Use the nearly undocumented DOS command READLINE to read a line from the keyboard and place it in the batch parameter variables. Use the parameter /V for READLINE to convert the input into upper case. ("nearly undocumented" because READLINE /? works but you can't find anything about it in the online help)
Note: READLINE reads from the keyboard -- not from STDIN.
Example:
@ECHO OFF REM *** DOS batch file ECHO. Type something to test the READLINE function: READLINE ECHO. You typed: %0 %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9
Source: The OS/2 WARP Survival Guide