An example of assistive technology that reads digital text aloud is text-to-speech (TTS). This technique is also known as “read aloud” technology. On a computer or other digital device, words can be turned into audio with the click of a button or the touch of a finger. For young children who have trouble reading, it is incredibly helpful. However, it can also aid with their writing, editing, and even attention. Keep reading The Ultimate Text To Speech API For Educational Purposes, we will tell you about Woord, an ideal TTS tool for teachers.
How text-to-speech can help your students
Printed classroom materials, such as books and manuals, can present obstacles for children who have difficulty reading. That’s because some have trouble decoding and understanding the words printed on a page. Using digital text with text-to-speech helps remove those barriers.
Since text-to-speech allows children to see and hear text while reading, it creates a multi-sensory reading experience. Researchers report that the combination of seeing and hearing text while reading:
- Improves knowledge of letters.
- Increases the ability to pay attention and remember information while reading.
- Allows children to focus on comprehension instead of how to pronounce words.
- Increases children’s perseverance when performing reading tasks.
- It helps them recognize and fix mistakes in what they write.
Just like audiobooks, using text-to-speech doesn’t slow the development of your students’ reading skills.
Types of text-to-speech tools
Depending on the type of device children use, there are many different text-to-speech tools:
Built-in text-to-speech: Many devices have built-in text-to-speech tools. These include desktop and laptop computers, smartphones, digital tablets, and Chrome.
Web tools: Some websites have text-to-speech tools on the site. There are also fre e text-to-speech tools available online.
Text-to-speech apps: Kids can also download text-to-speech apps on smartphones and digital tablets. Often these apps have special features like highlighted text in different colors and optical character recognition.
Chrome Extensions: Chrome has several text-to-speech extensions, including Woord. You can use these tools on any computer that has the Chrome browser.
Text-to-speech software programs: There are also various literacy programs for desktop and laptop computers. In addition to other reading and writing tools, many of these programs have text-to-speech.
We recommend Woord since it offers all these options and, in addition, it has a great variety of voices, accents, languages and the option of using children’s voices.
Woord
Woord is a without-charge online text reader with a variety of useful features. It contains more than 50 languages, including a variety of dialects. Furthermore, this API allows one to choose between masculine, feminine, or non-binary voices.
All of these features are available without charge, allowing you to test the service before purchasing the premium version. Premium voices, a Chrome plugin, an SSML editor, an MP3 download, and up to 20,000 characters each month are all included in the without-charge edition. With this program, you may also adjust the voice’s speed and format.
Nonetheless, we recommend that for commercial use you buy a premium subscription to this natural voices API; they are economic and ready for commercial use. Also, with the premium versions of Woord, you 100% own intellectual property for all files.
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Thank You For Reading The Ultimate Text To Speech API For Educational Purposes
Also published on Medium.