ReadSpeaker for Faculty

Brightspace Readspeaker

Introduction:

ReadSpeaker is now available in our Brightspace Learning Management System and SoftChalk Lessons. The ReadSpeaker integration in Brightspace offers two features for faculty and students: webReader and docReader. These features allow users to have HTML content read aloud with highlighted spoken text, as well as online documents in various formats.

Features

• Read web content out loud.
• Read content on hover over.
• View content in your preferred font size and color.
• Translate a selected text.
• Download text as an audio file (mp3).

Step-by-Step Instructions:

ReadSpeaker webReader is a text-to-speech tool that lets users listen to text and documents for an enhanced learning experience. To use it, log into Brightspace, select a document, and click the ReadSpeaker Listen icon. A toolbar with additional options will appear.

ReadSpeaker Tools

1. webReader Menu – open/close the vertical lower toolbar containing
additional options. For more information on the vertical toolbar options,
please look at the image below.
2. Readspeaker Listen – Listen to this page
3. Play/Pause Button – start or pause the audio playback.
4. Stop Button – Stop the audio playback.
5. Skip Backward – Skip backwards five seconds.
6. Skip Forward – Skip forward five seconds.
7. Volume – Adjust the volume.
8. Reading Speed – Adjust the reading speed.
9. Close – Close the player tools to only show the play button.

The vertical lower toolbar becomes available when selecting the webReader
menu.

ReadSpeaker Vertical Lower Toolbar

1. Settings – Personalize font type, font colors, font size, reading speed,
highlighting preferences, and more.
2. Reading Voice – Select the document language voice.
3. Click and Listen – This allows you to hover over a paragraph and then click
to hear it read automatically. Toggle on or off to enable click and listen.
4. Enlarge Text – Toggle on or off to enable text to appear in larger font at the
bottom of the page.
5. Text Mode – Content is displayed in a plain text format.
6. Page Mask – A horizontal window shading above and below, can be moved
with reading.
7. Download mp3 – Download file
8. Help – Click for additional instructions and help with ReadSpeaker.

ReadSpeaker docReader

Office product files and PDFs can be read with ReadSpeaker docReader by
clicking on the Readspeaker listen icon. To access Readspeaker log into
your Brightspace course and select one of the supported docReader documents.
Once the document is located you will see the following options:

1. Item Visibility
2. Add Existing Item
3. Create New items
4. Open with ReadSpeaker
5. Expand Fullscreen
6. Options

To view the document using ReadSpeaker, click on the docReader listen button . Once ReadSpeaker has been selected, the document will open in docReader.

The docReader shows the first page of the document, a toolbar like the one shown below with which to access docReader’s features, and a navigation menu sidebar.

To open the sidebar view, select the menu option located on the right side of
the document.

Sidebar Menu Options

1. Menu – Open the sidebar toolbar view
2. Show/Hide Sidebar – toggle the visibility of the thumbnail/outline sidebar.
3. Layout Mode – toggle your view to Layout mode, which preserves the
original page design.
4. Text Mode – toggle your view to Text Mode. In text mode, you can control
the appearance of the text (e.g., typeface, text size)
5. Image to Text - Change image to Text
6. Zoom In - Zoom into document
7. Zoom Out- Zoom out of document
8. Fit to width - Reset to the default zoom for the document, fitting the full
width of the document within the document viewer.
9. Fit to height - Reset to the default zoom for the document, fitting the full
height of the document within the document viewer.
10. Page Mask - A horizontal window with shading above and below, can be
moved with reading.
11. Reading Ruler - allows you to move a dark block (like a ruler on the page) over
the page, for example, to underline the text as it is being read. Click + to make
the block larger, and – to make it smaller, click X to turn off the Reading Ruler.
12. Settings - Personalize font type, font colors, font size, reading speed,
highlighting preferences, and more
13. Download Documents - Save to your computer
14. Help - Click for additional instructions and help with ReadSpeaker
15. Accessibility - Document accessibility information

To view the document in Full Screen, the option is to expand it in Full Screen.

Once Full Screen is available, you will see several ReadSpeaker tools.

docReader toolbar in full-screen Mode

1. Exit full-screen mode
2. Previous page or the Next page
3. Listen
4. Pause
5.Stop
6. Skip Backwards
7. Skip Forward
8. Change to Layout Mode
9. Change to Text Mode
10. Change to Image Text
11. Expand Toolbar
12. Exit Full Screen

When you Expand the Toolbar, you will see the additional options below.

1. Settings - Personalize font type, font colors, font size, reading speed,
highlighting preferences, and more.
2. Page Mask - Select the document language voice.
3. Reading Ruler – A Ruler that is placed over text that a person is reading.
4. Download Document – Save to your computer.

To exit full-screen mode, press the ESC button to exit full-screen mode the ESC
button or select exit full-screen mode.

Tutorials:

Additional Resources:

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