Online Learning Modules

Content Area Literacy

Providing Auditory Access to Text

Objectives

When you have finished this module you should be able to do the following:

  1. Explain text-to-speech technology
  2. Identify several commercial and free text-to-speech programs
  3. Explain why auditory access to text-based materials is beneficial for students who struggle with reading
  4. Identify sources from which electronic text (e-text) and audio recordings can be obtained
  5. Identify where/how auditory access to text-based materials can be incorporated in lessons to promote comprehension of content area materials
  6. Locate, download, install, and use text-to-speech programs

Introduction

By working with the materials in this module you should be able to meet the objectives specified above. Some of the terminology may be new or used in new or different way, so I want to be sure we have the same understanding of the ways in which this module uses the terms electronic text, e-text, digital text, audio recording, text-to-speech, and scan/read systems.

Electronic text, e-text, and digital text are being used to refer to the same type of text – text stored as strings of characters. Electronic text is text that can be selected and changed, if desired, on the computer screen. An example of  this type of text is the text you see on the computer screen when you create a document with a word processing program (e.g., Microsoft Word).

 Audio recording, as it is used in this module, refers to files that do not display text on the computer, but can be listened to with a playback device (e.g., MP3 player, standard or specialized CD player, tape recorder) or computer software that plays media files (e.g., WAV, MP3). Audio recordings provide only auditory access to material.

Text-to-speech refers to computer software used to provide auditory output of e-text (see above); that is, the software “speaks” the text that is displayed on the monitor. Text-to-speech software programs provide both auditory and visual access to e-text.

Scan/read systems can provide auditory access to printed material when e-text is not available. Scan/read systems use a combination of  a computer, a scanner, optical character recognition(OCR),  software and text-to-speech (see above).  Users scan the printed material and the OCR software converts the material to e-text (see above), which can then be aloud visually-enhanced to meet students individual needs. The scan/read program can then speak the displayed e-text, highlighting the text as it is spoken.  Scan/read systems provide both auditory and visual access to print-based materials that have been converted to e-text.

In order to access some material within this module you will need your SCSU student ID number and a CONSULS (Connecticut State University System Library System) PIN.  If you do not have a PIN, you can find directions for getting a PIN by going to http://library.scsu.ctstateu.edu/ and clicking on  Offcampus Access & Library PIN  under Library Quick Links on the right-hand side of the page.

Tip: The PIN should be at least 6 characters long; should NOT USE special characters such as # or %; and may be all letters, all numbers, or a combination of both. Letters are NOT case-sensitive. Once you have a pin you can click on the link for the article or follow the directions below.

 Video Clips

The Learning Through Listening (http://ltl.rfbd.org/) web site has a variety of materials related to providing students with auditory access to information. You must complete the free registration process to access materials.

1.  Watch the 5-minute video Building Confidence and Building Lives and

2.  Watch the 4:17 minutes video Learning Through Listening Video Introduction by neuropsychologist David Rose (3rd video in the list).  These videos will help you meet objectives 1 and 3.

3.  Special Education iPod Demo (http://homepage.mac.com/lmelem/websites/iMovieTheater21.html) is a short (2-3 minute) video clip. Although it portrays the use of the iPod in an elementary setting, the ideas presented in the video are equally applicable for middle and secondary school students. This video will help you meet objective 5.

 Readings

1.  Using Text-to-Speech Software with Struggling Readers, by Ernest Balajthy will help you meet objectives 1,2,3, and 5.  Several of the statements that Balajthy makes in the Conclusions section of the article, pp. 368-369, deserve further comment. When talking about independent reading of popular children’s and teens novels he writes,

The higher quality of audio recordings makes their use preferable for these purposes, and the copyrighted status of those books usually eliminates any possibility that they will be available in electronic text format.

 It is important to note that audio recordings may be preferable for MANY students with reading difficulties. It is not true that they are preferable for ALL students. Some students have processing disorders and need to hear text read more slowly than the typical rate of speech. The rate of speech for audio recordings cannot be adjusted without distorting the sounds. Text-to-speech is more appropriate than recorded speech for students who need to hear text spoken at a slower pace.

The part of Balajthy’s statement regarding availability of electronic text  must also be addressed. The Chafee Amendment (see http://www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_policy.html#report3 for a brief discussion) allows authorized entities to reproduce copyrighted, non-dramatic, literary works for students with document print disabilities. Popular novels, whether they are available in audio format or only in hard copy, can be converted to electronic text for students with documented print disabilities who benefit from text-to-speech.

