SpeedReadingJS

Add speed reading functionality to your website or app.

What are the main differences between SpeedReadingJS and other solutions?

Most of the speed reading code is written based on Spritz (http://www.spritzinc.com). Spritz has an important scientific background, but it also has some basic characteristics that are annoying for most of readers:

• They are inserted somewhere in the middle of the webpage. This encourages the readers to lose their attention.
• They have a white background, black text and a red letter. The high level of contrast between these colors is the main reason for the feeling of eye fatigue.
• The font is not good for reading.
• The font size is too big.

SpeedReadingJS fixes this problems with simple solutions.

• SpeedReadingJS appears on a lightbox. So, all elements of the webpage remain hidden to the reader while he reads.
• The color combination is low contrast, with a dark background, a grey text and an ocher yellow letter to fix the eyes.
• The font is Open Sans, one the clearest fonts of the web.
• The font has a size smaller than Spritz, allowing a better eye fixation without losing the understanding of the word.

Installation

SpeedReadingJS depends only on jQuery. Link jQuery and the speedreading.js file and SpeedReadingJS will be ready to use:

<script src='js/jquery.js'></script>
<script src='js/speedreading.js'></script>

To start reading, just call the javascript speedreading.read('some text') function:

<script>
  speedreading.read('Add speed reading functionality
    to your website. SpeedReadingJS depends only on jQuery.
    Link jQuery and the speedreading.js file and SpeedReadingJS
    will be ready to use it.');
</script>

Options

You can customize some properties of the speedreading object:

  // Set the position (in percentaje of the word) where
  // eyes will focus their attention
  speedreading.position = 0.260; 

  // Set the lag time of punctuation dots.
  speedreading.dottime = 800;

  // Set the lag time of punctuation commas.
  speedreading.commatime = 300;

  // Set the average time in milliseconds between words.
  // The time that long and short words will
  // remain visible is a factor of this number.
  speedreading.defaulttime = 180;

  // Set a default text for speedreading.read() with no parameters
  speedreading.text = 'This is a default text';