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Video Tutorials are listed below. Click on the LINK or on the image to activate a brief 'screen-cast" video tutorial!
Text-to-Speech
What is text-to-speech? The Mac can read almost any text that you ask it do read. It even reads the built-in calculator, dictionary, and word processing documents. Text-to-speech simply means the computer takes the text and speaks it out loud in a lovely computerized voice.
Text-to-Speech Handout (PDF file)
How is it used as a learning tool? Any text on web pages, word processing pages, and other text can be selected and read out loud to the student. Using the “text-to-speech” tool hidden in the OSX operating system allows users to have the computer read text out loud. Using the text-to-speech tool assists students that struggle with reading, have a hard time paying attention to reading passages, have dyslexia, and other issues that cause frustration while reading text on a computer.
What do I need to have in order to use this with a classroom of students?
You need an Apple computer running OS X or higher! A set of headphones for each student utilizing the text-to-speech works best. If you have headphones with a built-in microphone students can also read their own writing out loud and listen to their own words. This increases fluency and can be a profound part of the writing process.
It helps to have headphones for each student who is utilizing text-to-speech. Headphones allow each student to focus on their own computer as well as preventing the chaos of multiple computers reading text out loud where everyone in the class can hear the words. This causes confusion and makes it difficult for students to focus.
How do I activate text-to-speech on a computer? What do I need to do so that the computer will read text out loud?
In a nutshell: Within System Preferences (Speech options) the user sets a keyboard shortcut to have the computer read text. Selecting the same keyboard shortcut again stops the computer from reading the text out loud. It is important to create a keyboard shortcut that is NOT used by other programs (Apple + P is print, etc, so don’t select that!). One choice is to select to use APPLE (command) and 1 at the same time. Using these two keys together (keyboard shortcut) will first start the selected text to be read out loud as well as to stop the speaking.
| VIDEO: Activating the Text-to-Speech preference.
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Once you activate text-to-speech it is easy to use in Safari as well as most other programs.
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Text-to-speech & the Calculator (hey, numbers talk!)
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Using the Dictionary Program (on the Mac) with text-to-speech This technique allows the user to work with the Dictionary application that comes with all Macs (Application folder --> Dictionary).
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| Text-to-Speech using Firefox This is the same as using the text-to-speech with Safari or any word processing programs
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