Spellcheckers: Don’t always have the answer

Spellcheckers present in computer programs and mobile apps don’t always have the correct answer. Believe or not, Google doesn’t always have the it either as the spelling can sometimes be so far off the mark. Not only can this be frustrating, but coming out of the task, such as writing a document or e-mail, to look up a word, is not only impractical but is more likely to break process and flow.

Mediterean |

burocrat ✗
bewrocrat ✗
beaurocrat ✗

Spellcheckers: The options can look the same

If they do, often it is presented in a list among other similar looking words; this can be a problem if there is a difficulty around spelling, and words, and general uncertainty.

Dictionary & Thesaurus: “I can’t spell the word!”

A dictionary or thesaurus doesn’t always work because using either requires an individual to know how to consecutively, and accurately, sequence the characters. If the difficulty is with the beginning of the word then there is no hope in finding the word.

Focus & Distraction

This process of finding the spelling to a word can be time consuming and make someone lose their train of thought. Having to come out of the task in hand to undertake a separate search task draws an individual from one activity to another. Depending on how successful they are in finding the spelling, and how long it has taken them, coming back to the initial task and seamlessly continuing is not always easy.

Dyslexia and Word Confidence

For a person with a Specific Learning Difference (SpLD), such as Dyslexia, or someone who is simply trying to look up an unfamiliar word, spelling can be both a difficult and daunting task. For some, it can take ample amounts of time to find the correct spelling and even then not be entirely sure whether they have the correct word. For others, it is an impossibility and instead a different word, or set of words, may be used which do not mean the same thing.