 Special attention should be paid to Balathy’s comments on p. 369 requiring the need for training to learn to use the technology; training is key for successful implementation. Students need to learn to use the technology before they can be expected to ­use the technology to learn. Just like the students who will be using the programs, there are differences between the programs – some programs offer more features, some are more customizable, some are easier to configure and use, etc.  The appropriate text-to-speech program must be selected, and the appropriate settings (e.g., rate of speech, voice, size of font, color of background) for each individual user must be determined. Simple adjustments may make the difference between success and failure.

The final two comments that I want to draw your attention to apply to you as the teacher. First, in order to use text-to-speech effectively, you will need to do careful planning to ensure the material is available to students when they need it and in the format in which they need it. This may not mean that you have to do converting and/or acquiring of e-text yourself, but you will need good communication and collaboration with those who will. Second, teachers need to use their professional judgment to “identify the specific components of their curricula that will allow use of the technology,” (Balajthy 2007, p.369). Questions to ask yourself include:

Can text-to-speech be used with the material? (Images of text cannot be read aloud.)

  • Is reading the most appropriate way to provide access to the information for ALL the students? If so, students with print disabilities may require the use of text-to-speech.
  • Will students have access to the text-to-speech technology in the environment in which it is needed? For example, if Internet research or textbook reading is assigned for homework, will the student have access to text-to-speech software at home?
  • How will “spur of the moment” text-based materials be handled (e.g., an article from that day’s newspaper, material a student brings in to share, resources colleagues suddenly share)?

2.  Learning from Text, by Dave Edyburn, will help you meet objectives 1, 2, 3, and  4.  (http://www.uwm.edu/~edyburn/LearningfromText.pdf)

In this article Edyburn offers a rationale for providing accessible text; proposes a systems approach for making text accessible; and provides resources for obtaining e-text, text-to-speech technology, and other resources to support access to text.

3. Technology to Help Struggling Students, by Heidi Silver-Pacuilla and Steve Fleischman, has a lot of information packed into a short article. (http://www.ascd.org/authors/ed_lead/el200602_silverpacuilla.html) This article will help you meet objectives 3 and 5.

Technology Resources

E-text and audio book web sites. The following web sites are representative of sources for electronic text. Download the file Finding e Text for additional web sites and e-text resources. Explore the web sites and resources to find e-text related to your content area.

The  text-to-speech software section provides links to free and commercial programs. Visit the web sites and follow the directions to download and install programs. Experiment with the programs to see how they work and compare the features. Finally, follow the directions for inserting wav sounds into Microsoft Word documents.

1. E-Text Web Sites

Most of these sites provide books for free; however, some may require registration and/or charge for materials.

http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/

http://www.accessiblebookcollection.org/Default.htm

http://www.ditext.com/etexts.html

http://www.questia.com/Index.jsp

http://www.wowio.com/help/helpmain.asp

http://www.ipl.org/

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/

http://arthursclassicnovels.com/arthurs/search.html

http://www.bartleby.com/

http://www.bookshare.org

2. Audio Book Resources

http://www.podiobooks.com/
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/categories/1
http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/
http://www.simplyaudiobooks.com/Free_Audiobooks/dp/202/

http://www.librivox.org

http://www.alexwilson.com/telltale/spokenalexandria.php

http://www.audible.com

3.  Text-to-speech software

 In addition to locating e-text books, text documents, or other materials, you need to identify the text-to-speech software your students will use to assist them with reading. In general, commercial software (i.e., software you pay for) will have more features and be more customizable than free software programs, also known as freeware. The decision as to which program to use must be based on a number of considerations including your budget*, the needs of the students, system requirements, and operating system compatibility. (*Students with IEPs must be provided with the software that meets their specific needs, regardless of cost, if the IEP team determines that the software is necessary in order for the student to access the general education curriculum.)

 

Commercial Programs

http://www.readplease.com   ReadPlease Plus 2003 reads text documents. ReadingBar 2 for Internet Explorer reads web pages, converts web pages to .MP3 or WAV files, and magnifies web pages. 30-day trial versions are available at http://www.readplease.com/english/downloads/#rb2.

http://www.naturalreaders.com/ NaturalReader 7.0 is available in 3 versions -- Free, Personal, and Professional. All versions read e-text. More features are available as you move from one version to the next.

http://www.readingmadeez.com/products/UniversalReaderPlus.html Universal Reader and Universal Reader Plus work with a wide variety of applications. Universal Reader Plus includes scanning capability so users can convert print-based material into e-text. Trial versions can be downloaded after completing a request form at http://www.readingmadeez.com/trial/

www.kurzweiledu.com Kurzweil 3000 is an e-text reader with powerful scanning capabilities plus embedded tools that allow students to record voice notes or text notes to annotate material; look up words in the talking dictionary; highlight important information in a variety of colors and extract the highlighted text, and more. Free trial versions can be requested and/or downloaded at http://www.kurzweiledu.com/products_k3000_demo.aspx

http://www.freedomscientific.com/LSG/products/wynn.asp WYNN, from Freedom Scientific, is another e-text reader with scanning capabilities and embedded study tools, similar to those in Kurzweil 3000. You can request a demo CD and access a 3 minute video presentation about WYNN at http://www.freedomscientific.com/LSG/products/wynn_demo.asp.

