<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=windows-1252"><base href="x-msg://34/"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Hi Pat,<div><br></div><div>TextAloud is another solid application to consider. That said, I have found Balabolka supports many of the same capabilities at a much nicer price point (free!).</div><div><br></div><div>I have found *some* of the more expensive voices can read medical/technical terms more accurately, but this is not always true. It may be necessary to modify the spoken word pronunciation in the application itself.</div><div><br></div><div>For example, in Balabolka, you would need to go to View > Show > Panel of Dictionaries. This will open a panel on the right side of the interface. If you click on the Edit button on the top area of that panel, you will then see a few dictionary entries in which the written word is "corrected" into the spoken word.</div><div><br></div><div>If you are looking at purchasing one of the higher quality voices, you may want to try and enter different terms on that web page and try out how the content is spoken. For the most part, I have had good results with Ivona voices, but given that medical terms may contain a doctor's or scientist's name as part of the condition, it really just depends.</div><div><br></div><div>Also, regional differences may have an impact on how accurate the TTS voice is perceived in speaking the text content. I had visiting professor in grad school who insisted on pronouncing "musculoskeletal system" as "musculo ske LEE tal system" - needless to say, all of us would cringe.</div><div><br></div><div>Lastly, I would suggest the following - although I have ZERO hard data and the following is based purely on anecdotal evidence - try an English speaking voice that has a slight accent. Some of the English speaking students I have worked with prefer a slightly accented voice as they feel they do not get too hung up on what may be mispronunciations of the text. For the Ivona voices, this may be something like Ivona Amy (British English) or if using Nuance then Tessa (South African). </div><div><br></div><div>Hope this helps.</div><div><br></div><div>Take care,</div><div>Sean</div><div><br></div><div><br><div><div>On Apr 30, 2014, at 6:17 AM, "Erion-Hesse, Patricia A." <<a href="mailto:perionhesse@nwacc.edu">perionhesse@nwacc.edu</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div class="WordSection1" style="page: WordSection1; "><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Thanks so much to everyone for providing the recommendations.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">I have tried Natural Reader and Balabolka, but I have not purchased additional voices. I also listened to the Ivona voice samples, and I agree that they are outstanding.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">If you purchase additional premium voices, have you found that they will read the medical/technical terms more accurately?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">I saw some info about<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b>TextAloud3</b>, but I havent tried it yet. Have any of you used it? ($29.95-$59.95) </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; "><a href="http://www.nextup.com/press/120412.html" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; "><span lang="EN">http://www.nextup.com/press/120412.html</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Thanks again.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Pat H.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Patricia Erion-Hesse, M.A.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Disability Resources Accessible Media Lab Technician <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">NorthWest Arkansas Community College<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "><a href="mailto:AltText@nwacc.edu" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; ">AltText@nwacc.edu</a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Main office (479) 986-4076<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Phone (479) 986-4031<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Fax (479) 619-4119<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Disability-Resource-Center-at-NorthWest-Arkansas-Community-College/227556827304712" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); text-decoration: none; "><image001.png></span></a><a href="https://twitter.com/#!/arobertsongann" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); text-decoration: none; "><image002.gif></span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(112, 48, 160); ">Office Hours:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(112, 48, 160); ">8:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m. Monday<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(112, 48, 160); ">8:00 a.m. 4:30 p.m. Tuesday Thursday<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(112, 48, 160); ">9:00 a.m. 4:30 p.m. Friday<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; color: rgb(40, 78, 54); "><image003.jpg></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "><i>This message is intended solely for the recipient to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, you should not disclose, distribute or copy this email. Please notify the sender immediately that you are not the person for whom this email was intended and delete this email from your system.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span></div><div><div style="border-style: solid none none; border-top-width: 1pt; border-top-color: rgb(181, 196, 223); padding: 3pt 0in 0in; "><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; ">From:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; "><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>athen-list [mailto:athen-<a href="mailto:list-bounces@mailman13.u.washington.edu">list-bounces@mailman13.u.washington.edu</a>]<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b>On Behalf Of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>Sean Keegan<br><b>Sent:</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Tuesday, April 29, 2014 1:38 PM<br><b>To:</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Access Technology Higher Education Network<br><b>Subject:</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Re: [Athen] Text-to-speech for medical terminology<o:p></o:p></span></div></div></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Hi Paul,<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Yes - that is another great app to consider. I am finding it does a very good job at handling MS Word documents (docx) and supporting the math component. I have not been able to find a way to modify the speech output to structure the pronunciation of technical terms, but the TTS voices on my OS X system seem to be handling most college content without a problem. In addition to word/audio highlighting synchronization, it will also support sentence/audio highlight synchronization.<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Thanks for posting!