SpeakIt! and WordTalk: Two more free text to speech resources

Here are two more free text to speech options I have recently learned about:

1) SpeakIt! is an extension for the Google Chrome browser that will read text online in your browser.  It will read from webpages, emails, and most text you can highlight and right mouse click on.  It is free, easy to install through the Chrome Web Store, and offers a pretty good voice for the money (did I mention it's FREE!).   My only complaint is that it doesn't highlight words as it reads, but it still works great for a free tool.  Click here for more info.

2) WordTalk is a free Plug-in for Microsoft Word.  It will read text aloud in a Word document and highlight the text as it goes.  (I have blogged about the Speak tool already built into Microsoft word before, but I like WordTalk better because the Microsoft Speak tool doesn't highlight words as it goes.)  It offers lots of different options to read (by selection, sentence, paragraph, etc.) and even has a nifty talking spell checker and thesaurus.  This is a program you will have to download and install from the website, and you need to make sure to download the version that is compatible with your version of Word.  Once downloaded and installed, it shows up as an extra toolbar option at the to of the program screen.  Click here for more information.

I hope these resources help.  With the scarcity of money nowadays, it is always nice to have access to effective free tools.  Please let me know if the comments if you have a favorite tool we haven't mentioned yet!

Introducing Students to Text to Speech Accommodations- (That weird computer voice can be your friend!)

I have produced a short (4 page) document designed to help concerned, yet busy teachers and parents make sense of Text to Speech (or screen reader) technology, when you really don't feel you have time to take on ONE MORE THING!!  It is designed to quickly and easily help you:

1. Better understand what Text to Speech (TTS) technology is and how it can help struggling readers.
2. Find you free and easy tools to get Text to Speech going in your classroom TODAY.
3. Figure out how to build Text to Speech into your already WAY too busy school schedule in small, manageable steps.

To access the document, please click here.
 

FarFaria app for iPad: The Netflix/Hulu for kids books

A while back someone told me about a new iPad app called FarFaria.  It has been described by some reviewers as "A Netflix (or Hulu) for children's stories". I just recently got around to downloading it and playing with it a bit and there are some things I definitely like about it.  The app is free to download, but, in order to actually use most of the books, you must pay a $3.99/month subscription fee (roughly $48/year).  You do get to try it for free for 30 days.

  Some of the things I like about this app is that there is a wide selection of books in the Preschool to 2nd grade range.  The books are high quality, and many books come with a "read to me" feature that will read the book in high quality, pre-recorded human narration.  All of the books are developed specifically for the app, so you can't find your favorites from Barnes and Noble or the public library here, but most of the books are still very good.  This app is easy enough to use that a child could operate it independently, which would be great for self selected reading time in school and at home.  If you are willing to spend a little less than $50 a year for children's books, then this app might be for you. 

For a more in depth review of the app, check out this link.

Putting Tar Heel Reader books into iBooks with speech! (repost)

I am posting a link to a great blogger by the name of Jane Farrall, about putting Tar Heel Reader books into iBooks on the iPad.  Tar Heel Reader is a great source of simple, user generated books for all ages, and now the ability to use them with the iPad makes it even better.  There are also a few other Tar Heel Reader posts on Jane's Blog that you might want to check out as well.

To read the post, click here.
To simply go to Jane's blog, click here.
To check out Tar Heel Reader, click here.

Why I ABSOLUTELY LOVE Bookshare

I had an experience the other day that helped me remember why I love teaching, and especially why I love working with struggling readers.  I was visiting an 8-9th grade school, and one of the students that I had taught in 6th and 7th grade came up to me and asked if I could help him download some more ebooks from Bookshare on his laptop.

Here is a little bit of background on this student:  He is a very bright guy who really struggles with reading, but wants to read the same popular novels that everyone else is reading.  He is one of the very first students that we signed up for Bookshare several years ago. I'll never forget the look on his face, when, as a sixth grader, he learned he could read Harry Potter all by himself with the help of an electronic device. That is what got me so excited about Bookshare back then, and still one of the main reasons why I'm excited about it to this day.

This was all reaffirmed to me the other day when I helped him and his teacher download Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief from Bookshare onto his laptop. As soon as the book was loaded on his laptop, he sat down, got out his headphones, and instantly became absorbed in the book. No one else in the room existed to him at that moment, except for the characters in the book. That is the power of a great book, and one of the incredibly rich life experiences that many students with reading disabilities miss out on.

