PowerPoint Presentation

ReadSpeaker TextAidReadSpeaker TextAid Literacy support for inclusive learning goes ON-LINE

Niclas Bergstrm, CEO, ReadSpeakerWCSNE-2015, Philadelphia, August 17th 2015

I am not an academic researcher, and Im not a special eds teacher. I am an entrepreneur that hope that I can help improve the life for struggling readers.

How many of you knows about text-to-speech (speech synthesis)?

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ReadSpeaker was founded in Sweden in 199912 offices world wideMore than 10 000 customers in 60 countries50 full time employeesDevelopment, sales, support, lingusitics, TTSWorldwide leader in online text to speechOn-demand speech-enabling forTextual content (online & offline solutions)Websites, mobile websites, blogsAppsDocumentseBooksVisit WWW.READSPEAKER.COM 2READSPEAKER IN A NUTSHELL

Visst det hr r om TextAid, men jag br ju ocks lyfta fram vra webblsningsmjligheter samt speechMaker, fr att skapa ljudfiler till t.ex. powerPoints etc.

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Students with Dyslexia/reading difficulties, ADD/ADHD, learning-, language- or motor disabilitiesSecond Language Learners (ESL)Foreign Language LearnersMost other learnersBimodal presentationUniversal Learning Design principles

SPOKEN TEXT - WHO COULD BENEFIT IN AN EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT?

There is a lot of research, presented in the last slide, that point out that many Special Needs Education students are helped by TTS, also with Higlighrting3

Bimodal presentation refers to information that is presented in both audio and visual formats at the same time. Bimodal reading refers to the act of reading text while hearing the words at the same time, such as when using speech synthesis software, or reading the text, hearing the words, and having the words (and/or sentences) highlighted at the same time, such as when using text-to-speech software with integrated highlighting.

Benefits of Bimodal Presentation

According to research, specific benefits of bimodal content presentation include:Improved word recognition skills and vocabularyImproved reading comprehension (up to 70%), fluency, accuracy, and concentrationImproved phonological decoding skillsImproved information recall and learning/memory enhancementSome of the lesser known and considered benefits include:Increased motivation and more positive attitude with regard to readingIncreased reading self-confidence and perceived performance

BIMODAL PRESENTATION

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AdvantagesListen to any text and any topic at any timeAdjust the reading speedUnassisted privacyCorrect pronunciation of wordsDisadvantagesTTS it is not 100% accurate

TEXT TO SPEECH SYNTHESIS

All texts are not recrdedFirst 4 from Paper: http://callej.org/journal/7-2/Kilickaya.html - Middle East Technical University, Turkey. They also recommend that TTS is used for language learnings.

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Text-To-Speech makes assumptions based on the context to determine how to pronounce ambiguous text strings, like homographs and numbers as well as English words in foreign texts.

English"On 22 December we will update the content on all 22 pages and we hope our readers will be content."

German"Der fakulttsbasierte Promotionsprozess wird durch die Angebote der Heidelberg Graduate School in Heidelberg untersttzt, die die Promovierenden fit macht fr am Markt und in der Wissenschaft zustzlich geforderte Schlsselqualifikationen (u.a. mit Angeboten zu wissenschaftsmethodischen und forschungsorientierten Themen)."

TTS READING DEMONSTRATION

Text-To-Speech makes assumptions based on the context to determine how to pronounce ambiguous text strings, like homographs and numbers.

English"On 22 december we will update the content on all 22 pages and we hope our readers will be content."

In this sentence the TTS manages to disambiguate the date/number "22" and the noun/adjective "content":

Dutch"In het klassieke nature-or-nurture debat is men van nature geneigd om vanuit de darwiniaanse evolutietheorie te redeneren."

The ambiguity here is of course between the dutch and english reading of the homograph "nature".

German"Der fakulttsbasierte Promotionsprozess wird durch die Angebote der Heidelberg Graduate School in Heidelberg untersttzt, die die Promovierenden fit macht fr am Markt und in der Wissenschaft zustzlich geforderte Schlsselqualifikationen (u.a. mit Angeboten zu wissenschaftsmethodischen und forschungsorientierten Themen)."

Here even the german name "Heidelberg" is pronounced english when part of the english name of the school, but the directly following Heidelberg is german again.

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Installed vs. web based softwareInstalled SoftwareInteraction with local devices such as printer and scannerAdministration rightsUpdatesPlatform dependentSmaller footprint voice databasesWeb applicationRequires an internet connected device/web browserNo updates / centralized improvementsAvailable from anywhere at any time/100% portableDevice independentCentral content repositoryUncompromised quality on TTS

INSTALLED SOFTWARE VS. WEB APPLICATIONInstalled softwareThe advantage with reading- and writing support software that is installed on a specific computer is that it can use the host computers technology such as built-in speech synthesis, local storage and processing power. It is also an advantage that it could interact with other equipment connected to the computer such as a printer or scanner. The disadvantages are that such software can be difficult to install, keep up-to-date and the fact that they are tied to a specific computer while the user is not. There is also software that can be delivered on a USB stick which makes the software more portable in between different computers. However, software that is installed typically is very restrictive to what operating system that is supported. Usually, it also has certain requirements on the computes specifications. As an example; software acquired for Windows will not work on a Mac, reading tablet or smartphone. Web applicationThe advantage of web applications are the same as the disadvantages for installed software. If it is correctly developed, it should work on all computers and devices that has a web browser and has connection to the Internet. All or most functionality of the application is available from all kinds of different devices, operating systems and browsers. This means that the user of the application can reach it from a variety of locations at any time regardless if he/she uses a Windows, Mac or other platform. Another advantage is that there is no need for installation or local updates. As web applications are located on a central server, all updates and maintenance is handled centrally. Since the application actually run on powerful servers, the industrys best and most resource consuming technologies can be used to offer highest possible quality, for example in regard of speech synthesis quality, without having any requirements on the powerfulness of the device used to use the application. This makes the technical specification of the users computer or mobile device irrelevant. The disadvantage is that it requires an Internet connection. And the fact that it cannot easily utilize locally connected computer equipment in the same way installed software can.