Freeware

·        http://clickspeak.clcworld.net/index.html Click, Speak works with FireFox web browser to read text on web pages.

·        http://cross-plus-a.com/balabolka.htm Balabolka is a  free Text-To-Speech (TTS) program. To enable users to listen to material away from the computer (e.g., on an iPod or other MP3 player) the onscreen text can be saved as an audio file (i.e., WAV, MP3, OGG or WMA file.

·        http://www.dyslexia.com/helpread.htm From this web site you can download free versions of three different TTS programs.

o       HelpRead

o       Natural Reader

o       ReadPlease

·        http://www.awesomelibrary.org/Awesome_Talking_Library.html Awesome Talkster reads text on web pages. Requires Microsoft Windows

4.  Inserting wave sounds into Microsoft Word

“Adding wave sounds to Microsoft Word” (see below) provides step-by-step directions for inserting wave sounds into Microsoft Word, a commonly used word processing program. Wave sounds can be inserted into any Microsoft Word document. Microsoft Word is widely available in school districts making this a cost-free method for providing auditory access to information. It is preferable to record short segments of information, for example, recording each paragraph separately rather than a whole page in one recording. Shorter recordings make it easy for students to listen to just the parts they need and to have desired parts repeated.

Wave sounds could be useful for study guides quizzes, tests, and other materials you create for students. They can also be used for providing access to text that has been copied and pasted into Microsoft Word. As an example, rather than printing material from the web, you could copy** the information, paste it into Microsoft Word and then add the recordings. Over time, you will almost certainly be able to identify other uses for wave sounds. (**Of course, you need to cite the source of the information. It’s important to check your district’s policy for using copyrighted information; it is often permissible to use materials under the “Fair Use” provisions of copyright law. Students with documented print disabilities are entitled to receive materials in alternate format, including copyrighted materials, under provisions of the Chafee Amendment.)

 

Adding Wave Sounds to Microsoft Word 2003

By adding wave sounds to Microsoft  Word, you can add recorded (digitized) voice to a document. You would want to add recorded speech to documents so students can, for example,

·         Have directions spoken aloud so they can work independently

·         Have test and worksheet items read aloud to provide access to the material and promote independence

·         Embed guided reading questions to support comprehension

You would want students to be able to add recorded speech to documents so they can, for example,

·         Record summaries, important facts, personal responses, etc. during reading

·         Record answers to worksheet questions or test questions

 

Follow the directions below to add wave sounds to a Word document.

 

Adding Speech to Word Documents

Insert menu

Select Object

                Select Create New tab

Scroll down and select Wave Sound

Select OK

Recorder will appear.

  1. Click on the button with the red dot to record.
  2. Click on the button with the black rectangle when you finish speaking.
  3. Click on the button with the black triangle to hear your recording.
  4. If you are happy with your recording click on the red X in the upper right hand corner to close the recorder or select Exit from the File menu.
  5. If you are not satisfied with your recording and want to record again, click on the first button with the two black triangles.
  6. Repeat the recording process from Step 1.
  7. When you are happy with your recording click on the red X in the upper right hand corner to close the recorder or select Exit from the File menu.

Students can make their own recordings by either following the process above, or you can insert a speaker icon that students then right click, opening the recorder so they can make their own recording.

Insert menu

Select Object

                Select Create New tab

Scroll down and select Wave Sound

Select OK

Recorder will appear.

·         Without recording anything, click on the red X in the upper right hand corner to close the recorder or select Exit from the File menu. This will put a speaker icon in the document.

·         When students want to record they right click on the speaker icon

Select Sound Recorder Document Object

Select Open

When the recorder appears students record an answer following

Steps 1-7 above

 

© Deborah Newton 2008, Southern Connecticut State University, Dept. of Special Education and Reading

Permission to share “Adding Wave Sounds to Microsoft Word 2003 is granted for non-profit, educational purposes only. This copyright statement must be included with any reproductions or use of this work.