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Text-to-Speech
For
struggling
readers,
having text
read aloud
often
provides
relief from
focusing on
the sounds
in the words
so that more
energy can
be devoted
to
understanding
the ideas
behind the
text. Free
technology
tools that
turn
ordinary
written text
into the
spoken word
are
available.
This
software is
commonly
referred to
as
Text-to-Speech,
or TTS.
Text-to-Speech
on the Web
One of
the most
convenient
ways to have
web
information
read aloud
is to use a
TTS program
that lays on
top of or is
fully
integrated
into your
web browser.
This means
that TTS is
available on
every web
page no
matter where
you browse,
no need to
copy and
paste or
leave the
web browser
to hear the
text.
ClickSpeak –
For
Mozilla's
FireFox (MAC
or PC)
http://clickspeak.clcworld.net/downloads.html
CLiCk, Speak
is a simple,
mouse driven
program that
works with
Mozilla's
FireFox.
Download the
CliCk, Speak
add-on and
its added to
your FireFox
browser as a
new tool
bar.
Highlight
the text you
want read
and click
the speak
button.
CliCk, Speak
highlights
the text as
it speaks.
It has
several
voices to
choose from
and comes
with
multilingual
support,
which could
be
beneficial
for students
learning a
foreign
language who
need to hear
their
foreign
language web
sites read
aloud.
NaturalReader
-PC
www.naturalreaders.com/
NaturalReader
reads text
directly
from the web
and can be
used as a
desktop TTS
reader. When
reading on
the web,
launch the
NaturalReader
Miniboard (Pict
#1) from the
Windows
Taskbar.
Highlight
the portion
of the web
page text
you want
read and
click the
play button.
NaturalReader
reads the
text aloud,
no need to
copy and
paste into
new reader
document.
The
Miniboard
also reads
whatever has
been copied
to the
clipboard,
making
reading
inside
office
documents
such as MS
Word
possible.
NaturalReader
can also be
used as a
full-document
reader. The
document
reader works
best when
trying to
read large
portions of
text. It
also
provides
additional
support
features
such as
highlighting
each word as
its read.
NatualReader's
biggest
appeal is
its ability
to convert
text into
clear,
natural
sounding
voices.
Desktop Text
to Speech
Although
not as
convenient
as web based
programs,
desktop TTS
programs are
more
commonly
available
and offer
features
most web
based
programs do
not.
Tex-Edit
Plus - Mac
www.tex-edit.com/
Tex-Edit
Plus is an
open source
text editor
that adds
additional
features to
Apple's
bare-bones
SimpleText
word
processor.
It's simple
interface
makes it
easy to use
for
beginning
TTS users.
Tex-Edit
uses the
Mac's
built-in
speech
synthesizer
to read
text, but
can be used
in
conjunction
with new
more natural
voices.
http://www.cepstral.com/
Please
Read PC
www.readplease.com/
The free
edition of
ReadPlease
2003
supports all
Microsoft
and AT&T
natural
voices. It
reads text
copied from
any program
such as
email, word
processor,
spreadsheet
or any web
browser.
ReadPlease
offers
several
voice
choices and
two unique
slider tools
that allow
the user to
quickly
adjust font
size and
reading
speed. (Pict
#2) To use
ReadPlease,
locate the
text you
want read,
copy it to
the Windows
clipboard,
launch
ReadPlease,
paste the
text into
the
ReadPlease
window and
press the
play button.
This is one
of the
easiest and
most
reliable
text-to-speech
programs
free to
download.
Its a great
place to
start.
Reading in
PowerPoint
Slides
Power
Talk - PC
http://fullmeasure.co.uk/powertalk/
PowerTalk
turns any
PowerPoint
presentation
into an
accessible,
engaging
slide show.
PowerTalk
uses the
standard
synthesized
computer
voices
provided in
Windows or
any of the
new natural
voices to
speak the
slide's text
as it
appears in
your
presentation.
This is a
great tool
for students
to use when
reviewing
teacher
created
PowerPoint
slide shows.
Text on the
Go!
Text
Reader - Mac
OS X
www.codepoetry.net/projects/textreader/
Text Reader
turns a
plain-text
file into an
audio file
that can be
saved in
your
documents or
exported to
an iTunes
playlist
that
ultimately
winds up on
your iPod.