That is why I am so excited when I see a teacher or student become interested Bookshare. Because I know the world that the technology can open up for students.  To me, it breaks down barriers to education, enlightenment, personal growth and fulfillment that comes from finally having access to the world of great literature.  For more information about Bookshare, check out www.bookshare.org, or this post I wrote about Bookshare.

Bookshare- Free Digital Accessible Books for Students with Disabilities

I count my ability to read as one of the greatest joys and blessings in my life.  Reading provides me with opportunities to learn, think, escape, relax, and grow.  Sadly, there are people who cannot fully enjoy reading due to visual, physical, and learning disabilities.  That is why I love to tell people about a resource for free accessible books called Bookshare.  Here is a description of what Bookshare is, taken from their website (www.bookshare.org):

Bookshare® is an online library of digital books for people with print disabilities. It operates under an exception to U.S. copyright law which allows copyrighted digital books to be made available to people with qualifying disabilities. In addition, many publishers and authors have volunteered to provide Bookshare with access to their works. By requiring individuals to register as Members and provide a Proof of Disability, Bookshare ensures that only qualified individuals use the service.

Bookshare Members download books, textbooks and newspapers in a compressed, encrypted file. They then read the material using adaptive technology, typically software that reads the book aloud (text-to-speech) and/or displays the text of the book on a computer screen, or Braille access devices, such as refreshable Braille displays.

Through an award from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), Bookshare offers free memberships to U.S. schools and qualifying U.S. students

Bookshare opens the door to the enjoyment of reading for people who cannot otherwise access text because of disability.  In order to qualify for a free bookshare account, a person must be a student (K-12 or higher ed) with a qualifying disability.  Students can qualify in one of three ways:

1) be unable to see a book because of blindness or low vision

2) be unable to hold a book or turn pages because of a physical disability

3) be unable to read a book because of a learning or reading disability.  For more info on who qualifies, click here:

  

  They can then qualify for a organizational membership through a participating school and/or an individual membership.  Members who already have an organizational membership simply need to send in a form to bookshare to request an individual membership.  For more info on membership options, click here

 Over the next little while, I am going to work on producing some simple tutorials as a resource to download books from bookshare.org and read them using assistive technology.  So stay tuned and please check out www.bookshare.org for more info!

Text to Speech Roundup - Pros and cons of 3 Free computer text reader options

In the last few months, I have blogged about some great computer text reader options available for teachers of struggling readers.  The main idea behind all of these options is to have a computer program read text to students who are unable to read it themselves.  This makes them more independent, confident, and successful.  This blog post today is a round-up of some of the free options available.  Each option I will discuss is free, and each has particular advantages and disadvantages.  Here is the list:

1) Free Natural Reader 11.  This is a free computer program that you download from the internet and install on your computer.  It provides 2 ways to read text: 1) a window that you can copy and paste text into from another document or application, or 2) a floating toolbar that  "floats" over any open doc or application.
-Pros: 

• When using the copy and paste window option, text is highlighted as it is read. (multi-modal learning!) 
•  Floating toolbar is convenient
• Can adjust the rate and pitch of the voices

-Cons:

• You may have to put in a tech request to get this installed, as it is an actual software program
• You can only use the digital voices that come pre-installed on your computer, which may be lower quality voices
• It can be a little tricky to change voices or adjust the speed of the voice

2) Read&Write for Google Docs.  This is a free study skills toolbar that is available as an extension to the Google Chrome browser.  It works very nicely, but ONLY works with text in the Google format.  Click this link to see about converting existing docs to Google docs format.
-Pros:

• Highlights words as it reads (multi-modal learning!)
• Better quality voices
• Since it is an extension to a browser and not software, you don't need a password to install it.
• Other study skills options, such as highlighting, dictionary, and collect highlights

-Cons:

• ONLY works with Google docs format
• ONLY works on Google Chrome browser
• MUST be connected to the internet for it to work

3) Speak tool in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, etc.).  Most folks are unaware that Microsoft office 2010 and 2003 come with pre-installed text reader tools. You just have to know where to find them. (NOTE: Office 2007 offers the Speak command in Excel, but not in Word)   To see a tutorial for Office 2003 click here.  To see a tutorial for Office 2010, click here.  To see a video for office 2010, click here. or click here for an alternate video (in case the first one didn't work).
-Pros:

• Don't need to convert your documents to another format
• Students can be trained to do this with any computer they use.  No special software is needed.
• Don't need to access any other program to hear your text read aloud.

