www.readspeaker.com
ReadSpeaker - A Global Blackboard Screen Reading Tool
ReadSpeaker® is a text-to-speech software with two products integrated into Blackboard: webReader™ (reads aloud the content of Blackboard web pages) and docReader™ (reads aloud the content of documents uploaded into Blackboard).
When WebReader is embedded within a learning system, it will work seamlessly with LockDown Browser with some security limitations (e.g., copy/paste and MP3 downloads are disabled). The reading, masking, and text enlarging functions remain available to students during an exam.
Known Issue: During an assessment, ReadSpeaker is unable to read the answers a student types into the text editor menu for short answer and essay questions.
webReader Product Description
ReadSpeaker webReader displays a Listen button found in the left margin of the Blackboard course menu.
Example:
When a user clicks on the Listen button the content of the web page is read out loud and a player is shown.
Example:
webReader reads the content out loud while highlighting the sentence and the word currently being read in two different colors.
Using the buttons on the player, the user can stop the audio version of the content, pause and restart it, forward to content further on the page, change the volume, download an mp3 file with an audio version of the content, and close the player (which stops the reading).
Each of these tools in the above menu is described in the order in the table below:
| Tool Name |
Tool Image |
Tool Description |
| Listen |
|
Click Listen to stream your document. |
| Pause |
|
To pause the player, click on Pause. |
| Stop |
|
To stop the player, click on Stop. |
| Seek |
|
Use the Seek tool to fast forward through your document. |
| Volume |
|
Adjust the volume by using the slide bar that appears when you click on the Volume button. |
| Download to mp3 |
|
Use the Download to mp3 button to download an audio recording of the document that you can then listen o on your mp3 player, phone, computer, etc. when you are offline. |
| Close Player |
|
When you have completed listening to the document or you wish to close the player, click on Close. |
Expanded webReader Menu
Click the Expand button (down-arrow) on the Listen button and the player opens a toolbar with additional buttons for the following features:
Each of these tools in the above menu is described in the order in the table below:
| Tool Name |
Tool Image |
Tool Description |
| Settings |
|
The Settings button allows you to customize the player to you. Some options are highlighting, reading speed, scrolling, and pop-ups. |
| Reading Language |
|
Select the language of your document to hear it read in that language with the appropriate accent. |
| Read on Hover |
|
The Read on Hover option allows you to use your mouse to point to where you want to read. The tool remains turned on until you click on the tool again. This is a great tool for skim reading to the point you want to begin fully reading the material. |
| Enlarge Text |
|
The Enlarge Text button allows you to have the text enlarged. The enlarged text shows at the bottom of the page. The tool remains turned on until you click on the tool again. |
| Simple View |
|
The Simple View option allows you to view the document in text format. Pictures that have an alt text tag will also appear in this view. |
| Page Mask |
|
The Page Mask tool shades the page above and below the selected area. The height of the window is customizable. As you scroll down the page, the Page Mask scrolls with you. Click on the X on the right to turn the tool off. |
| Translation |
|
The Translation tool allows you to translate a word or phrase to another language. It is not intended to be used for translating a complete document because the grammatical structure is different for many languages. |
| Word LookUp |
|
The Word Lookup tool is a dictionary. If you look up a word and the dictionary cannot find it, then try leaving off the -s, -ed, -er, or -ing. |
| Help |
|
The Help tool provides further explanations for the various tools. It also contains the accessibility information for keyboard navigation. |
ReadSpeaker webReader: How to Videos.
docReader Product Description
The ReadSpeaker docReader tool is used for reading PDF and office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) uploaded within Blackboard. To access ReadSpeaker docReader, click on the icon that has a
sheet of paper with a speaker on it
located to the right of a document. The reader will open on a new page, and the control bar as pictured below appears. There are two views of the toolbar. The first view shows the icon and the name on each of the tools. The other view, which is shown on smaller windows, is icon-based. Below you see both toolbar sets. In the tables that follow, you will see the icon and tool names.