<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Take care,<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">sean<o:p></o:p></div></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div><div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">On Apr 29, 2014, at 10:50 AM, "Paul E. Paire" <<a href="mailto:paire@temple.edu" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; ">paire@temple.edu</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></div></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><br><br><o:p></o:p></div><div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Sean,</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Great list. I found out about a new product at the most recent CSUN conference that you may want to consider adding to your list.</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Central Access Reader</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div style="margin-left: 0.5in; "><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">-</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "><a href="http://www.cwu.edu/central-access/reader" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; "><span style="color: purple; ">http://www.cwu.edu/central-access/reader</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div style="margin-left: 0.5in; "><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">-</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Free</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div style="margin-left: 0.5in; "><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">-</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Windows (64bit only) and Mac (Mavericks and Mountain Lion) platforms</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div style="margin-left: 0.5in; "><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">-</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Synchronizes words (if this means what I think it means)</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div style="margin-left: 0.5in; "><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">-</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Supports multiple formats; copy and paste content into CAR</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div style="margin-left: 0.5in; "><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">-</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Can use multiple voices (it uses SAPI 5 voices so you have free and commercial options)</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div style="margin-left: 0.5in; "><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">-</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Has adjustable speech rates</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div style="margin-left: 0.5in; "><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">-</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Can export to MP3 and HTML including batch export</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div style="margin-left: 0.5in; "><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">-</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Reads math (Words equation editor and MathType formats)</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">-Paul</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Disclaimer: I do not work for Central Washington University or have any affiliation with them. I only have limited exposure to this product and have not used it in a production environment.</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="border-style: solid none none; border-top-width: 1pt; border-top-color: rgb(181, 196, 223); padding: 3pt 0in 0in; "><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; ">From:</span></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; "> </span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; ">athen-list [mailto:athen-<a href="mailto:list-bounces@mailman13.u.washington.edu" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; ">list-bounces@mailman13.u.washington.edu</a>]<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>On Behalf Of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b>Sean Keegan<br><b>Sent:</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Tuesday, April 29, 2014 1:22 PM<br><b>To:</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Access Technology Higher Education Network<br><b>Subject:</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Re: [Athen] Text-to-speech for medical terminology</span><o:p></o:p></div></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> <o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Hi Pat,<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> <o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">There are a few options to consider for text-to-speech (TTS) systems that are both free and paid-versions. Also, if you are on a Windows computer I would consider purchasing high-quality TTS voices and then you can use a variety of different TTS applications. If you are on a Mac running OS X 10.7 or later, then you can download good quality voices for free.<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> <o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Here are some apps to consider:<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Balabolka<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- <a href="http://www.cross-plus-a.com/balabolka.htm" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; "><span style="color: purple; ">http://www.cross-plus-a.com/balabolka.htm</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- Free<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- Windows platform<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- Synchronizes words<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- Supports multiple formats; copy and paste content into Balabolka interface<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- Can use multiple voices<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> <o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Ivona Reader<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- <a href="http://www.ivona.com/us/reader/" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; "><span style="color: purple; ">http://www.ivona.com/us/reader/</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- Free to $300 (price varies on TTS voices selected)<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- Windows platform<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- Synchronizes words<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- Supports multiple formats; copy and paste content into Ivona interface<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- LOTS of voices to choose from<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> <o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Natural Reader<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- <a href="http://www.naturalreaders.com/" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; "><span style="color: purple; ">http://www.naturalreaders.com/</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- Free to $199<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- Windows and Mac platform<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- Also has OCR capability at higher priced version<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- Synchronizes words<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- Supports multiple formats; copy and paste content into Natural Reader interface<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> <o:p></o:p></div></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Speak Selection / Convert to iTunes<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- Free, built