Britannica School, a tool available in Loudoun County Public Schools, provides resources with a built-in text to speech function which highlights the sentence being read aloud. The highlighting invites learners to follow along with their eyes to track the content. Text to speech is accessed by pressing the play icon located in different locations based on which level (elementary, middle, or high) is being used. Britannica School is available through LCPS Go.
MackinVia, a tool available in Loudoun County Public Schools, provides books with a built-in text to speech function which also features dual highlighting. This means the sentence being read aloud is highlighted yellow while the words being spoken are highlighted in grey. The dual highlighting invites learners to follow along with their eyes. MackinVia is available through LCPS Go and as an app in the Google Play Store on Chromebooks.
Screenshot of dual highlighting in Mackinvia
Schoology is the primary learning management system used in Loudoun County Public Schools. A recent update added Immersive Reader to all Course pages and Schoology Course Assignments. Look for the Immersive Reader button on the top right corner to activate. The text on the Course page will open in Immersive Reader which provides a variety of functions including all of the following:
In today’s digital world, information is provided via text, images, icons, buttons, links, and more. Students use a variety of electronic devices to access their curriculum, including LCPS-provided Chromebooks and iPads, as well as personal computers, tablets, and smartphones. Text to speech and screen reader features, applications, and extensions can help students with varying abilities more readily access information.
Text to speech tools convert digital text into audio on computers, tablets, and smartphones. These tools read aloud text, including image descriptions (Alt-Tags), on webpages, Schoology courses, Microsoft Office applications, Google Workspace applications, PDFs, emails, and more.
There are many text to speech tools available, depending on the type of device the student is using. Some are free and built into the device’s operating system. Some third-party text to speech applications can be added to the device, either for free or for a fee.
When reading the text aloud, many text to speech applications also highlight the words and sentences as they are being read, providing visual cues in addition to the audio. The reading speed and voices can often be customized.
LCPS students and staff have access to Texthelp’s Read&Write for Google Chrome extensions to use with Google Workspace apps, Microsoft Office apps, PDFs, Schoology modules, and Chrome browser websites. The Read&Write for Google Chrome, OrbitNote, and Screenshot Reader extensions all include text to speech features.
The video below titled Read&Write for Google Chrome™ – Text to Speech describes how to use some of Read&Write for Google Chrome’s text to speech features.
iOS devices, including iPads and iPhones, have built-in text to speech features called Speak Selection and Speak Screen. The video below titled How to Use Text to Speech on iPhone or iPad describes how to access these features.
Screen readers provide much more extensive information than text to speech applications. In addition to reading text aloud and descriptions of images provided in the alternative text (Alt-Tags), screen readers also read aloud content or convert to Braille various screen elements including menu titles, headings, buttons, icons, links, folder and file names, and more. Screen readers enable students to use the computer’s operating system and navigate through websites, documents, forms, and other digital content using keyboard shortcuts.
Screen readers are built into many operating systems, including Windows’ Narrator, iOS’ VoiceOver, Android’s TalkBack, and Chrome’s ChromeVox. Some third-party screen readers can also be added or downloaded to the device, either for free or for a fee.
Check out the following videos that demonstrate how to use some built-in or free screen readers.
Using ChromeVox on a Chromebook
Using VoiceOver on iOS devices
Using Narrator for Windows
Using NVDA for Windows
There are many other text to speech and screen reader tools available. Start exploring to learn more!
Click on the purple puzzle piece to install the Google extension Read&Write for Google Chrome.
Or click here for installation instructions in English
Or click here for installation instructions in Spanish.
to listen to text being read aloud in Google Docs, Google Slides, Google Forms, Google Sheets, Schoology, and the Chrome web browser. Try it now to listen to any text in this blog post!
button to hear the text in the chat read aloud. Place the cursor over text in the chat…no need to click!
to draw a box around the text to have it read aloud. Try it with the text in the image below.