East website:
Click here to download

Once you’ve downloaded the zip file, you need to extract all of the contents and put them into the root drive (the top level, e.g. E:\) of your USB stick.
Click here for a video to guide you through that process.

(If you already have experience of downloading AccessApps, you’ll find the process very similar. )

MyStudyBar for XP and Vista/Windows 7

There are two versions of MyStudyBar, one for Windows XP and another for Vista/Windows 7. The main difference between the two is that the version for Vista/Windows 7 takes full advantage of that system’s excellent built-in speech recognition capabilities which were not previously available.

So, you’ve downloaded the files, unzipped them to the correct location and now you’re ready to roll. To get you started we’ve provided some useful help materials, including screencast tutorials on how to get the best from all of its  components:

If you do use MyStudyBar with your students, we would be delighted to hear how you get on – who knows, perhaps it will feature in the next exciting edition of NewsFeed!