Each of these tools in the above menu, top toolbar, are described in the order in the table below:
| Tool Name |
Tool Image |
Tool Description |
| Show / Hide Sidebar |
|
These tools are a toggle switch of sorts. Depending on screen size, you may wish to swap between these choices. Smaller screens may wish to keep the left sidebar turned off. |
| Page Numbers |
|
This is one way to selecting the page you want to view. You can also click on the page in the left sidebar. |
| Listen |
|
The Listen tool button turns the player on and allows the streaming (reading) to begin from the top of the document. You can also highlight material and click Listen to hear only a specific part of the material. |
| Pause |
|
Pausing the reading will allow you to return to the place you left off. |
| Play |
|
The Play tool is not pictured in the toolbar images above. It will replace the Pause tool when you click on Pause. Play resumes the reading. |
| Stop |
|
The Stop button stops the reading. To resume using the player, you will need to select the material you want to have read. |
| Layout Mode |
|
The Layout mode selection allows you to view the document in its original form. The green dot shows on the tool button when it is selected. If it is not selected, the green dot will disappear. |
| Text Mode Toggle |
|
The Text Mode selection allows you to view the document in plain text. This mode is great for distracted readers. |
| More Tools and Less Tools |
|
The More Tools button has two views. The carrot to the left of the words More Tools, indicates whether the second toolbar is expanded or collapsed. If the carrot points upward, the second toolbar is visible. If the carrot points downward the second toolbar is hidden. |
| Help |
|
The Help tool provides help on all the features of ReadSpeaker docReader. You will also find the keyboard navigation information available in this file. |
| Reading Language |
|
The Reading Languages that are shown will depend on which languages you have in your account. Select the language that the document is written in to hear it read with the correct pronunciations and accents. |
Now let's look at the lower toolbar:
| Tool Name |
Tool Image |
Tool Description |
| Settings |
|
The Settings feature allows you to customize ReadSpeaker docReader to you. You can set the reading speed, the language for the menus, how to select what is read, whether or not to move to the next page automatically. You can also set your highlighting and text mode choices. |
| Page Mask |
|
The Page Mask tool shades the screen above and below a section. You can customize the size of this window. The Page Mask, which reduces distractions, scrolls with you as you move down the page. Click the X on the right when you wish to turn off the Page Mask. |
| Reading Ruler |
|
The Reading Ruler completely covers the screen below the ruler. The height of the ruler is customizable. It is similar to using a notecard to keep you on the line when reading in a book. This tool helps you to focus on the line you are reading. Click the X on the right to turn off the ruler. |
| Highlighter Tool |
|
When you click on the Highlighter tool, you will see a bar with buttons that are: an arrow (pointer), the four colors: yellow, blue, green, and red, a three horizontal line button (menu), and an X. To use the tool, click on a color and then highlight the document. You may want to use multiple colors to indicate different things. After highlighting your document, click on the tool button with the three horizontal lines. You will have choices to Collect the Highlights and Clear the Page or Document of Highlights. If you select to Collect the Highlights, it will not only collect the highlights from the pages but will also place them in a PDF file that downloads to your computer. |
| Show Highlights |
|
If you have highlighted your document, you have the choice to Show or Hide the Highlights. To show the highlights, click on the Show Highlights tool button. |
| Hide Highlights |
|
If you have highlighted your document, you have the choice to Show or Hide the Highlights. To hide the highlights, click on the Hide Highlights tool button. |
| Save the page as mp3 |
|
If you would like to listen to the page as an mp3 file (offline), then use the Save the page as mp3 tool. You can then move the file to your favorite mp3 device. |
| Save Document |
|
The Save document file downloads the document in its' original form. This means that if it was a word document that was uploaded into Blackboard, then it will save as a word document when you click on Save document. |
| Print Document |
|
When you decide to print a document, use the Print Document tool. A pop-up window appears where you can select where you want the document to be printed. If you have a PDF printer installed on your computer, then you can also select to print it to PDF. |
| Zoom In |
|
The zoom tools are located on the bottom left-hand menu. The Zoom In control magnifies the size of the text on the screen. To the right of the controls, the magnification strength will be shown, such as 100%, 150%, etc. The percentage will continue to increase each time you click the tool button until you reach 200%. |
| Zoom Out |
|
The zoom tools are located on the bottom left-hand menu. Clicking on the Zoom Out tool shrinks the size of the text on the screen. To the right of the zoom tools, the magnification strength will be shown, such as 50%, 100%, 150%, etc. The percentage will continue to decrease each time you click on the tool button until you reach 50%. |
ReadSpeaker docReader: How to Videos.
ReadSpeaker Features and Settings
ReadSpeaker allows the user to:
- Stream a document or download it to *.mp3 for off-line listening
- Adjust the settings to individual preference for items to be read faster or slower, with different highlights, etc.
