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"For any student having trouble reading material on a screen, text-to-speech technologies can be wonderful. My March 2008 post, "Converting text to and from speech for accessibility and convenience" addressed some of the software options available today for text to speech functionality. Of those, "CLiCk, Speak" is probably the main one to check out. It's cross-platform, works in the FireFox browser as a plug-in, and is free. In addition to those text-to-speech options, the latest version of the Macintosh operating system (OS 10.6 "Snow Leopard") includes the built-in ability to convert highlighted text in many applications into an audio file. Here is an example of a file I created while writing this post, of this paragraph."

"This way you can listen to the audio while you are running, working out at the gym or commuting to work. There are many desktop software and also online tools to convert text to speech (TTS). However it is not easy to find free and good ones. Most free online text to speech conversion tools are severely limited, allowing only few hundred characters or do not give any download option. In our search for free Text To Speech Online Tools, we found five best ones which we are listing here."

HearWho.com is an online web application that turns any text into speech so you can listen to it. It will work with your internet browser. There is no software to download. you simply type or paste your text into the text area, then click "MAKE MP3 FILE". Up to 400 characters are free. A subscription is required to work with longer text. HearWho.com converts text to speech and saves it as an MP3 file so that you can listen to it on any device capable of playing MP3 files, such as Ipods, Ipads, PDAs, mobile phones, MP3 players, etc.

$99.99 "The highly anticipated KNFB Reader converts printed text into high quality speech to provide accurate, fast, and efficient access to both single and multiple page documents with the tap of a button on the iPhone. Picture accuracy is facilitated by a Field of View Report, Automatic Page Detection, and Tilt Control. Our app allows users to capture pictures of virtually any type of printed text, including mail, receipts, class handouts, memos and many other documents that you may encounter. Proprietary document analysis technology determines the words and reads them aloud to the user with high quality text-to-speech and Braille access. Individuals with print disabilities will benefit from the synchronized speech and text highlighting capabilities. KNFB Reader will revolutionize access to print materials for the mobile professional and busy student by providing advanced state of the art mobile reading technology in a single hand-held device. "

"iWordQ US (English) is an easy-to-use writing and reading application to assist struggling writers and readers. In Writing mode, a simple text editor is used for writing with the support of word prediction, abbreviation-expansion and speech feedback features. Spell-check and dictionary access is included. Use speech recognition with an iPad 3. In Reading mode, text is shown in a more visually pleasing manner to improve readability. This is used for proofreading, reading to learn, silent reading, reading aloud, and casual reading/listening. A novel text chunking method (patent-pending) can be selected to enhance comprehension and readability of text to allow you to focus on one text chunk at a time"

"iCommunicator makes effective two-way communication possible for persons who are deaf, hard-of-hearing or experience unique communication challenges The iCommunicator translates in real-time: * Speech to Text * Speech/Text to Video Sign-Language * Speech/Text to Computer Generated Voice"

"Text input via speech. Typing without a keyboard now very easy! You say - he writes! A new approach to the input texts on the computer. All you need is a microphone and the correct pronunciation. Voicenote - increasingly popular application for Google Chrome™. It allows typing on a computer, by dictating text to the microphone."

Achieve Tablet lets readers be themselves, as well as part of a crowd, with a mobile, text-to-speech device that looks great on any desk and fits in any bag. With touch-screen and gesture-based scrolling, page turning, and zooming, readers can succeed in totally new and intuitive ways. Capturing text is as easy as taking a picture with the Tablet's camera. Then reading happens with synchronized text highlighting and audio playback. With Achieve Tablet, readers can also download Achieve Software for Windows* or Mac* and turn a school or home desktop or laptop into a full-blown digital library.

"NaturalReader 12 is a text-to-speech software for Windows. This easy-to-use software with natural-sounding voices can read to you any text such as Microsoft Word files, webpages, PDF files, and E-mails. NaturalReader can also convert any written text into audio files such as MP3 or WAV."

6 Online Tools for Text to Speech you would not want to miss

"For children and young people with reading difficulties, text-to-speech (TTS) software offers some of the benefits of a personal reader. The article provides an overview of the technology and its application, and then summarizes the research on benefits of TTS for struggling readers. The different kinds of TTS software available are described in three categories, according to sophistication, and information is given concerning how teachers can obtain electronic text materials for use with TTS. Finally, suggestions are provided for implementing TTS in the classroom. Related Postings from the Archives * Teachers' Use of Technology in a Reading Clinic by Ernest Balajthy et al. * Wait for Me! by Ofer Bergman * Jumping off the Page by Bart Pisha and Peggy Coyne What Is TTS? | Impact of TTS | Available Software | Available Texts | Practical Considerations | Suggestions for Use | References "

"NaturalReader is a Text to Speech software with natural sounding voices. This easy to use software can convert any written text such as MS Word, Webpage, PDF files, and Emails into spoken words. NaturalReader can also convert any written text into audio files such as MP3 or WAV for your CD player or iPod."

"I received a question from a technology director this week regarding different options available for text-to-speech conversion software and web-applications. I'm posting what I know here in hopes that others will be able to chime in with more options."

Ira Socol blog post about using text to speech for beginning readers

"Introducing Speak it! 2.0, the most advanced text to speech solution in the App Store! Speak it! has been the number one selling TTS app, and now its even better than ever. " Costs $1.99

"3 text to speech tools and 5 ways your students can use them"

"Web Reader 2.2 for iPhone uses text to speech technology along with web page content recognition to read web pages to you. You can configure web pages to be read as soon as they are loaded, read pages manually after they are loaded, or use Cut, Copy, & Paste to read only sections of text"

"shows you how to enable speech-to-text features with Google Docs on Chrome OS, Android, and iOS devices."

"SpeakIt reads selected text using Text-to-Speech technology with language auto-detection. It can read text in more than 50 languages. Usage: - First select the text you want it to read. - Then click the icon to start listening. - When it is ready to read, the number of sentences is shown on the icon. - To stop listening at any time click pause"

OutlinesOutloud-just like it sounds! OutlinesOutloud takes the sting out of studying by converting your study outlines to spoken audio. Super-flexible playback controls let you vary speech rate; jump forward and backward with ease, skip rows or whole sections, loop-and more! Reads even complex outlines naturally OutlinesOutloud reads hierarchical information (letter and numeral prefixes) in a smooth, listenable way and handles a variety of symbols that could choke your average speech-to-text app! Easy transfer from computer to iPhone With OutlinesOutloud, syncing to your iPhone happens automatically, so you can study anywhere. Select the portions you want to hear, and hit PLAY. All you have to do is listen!"