Thursday, November 14, 2013

Free Web Text Reader - iSpeech's Select and Speak for Google Chrome

 


I can remember the first time I saw a web reader demonstrated and then found out the cost.  It only made sense that a web text reader would be expensive.  But I have found a great free web reader app that you can add on to Google Chrome, and it is free!

iSpeech's Select and Speak app uses human quality Text to Speech Synthesis to make audio versions of text content.  In Layman's terms you can highlight text, click on the iSpeech icon, click play, and the text is read to you.  I saw this app featured at a conference recently and knew immediately how much it could help students with disabilities.  

But all learner's can benefit from a web reader.  Many of us like to hear a story read while we read along, and great for young readers, English Language Learners, and is a great UDL (Universal Design for Learning) tool.  You can find the app on the Google Chrome store site  by searching for iSpeech and choose Select and Speak.