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SHIFT IN THE DEVICE LANDSCAPE

(Source: Morgan Stanley Research)

READSPEAKER TEXTAID

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TARGET GROUP INVOLVEMENTThe ReadSpeaker services was originally developed in close cooperation with representatives from organization for people with acquired brain injury, Association for Persons with Intellectual Disability, Dyslexia organizations and Organizations for people with visual impairment

TextAid is developed in close collaboration with different end-user groups including students with learning difficulties, Dyslexia, Asperger/ADD/ADHD, language learners, non-native speakers and users with mild visual impairment (and combinations)

Test with 15 students age 10-17 years.Non native speakerreading and writing difficulties/learning difficultiesGood reader but difficulties in spelling.Mild visual impairmentCombination of above.10

100% web based Software as a ServciseIntegrates into any major LMS platformsAvailable from any webbrowser, any device* and at any time

*) requires the device to have an Internet connection and the ability to play back mp3 audioREADSPEAKER TEXTAID

Even though we have not targetted language learners directly before, many have used it just for that..

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Reading and writing support Text and document library OCRWeb readingMachine translationStudying support toolsAdministrative teacher toolsFull Software AvailabilityAutonomy, self-esteem and motivationREADSPEAKER TEXTAID OFFERS:

It can be made available to ALL students thanks to special Campus wide licensing..

Reading and writing supportTextAid offers true bimodal presentation which improves comprehension by presenting information in visual and audio formats at the same time.Translation of texts and reading in the language the text has been translated into.A selection of different fonts, color combinations, text sizes is offered for increased readability.Learners can listen to texts and documents from any deviceText can be read back as the student types for better understanding and for proof readingMultiple languages available for language fluencyText and document library supportThe student can upload documents in multiple formats that will be available to the student from any device and can be access at any timeStudents can save texts for easy retrievalStudents or teachers can OCR scanned images and documents and from that create a text or text PDFAutonomy, self-esteem and motivationIncreases motivation, self-confidence and performanceComprehension of texts encourages continued learning and the development of lifelong skillAdministrative teacher toolsGroup and user management tools Coordinators can manage groups and users as well as document sharing and appoint other coordinatorsLearning Management Integration Integration into any existing learning management systems (LMS) and comprehensive LMS integration tools for easier deployment across an institution.Statistics access to full, detailed statistics for all users

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TEXTAID DEMONSTRATION

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QUESTIONS?

Please Visitwww.readspeaker.com/textaid

Congress attendees: contact Niclas@readspeaker.com for a full trial

Prices: base price is 75 per user and year.Multipacks with discount down to 45 per year.

Campus license with down to 2,50 per FTE. Example, a campus license for a school of 1000 students will be about 6,5 per FTE and year. 14

http://www.learningtechnologiesab.com/what-the-research-says1.htmlhttp://www.readspeaker.com/readspeaker-textaid/

REFERENCES

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RESEARCH REFERENCES..Reading comprehension, word recognition and Information recall Disseldorp and Chambers (2002) found that when text was presented bi-modally, students were able to better understand what they had read and perform better when asked questions about content.In another study, Disseldorp and Chambers (July, 2002) found that comprehension improved for all types of readers and that poorer readers benefitted more than better readers.A study by Elkind, Black, and Murray (1996) measuring the effects of bimodal presentation on college students and working adults with reading difficulties showed that the reading rate and comprehension of most of the participants increased. The participants were also able to read for a much longer period of time.Elkind, Cohen, and Murray (1993) tested middle school students with dyslexia using bimodal presentation. Seventy percent of the students increased their comprehension. Students with reading difficulties increased their comprehension. Poorer readers also perceived a better comprehension.Shany and Biemiller (1995) found that text reading rates and reading comprehension improved. Listening while reading resulted in twice the amount of reading which led to higher comprehension scores. Word recognition skills also increased.Hecker, Burns, and Elkind (2002) showed that with bimodal presentation, students read faster with better comprehension. Reading fatigue was reduced, and students increased their reading endurance and suffered less stress while reading.Leong (1995) suggested that bimodal presentation increased comprehension and motivation. This adds to a previous study by Leong (1992) that showed that late-elementary and middle school students with reading disabilities improved reading comprehension.Higgins and Raskind (1997) found that students with reading difficulties increased their comprehension. Poorer readers also perceived a better comprehension.Wise, Olson, Ansett, Andrews, Terjak, Schneider, Kostuch, and Kriho (1989) and Wise and OIson (1994) found increased word recognition and decoding.DecodingElbro, Rasmussen, and Spelling (1996) showed that bimodal presentation improved decoding skills.Olson and Wise (1992) found that students improved their word recognition skills and phonological decoding.Elbro, Rasmussen, and Spelling (1996) performed a study on students of various ages with reading and language disabilities using bimodal presentation. Through the text-to-speech support, the students were able to significantly improve their pronunciation skills.MacArthur, Ferretti, Okolo, and Cavalier (2001) found that bimodal presentation enhanced comprehension and decoding.Motivation and reading self-confidenceBarker and Torgeson (1995) found that students enjoyed bimodal presentation and the increased reading time.According to Montali and Lewandowski (1996), less skilled readers had better comprehension with bimodal presentation. Their word recognition increased, and they felt more successful. They performed better with more accuracy and enhanced recall.