into OS X<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- Mac platform<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- No synchronized TTS with words<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- Any selectable text<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- Supports multiple voices<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> <o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Ghostreader<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- <a href="http://www.convenienceware.com/product/ghostreader" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; "><span style="color: purple; ">http://www.convenienceware.com/product/ghostreader</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- $40 for application<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- Mac platform<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- Synchronizes words and sentences<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- Supports multiple formats<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- Can use any TTS voice installed on OS X system<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> <o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> <o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">These are just a few applications that you may want to consider that do TTS alone. If you are looking for something that provides more of a study tools environment (highlighting, etc.), then I would suggest checking out Claro Read, Read & Write Gold, or Kurzweil 3000. All of these systems (except for the Speak Selection in OS X) allow for the manipulation of the TTS output, so for technical language you can edit the TTS vocabulary to get the proper pronunciation.<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> <o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">I would highly recommend checking out the Ivona voices. You don't have to purchase the Ivona reader or any of those products, but the TTS voices developed by Ivona are amazing.<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> <o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Take care,<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Sean<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> <o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Sean Keegan<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div><div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; ">Associate Director, Assistive Technology</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; ">Office of Accessible Education - Stanford University</span><o:p></o:p></div></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; "> </span><o:p></o:p></div></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> <o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">On Apr 29, 2014, at 5:50 AM, "Erion-Hesse, Patricia A." <<a href="mailto:perionhesse@nwacc.edu" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; "><span style="color: purple; ">perionhesse@nwacc.edu</span></a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><br><br><br><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; ">Does anyone have recommendations for a reasonably priced<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><u>text-to-speech</u><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>software that accurately reads<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><u>medical terminology</u>?</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; ">Thanks for your help.</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; ">Pat H.</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "> </span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; ">Patricia Erion-Hesse, M.A.</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; ">Disability Resources Accessible Media Lab Technician </span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; ">NorthWest Arkansas Community College</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "><a href="mailto:AltText@nwacc.edu" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; "><span style="color: purple; ">AltText@nwacc.edu</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; ">Main office (479) 986-4076</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; ">Phone (479) 986-4031</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; ">Fax (479) 619-4119</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Disability-Resource-Center-at-NorthWest-Arkansas-Community-College/227556827304712" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; "><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); text-decoration: none; "><image001.png></span></a><a href="https://twitter.com/#!/arobertsongann" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; "><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); text-decoration: none; "><image002.gif></span></a></span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(112, 48, 160); ">Office Hours:</span></b><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(112, 48, 160); ">8:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m. Monday</span></b><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(112, 48, 160); ">8:00 a.m. 4:30 p.m. Tuesday Thursday</span></b><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(112, 48, 160); ">9:00 a.m. 4:30 p.m. Friday</span></b><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; color: rgb(40, 78, 54); "><image003.jpg></span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "><i>This message is intended solely for the recipient to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, you should not disclose, distribute or copy this email. Please notify the sender immediately that you are not the person for whom this email was intended and delete this email from your system.</i></span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "> </span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; ">_______________________________________________<br>athen-list mailing list<br><a href="mailto:athen-list@mailman13.u.washington.edu" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; "><span style="color: purple; ">athen-list@mailman13.u.washington.edu</span></a><br><a href="http://mailman13.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; "><span style="color: purple; ">http://mailman13.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></div></div></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> <o:p></o:p></div></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; ">_______________________________________________<br>athen-list mailing list<br><a href="mailto:athen-list@mailman13.u.washington.edu" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; ">athen-list@mailman13.u.washington.edu</a><br><a href="http://mailman13.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; ">http://mailman13.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list</a><o:p></o:p></span></div></div></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div></div>_______________________________________________<br>athen-list mailing list<br><a href="mailto:athen-list@mailman13.u.washington.edu" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; ">athen-list@mailman13.u.washington.edu</a><br><a href="http://mailman13.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; ">http://mailman13.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list</a></div></blockquote></div><br></div></body></html>