Overview of Text to Speech:

Ja MedlicottNCATP AT Consultant

“Getting the computer to read your printed document out loud”

Text to Speech

This presentation will review options for using the computer to read text

Text Reader

• “Text-to-Speech software is used to convert words from a computer document (e.g. word processor document, web page) into audible speech spoken through the computer speaker”

Reasons for Using a Text Reader

• Visual Issue (Difficulty seeing text)

• Cognitive Issue( Low reading level/comprehension)

• Motor Issue(Difficulty handling a book or paper)

Text Reader:Will only read text

Screen Reader:For navigation purposes will read both

what is on a computer desktop and will also read text

Text Reader vs. Screen Reader

Today we are focusing only on Text Readers!

Forms of Text

• E text Most of the text you see on your computer Examples: Internet, Email, Word Document, E

Books

• Paper text Any text is printed on paper Examples: Newspaper, Book, Magazine

Most people ask for help with printed text.

They want a book they have to be placed on the computer

How to get Printed Text into your Computer

Scan A scanner takes a picture of the

document A scanned document is a picture

first! Example Scan Text.jpg

Can a text reader read a picture?

It can not!

Must have additional software to change orformat it into a text file or document

This software is calledOCR

Optical Character Recognition

OCR

Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

Converts the scan picture of text into a true text file or document.

Most scanners you buy today come with their

own OCR software

Example of My Scanner OCR Software

Scanned Text

Converted Text File

Better OCR

• SimpleOCR 3 (Free)

Example

• OmniPage 15 ($150)

• ABBYY FineReader ($400)

Scanner Issues

A flatbed scanner produces a spine shadow or text distortion

Cutting a book …damages it and page order is a issue

Better Scanners

• OpticBook 3600 ($240)

• Zoom Ex ($2400)

Scanning is time consuming and labor intensive!

…..Maybe

Forms of Text

• E text Most of the text you see on your computer Examples: Internet, Email, Word Document, E

Books

• Paper text Any text is printed on paper Examples: Newspaper, Book, Magazine

Types of Text Readers

Free Versions • Uses “free” computer sounding voices• Reads e text that is on your computer

Fee Base Versions• Have human sounding voices• Reads e text and some have OCR

software

Speech EngineA speech engine is what your computer uses to convert text into

speechSometimes called a speech synthesizer or

text-to-speech (TTS) It gives you computer a voice

Text-To-speech (TTS) “Voice” Resources

http://www.microsoft.com/msagent/downloads/user.asp

http://www.bytecool.com/voices.htm

http://www.digitalfuturesoft.com/texttospeechproducts.php

http://www.neospeech.com/product/technologies/tts.php http://nextup.com/TextAloud/SpeechEngine/voices.html#morefreevoices

Free Text Readers

• NaturalReader (100 Character Limit) review

• ReadPlease review

• WordTalk Review

• Adobe Reader review

• Microsoft Reader review

• Bookshelf Review

Commercial Text Readers

• Natural Reader Professional/Enterprise

• WYNN• Premier Assistive Technology • TextOutloud• Kurzweil 3000

How to choose a Text Reader

What are you using it for

• Vision• Cognition• Motor

E- Libraries www North Carolina's Digital Media Library www Universal Library Project.

www Internet Public Library (7,700 books) www Linklist "Other Online Text Collections" at ipl.org www Athena authors & text English, France, Italian... www Baen www UVa Electronic Text Center. 20,000 books www The William Morris Homepage www Alex: A Catalogue of Electronic Texts on the Internet www California Digital Library www Bibliomania www BannedBooks www Guttenberg (www) www Romantic Circles: University of Maryland and elsewhere Byron, the Shelley's, Keats, and their contemporaries. www The American Verse Project: 35 volumes of American verse prior to 1920 www Project Bartleby at Columbia University: a collection of 38 authors www University of Chicago Philosophy Project www Greatest books worldwide. Current list of the top 100 books. www Isaac Newton www http://digital.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/makeauthorpage

E books• http://www.ebooks.com/

• http://library.netlibrary.com/Home.aspx

• http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/551440/ref=b_tn_bh_eb/002-1204779-5767200

• http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi

• http://www.ereader.com/

Go to Google a type in E books

Questions

This PowerPoint presentation will be on the

NCATP web site next week.