With Text
Reader, you
can listen
to your text
anywhere!
It's easy to
set up the
export
default so
that all the
files you
create
automatically
get exported
to one
iTunes
playlist.
Although it
doesn't come
with too
many voice
options, you
can adjust
the voice
rate and
pitch before
it’s saved.
Adjusting
the Text
Presentation
Sometimes
students
struggle
with text
because
there's too
much text on
a page, the
font size is
too small or
the lines of
text are too
tightly
spaced on
the page.
Several
freeware
tools can be
used to help
present the
text in a
more user
friendly
way.
Vu-Bar
4
www.fxc.btinternet.co.uk/assistive.htm
Vu-Bar
provides the
reader with
an
on-screen,
adjustable,
slotted
ruler. Set
the width
and font
size of the
opening so
that only
one line of
text, or
small chunks
of text are
readable at
a time. This
tool is
great for
students who
often skip
lines when
reading or
need a more
focused
guide on a
text
cluttered
page.
WordFlashReader
http://wordflashreader.sourceforge.nett
This is an
essential
program for
readers who
have
difficulty
with visual
discrimination,
eye control,
visual
tracking or
who find the
text on a
standard web
page just
too
overwhelming.
WordFlashReader
works by
flashing
each word,
or chunks of
words from
the text
sequentially
onto the
screen. It
chucks words
based on the
structure of
the sentence
and inserts
logical
pauses based
on text
punctuation.
The
background
color, font
size and
color and
text chuck
size are
fully
adjustable.
Virtual
Magnifier
http://magnifier.sourceforge.net/
Virtual
Magnifier is
prefect for
students
with low
vision. It
provides the
reader with
a magnifying
glass that
follows your
mouse's
movement.
Move the
lens around
the screen
to magnify
any area of
interest.
After
downloading,
Virtual
Magnifier
installs an
icon in your
system's
tray. To use
the
magnifier in
any program,
just
left-click
on the icon.
Right-click
the icon to
open the
options menu
and adjust
the lens
width,
height or
magnification.
This is also
a great tool
to use to
zoom in on a
specific
part of a
document or
a URL while
doing a
presentation!
(Pict #5)
Places to
find good
Electronic
Text
Okay, so
now you have
all of these
great
reading
tools, but
where are
the best
places to
find good
electronic
text to
read?
Project
Gutenberg
www.promo.net/pg/
This is a
classic
etext site.
With over
7000 titles,
searchable
by author or
title, its
hard to
beat.
Project
Gutenberg
store
electronic
versions of
books in the
public
domain from
authors like
Shakespeare,
Jack London,
Lewis
Carroll and
and Edgar
Allen Poe.
These etexts
are
available in
the simplest
form, “Plain
Vanilla
ASCII”,
making them
compatible
with 99% of
the software
used around
the world.
Simple
search for
the book you
want and
click on the
link to open
a plain text
version of
the book.
Net
Trekker d.i.
http://mi.learnport.org
One of the
best
resources
available to
Michigan
teachers is
Net Trekker
d.i.,
available
through
Michigan
LearnPort.
It has a
deep
educational
database of
research
articles and
websites
that can be
searched by
subject,
title,
author,
language,
Michigan's
Grade Level
Content
Expectations
(GLCE),
reading
level and
much more.
When logged
in, you can
conduct a
search, edit
it and save
it to you
file for
later
reference.
Net Trekker
is filled
with all
kinds of
teaching
resources,
lesson plans
and
reference
materials.
It even has
a built in
text to
speech
reader that
reads aloud
any text
document in
Net Trekker.
The
Digital Book
Indexx
www.digitalbookindex.org/
This site is
a portal to
other etext
sites,
providing
links to
over 141,000
full-text
digital
books from
commercial
and
non-commercial
publishers,
universities,
and various
private
sites. Most
of these
books,
texts, and
documents
are
available
free and
many others
are
available at
very modest
cost. They
site
provides an
advanced
search
features
author,
title,
keyword,
publisher or
subject.
Contact::
Susan Hardin
Assistive
Technology
Consultant
shardin@misd.net
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