- To use the Simple View and Page Mask tools to minimize distractions for readers
- Turn highlighting off or on
- Choose whether to highlight only words, only sentences, or both
- Choose the colors used for highlighting words and sentences and for the text being highlighted
- Determine text settings, i.e. font, font size, and colors for the text when in simple view
- Determine whether the page should scroll automatically following the audio version
- Determine whether, when a section of the text on the web page is selected, a separate Listen button will appear for reading only the selected text
Text-To-Speech
ReadSpeaker can read text out loud using state-of-the-art text-to-speech (TTS). For images on web pages, ReadSpeaker will read the title or alt text entered for the image.
Accessibility
The Listen button, the player, and the toolbar, and therefore ReadSpeaker's full functionality, are fully keyboard accessible. For access to keyboard commands, use your Tab key to navigate to the control and then the Enter key to activate or deactivate the command.
Floating Listen button, player and toolbar
When a page is first opened, the Listen button, player, and toolbar, whether collapsed or expanded, will show in the top left corner of the web page or another default position determined by the customer. A different default position would be logical for right-to-left languages, such as Hebrew for instance. Provided the user has had interaction with the Listen button, e.g. clicked it or opened the toolbar, the Listen button, player, and toolbar will float to a different position when the user scrolls down on the page to remain visible. They will show somewhere on the page and the user can move them to where it is most convenient with the content shown on the page using the drag-icon shown above the expand button (down-arrow). The Listen button, player, and toolbar are only floating, e.g. will only show a drag-icon, when not in the default position. It is possible to have multiple listen-buttons on a page.
Synchronized Highlighting
Words and sentences are simultaneously highlighted as they are read.
For some non-Western languages (like Japanese and Thai), only sentence highlighting is available. The customer can choose a default for the site: highlight only words, only sentences, or both, or turn highlighting off. The user can personalize these settings provided the Settings button is enabled on the toolbar.
Help - User Support
Toolbars offer a help button which, when clicked, opens a pop-up screen with clear instructions for all ReadSpeaker features.
Colors For Highlighting
A default combination of colors is provided for highlighting words (light blue) and sentences (light green), and the highlighted text (black). The customer can choose other default colors for the site. The user can personalize these colors provided the Settings button is enabled on the toolbar. Seven colors are available as a background color for highlighting sentences and / or words. Underlining can be chosen as an alternative. 6 colors are available for the highlighted text.
Customizable Text Settings
The text settings are the font, font size, and colors that will be used when showing content in Simple View (see below). The default text settings are black text on white background in Open Sans font and normal font size. The customer can choose other default text settings for the site. The user can personalize the text settings provided the Settings button is enabled on the toolbar. There are 12 color combinations available for the text and background, 6 font sizes, and 6 fonts. The choices were ergonomically determined. The user’s settings are saved and applied each time content is viewed in Simple View but can be changed again at any time. The setting for font size is also used when text is shown in pop-up screens for the translation and word lookup features.
Reading Speed
The default reading speed (or speaking rate) is normal. The customer can choose a different default reading speed for the site. The user can personalize the reading speed from very slow to very fast on a sliding scale provided the Settings button is enabled on the toolbar.
Reading Selected Text
If text is selected on the web page, only the selected text will be read out when the Listen button is clicked, rather than the entire content of the page.
Pop-up Listen Button For Reading Selected Text
When text is selected a pop-up Listen button will show briefly near the cursor.
Clicking this Listen button (or the main Listen button) will result in the selected text being read. This allows for quick access to the reading function for the selected text.
The customer can disable this feature for the site. The user can enable and disable the feature provided the Settings button is enabled on the toolbar.
Read On Hover
Clicking the Read On Hover button on the toolbar enables or disables this feature. When enabled, a green dot is shown on the button. If the Read On Hover feature is activated in the toolbar, webReader will start reading a paragraph 3 seconds after the cursor points to it. This can help readers focus on the content they want to listen to.
Automatic Scrolling
If automatic scrolling is activated in the user settings, the page will scroll automatically so that the text being read will always be visible on the screen. By default, automatic scrolling is off. The user can enable and disable the feature provided the Settings button is enabled on the toolbar.
