ReadSpeaker
ReadSpeaker tools are more than just text to speech. They also give the ability to process information differently.
Examples:
- Students can use ReadSpeaker to listen to thier lesson/s.
- For difficult subjects, students can listen to the material while also reading the material. The two processes of seeing the words (highlight words and sentences with ReadSpeaker) and hearing the words are a form of bimodal presentation. Bimodal presentations have been shown to increase the retention of materials. Enlarged text with a slower reading speed also helps learn difficult materials by allowing time to digest the material in smaller quantities.
- While taking a test, students may benefit from hearing the test to catch all the words and understand the questions better.
- Learning on the go: Students can download lesson pages to mp3 files and listen to them while offline. Use the download to mp3 button, which is found on the lower toolbar.
What is the Listen button that I see?
The Listen button is a ReadSpeaker tool called webReader. When you click on it, it will read the text on the page to you. You can adjust the reading speed, change the highlighting colors, enlarge the text, use a page mask, download to mp3 for offline listening, and more! You will find it in Content, Assignments, Quizzes, and Discussion Threads.
webReader
What do I do when I don’t have a listen button, and it is a file?
If it is a file (MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel, ePub, PDF, etc.), click on the arrow point to the right of the file's title, and then click on Open with docReader. This will reload the document into a readable interface. It has many of the tools that webReader has. Here is what it looks like:
docReader
Some Helpful Video Tutorials
ReadSpeaker Introduction
ReadSpeaker webReader Overview for Brightspace
ReadSpeaker docReader Overview for Brightspace
What is ReadSpeaker and How Do I Acccess it?
Brightspace docReader Training
Brightspace: Quiz and Assignments Using webReader
ReadSpeaker Brightspace for Students