-Cons:

• You can't choose your voice or the voice rate
• It does NOT highlight the words as it reads.  This makes it harder for students to follow along.
• Different processes to learn depending on which version of Microsoft Office you have.  Not available in Word 2007.

So there you have it.  I hope seeing these three options head to head will give you some ideas of what would work with your students and situations.  Each tool has advantages, and a savvy user would have more than one option depending on the setting and task.  As always, please provide feedback in the comments section.  


 

A Cleaner and Easier Online Reading Experience with Evernote Clearly and Safari Reader

Here's an interesting experiment to try:  Load just about any webpage you can think of, and count how many different articles, advertisements, animations, menus, lists, pictures, etc. are all calling out for your attention at the same time.  Even on the surprisingly uncluttered Google search page, I counted 17 different options I could click on!

With all those messages competing for your attention, the online reading experience can be difficult and bewildering for somebody with reading, visual perception, sensory perception, or attention deficit challenges.  Lucky for us, there are now tools available for three of the most popular web browsers to filter out all of the annoying clutter and let a reader focus on the main text on a web page.  Aside from making an online article easier to read and understand, it also makes it easier to copy and paste text into another online tool, such as a screen reader or text summarizer.

If you use Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, you can download a  tool called Evernote Clearly.  It is available at http://evernote.com/clearly/ .  Evernote Clearly is a plug-in, which means that it simply adds a nifty little feature to your browser.  The good news about this is that you can install this feature yourself without having to call the IT department!!  For Firefox, simply go to the Evernote Clearly website, click the green "Get Clearly for Firefox" button, click the green "Add to Firefox" button, and then click the "Install now" button that will show up in the pop up window.  You will then be prompted to restart your browser to add the feature.  For Chrome, go to the Evernote Clearly website, click the "Get Clearly for Chrome" button, and click the "Add" button on the pop-up window.

Once you have Clearly installed, you will see a little reading lamp icon on your browser toolbar.  If you click that button, Clearly will cut out all of the unnecessary clutter on the webpage and just leave the main text.  WARNING: If you are on a page without an obvious main article, such as the msn.com or yahoo.com home pages, Clearly will have a hard time deciding what the main text is.  But once you click on an article and load that page, the feature will work quite nicely.  You can even highlight text, clip the text to Evernote, adjust the font size, and print the article. 

If you are a Mac or iPad user, then you are already familiar with Apple's Safari browser, because it is the default browser for these devices.  Safari is also available for PC's as a free download.  Safari has a similar "clear away all the unnecessary junk from a webpage" feature called Reader.  When you are on a page that is compatible with the reader function, a little grey Reader button will show up in the left hand side of the address bar at the top of the browser.  Here is a great article to explain more about the Safari Reader:

These tools are easy to set up and use, and I am excited to hear from teachers to see how their students enjoy using them in class and at home, so please spread the word!

Free NaturalReader 11-Screen Reader

A screen reader is a computer tool that will recognize text on a computer and use a digital voice program to read that text aloud.  This is a very helpful tool for students who cannot decode grade level text independently, but are expected to understand it for class projects and assignments.  While there are a variety of great screen reader programs available for a price, NaturalReader has a free version that will allow a student to read grade level text 1 of 2 ways:
1) copy and paste text into the reader window of the program
or
2) use a floating toolbar to read highlighted text

If you have ever used a screen reader program, you know that the experience is vastly determined by the quality of the computer voice available.  While the Free NaturalReader program does not provide the best quality voices out there, they are not bad for a free program.  You can purchase better quality voices and better options for $50.

You can download the free program from the following website:
http://www.naturalreaders.com/download.php

It is available for Windows and Mac.

Note to CCSD teachers:  You should be able to download the install file (it will be called "standardsetup.exe") from the website on your computer, but you will NOT be able to run that file and actually install the program without an administrator code. The best way to get it installed is probably to save the install file on your desktop, and then put in a work order for the tech guys to come install it.  Robert Woodbury can also install software on newer district machines.