[Athen] looking for comment on ReadSpeaker software

[E.A.Draffan]

I think Ron is right about all these technologies - and I say that having
been involved in the development of the free open source ATbar
(https://www.atbar.org/)

If the learning platform has complex iframes, flash and other elements that
do not allow the script to launch or adapt the CSS to suit personal
preferences or even to read content with the use of TTS, then the user's
assistive technologies could also fail to access the materials.  However,
companies can adapt their software to work with requested sites as has
happened with Google Docs and Texthelp's Read&Write.
http://www.texthelp.com/north-america/readwriteforgoogle/ 

I have used both BrowseAloud and ReadSpeaker and each has useful features -
the former offers a bit more with translation, a screen ruler and
de-cluttering of the site in addition to the TTS, saving to MP3 and
highlighting of text as it is read aloud.

We have found that these tools can help those with dyslexia (LD) and those
who want to change the look and feel of the site in a more basic way such as
have a coloured overlay or de-clutter to aid readability.  Sometimes
students forget to load up their personal AT and the small browser based
bookmarklet or favorite can be quite useful - no download or impact on
network security and we have ATbar on our university website under
accessibility tools http://www.southampton.ac.uk/  but I would never say
these tools replace the use of more powerful commercially available AT that
is well supported and maintained.  

Best wishes
E.A. 

Mrs E.A. Draffan
WAIS, ECS , University of Southampton
Tel +44 (0)23 8059 7246
Mobile +44 (0)7976 289103
http://access.ecs.soton.ac.uk
http://www.emptech.info

-----Original Message-----
From: athen-list [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman13.u.washington.edu] On
Behalf Of Wershing, Alice D.
Sent: 10 July 2014 21:41
To: 'Access Technology Higher Education Network'
Subject: Re: [Athen] looking for comment on ReadSpeaker software

Has anyone used BrowseAloud on their site?  We have just completed testing
and ran into some issues with D2L.  The company is trying to see why we ran
into these issues, but I thought I'd also see what people thought.  There is
a comparison of ReadSpeaker and Browsealoud on the web that I found, but
would welcome other comments. 

Alice Wershing, M.Ed., A.T.P.
Technology Specialist
Disability Services
Pellissippi State Community College
10915 Hardin Valley Road
Knoxville TN  37933-0990
(865) 694-6751

Access for All Blog  
http://blogs.pstcc.edu/access4all/

-----Original Message-----
From: athen-list [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman13.u.washington.edu] On
Behalf Of Ron Stewart
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2014 12:12 PM
To: 'Access Technology Higher Education Network'
Subject: Re: [Athen] looking for comment on ReadSpeaker software

Products like these really do little to insure the accessibility of the
content.  My group has done several reviews across a variety of LMS systems
where this "built in" product was provided but the sites were actually not
fully accessible or properly structured in the first place.  To insure the
fullest accessibility in the first place the sites need to be fully designed
to be conformant with WCAG 2.0 at the AA level as well as tested to insure
that they are actually usable with common assistive technologies.

What software like this is good for is for ELL and other similar groups that
can see and effectively navigate the site and would benefit from audio
reinforcement of the textual content.  Now this does not speak to the course
content delivered through the site, that is something that a product  like
this is not at all useful for since the material still needs to be properly
structured and annotated with accessibility elements like alternative and
descriptive text and appropriate document structure.

Ron Stewart

-----Original Message-----
From: athen-list [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman13.u.washington.edu] On
Behalf Of Mitchell Stoddard
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2014 10:32 AM
To: athen-list at u.washington.edu
Subject: [Athen] looking for comment on ReadSpeaker software

Hi Folks,

I wonder if any of you are familiar with ReadSpeaker, which is a text to
speech add-on for course management software?  The people in our Teaching
and Learning Centre, who support our LMS system (CANVAS) are considering
purchasing the product and asking for input.  

I have seen only a few comments on another listserve...one which raised the
question of the value of the software relative to use of a program such as
Read and Write Gold, and one which raised issues around how ReadSpeaker
handles LTI within the LMS system.  

I would appreciate any comments or input you may have.

Warm regards,

Mitchell 



Mitchell Stoddard, Ph.D., R. Psych.
Director, Centre for Students with Disabilities Simon Fraser University
8888 University Drive (1250 MBC)
Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6

Phone: 778-782-3313
Email: mitchell_stoddard at sfu.ca

If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow"
~John Dewey

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