Enlarge Text - For Enhanced Text Visibility
Clicking the Enlarge Text button on the toolbar enables or disables this feature. When enabled, a green dot is shown on the button. When enabled this feature will show a box at the bottom of the screen where the text will be shown sentence by sentence in large font as it is read out, also showing synchronized word highlighting.
Simple View - For Easy Reading
Web pages or selected text can be viewed in Simple View in a separate pop-up screen. When in Simple View, a text-oriented version of the content is shown using the font, font size, and colors determined by the user’s text settings, which can be personalized provided the Settings button is enabled on the toolbar (see Customizable text settings above). When in Simple View, webReader highlights the text in the simple view pop-up screen during reading. Reading is started and stopped or paused from buttons at the top of the simple view pop-up screen. The font size can also be changed directly from within Simple View.
Page Mask
Page Mask is a tool for reading support. When the page mask is activated from the toolbar, one horizontal strip of the page will be bright, while the rest of the page will be shaded. The user can move the bright bar along with the text as it is being read, to help him focus on one or a few lines of text. The user can adjust the height of the bar using the plus and minus buttons on the right end of the bar.
Downloadable Audio File
The user can download an mp3 file with an audio version of the content of the current web page by clicking the download button in the player. The user is asked to confirm that the audio file will be used for personal use only. The customer can predefine a string of characters for each web page to be used as the filename when the audio is downloaded. The customer can disable this feature.
Customer-Defined Reading Area
For each web page, the customer can define which sections of the content should be read.
Reading Multiple Languages - Automatic Language Switch
Available if the customer has purchased a license for more than one language and the text is correctly marked up for each target language with language tags according to the W3C standard. Content can then be read in different languages and webReader will switch language automatically. webReader can read in 50+ languages. For a complete list of available languages go to our languages web page. The automatic language switch does not support all combinations of voices and languages.
Reading Multiple Languages - Manual Language Switch
Available if the customer has purchased a license for more than one language. The user can select text on the page and use the Reading Language feature on the toolbar to determine in which language the text must be read. This is practical when there are multiple languages on the same page. webReader can read in 50+ languages. For a complete list of available languages go to our languages web page. NB: if the user selects text and asks for it to be read in a language that does not match the text, the reading will not sound correct.
Translation
Available for several languages. See the requirements and limitations section below for which languages are currently available to be translated from and into. For a complete and up-to-date list of languages supported in the Translation tool go to our languages web page. The user can select text on the page (if in a language supported for translation) and select a language to translate into from a drop-down list shown when the Translation button is clicked on the toolbar. The translation is shown in a pop-up screen with the font size determined in the text settings (see the user has selected through the settings pop-up screen). Reading of the translated text in that language can be started and stopped or paused from buttons at the top of the pop-up screen. The font size can also be changed from within this pop-up screen for easier reading.
Word Lookup
Word Lookup is a tool for reading support. The user can select a word and click the Word Lookup button on the toolbar. webReader will show the dictionary entry for the selected word from an online dictionary for the language currently selected as reading language in a pop-up screen with the font size the user has selected through the settings pop-up screen. This feature is supported only for some languages. See the requirements and limitations section for details on currently supported languages. For a complete and up-to-date list of languages supported in the Word Lookup tool go to our languages web page.
Multiple User Interface Languages
Several user interface (UI) languages are supported. The UI language can be determined per web page if the customer has purchased a license for more than one language. Only one UI language can be used per web page. The user cannot modify the UI language. At present (Q4, 2017) the supported UI languages are Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish. More languages will be added. For a complete and up-to-date list of languages supported as UI language for ReadSpeaker go to our languages web page.
Pronunciation Dictionaries
ReadSpeaker can be customized to pronounce words or sequences of words in a specific way to increase the quality of the reading. The linguists at ReadSpeaker can correct mispronunciations in the dictionary for the language used upon request. If a different pronunciation is site-specific, it will be edited in the customer’s personalized dictionary.
Technical Specifications
Device Independent
ReadSpeaker is a device-independent and cross-platform solution. It should work with:
- All commonly used online devices: PC, laptop, Chromebook, tablet, smartphone, and more
- All major operating systems: Windows, Chrome, Android, iOS, macOS, and more
- All major browsers:
- for laptops and PCs: IE7+, Edge, Chrome, Firefox, and Safari
- for mobile devices: Safari and Chrome on iOS devices, Chrome on Android devices, Chrome and Edge on Windows Phone