The public computers in Meyer Library and elsewhere are sporting three new software titles, which may be unfamiliar to most users.
Thanks to a collaborative effort between Academic Computing and the Office of Accessible Education, students using the public clusters in Meyer, Tresidder, the Lane and SSRC Reading Rooms in Green Library, and each of the residences can now use ZoomText, TextAloud MP3, and Inspiration, software previously available only in Meyer's accessible computer lab. (See also Where Did They Put the ALTeC Lab? in this issue.)
So what do they do? Here's a brief overview. For more information and a Quick Start guide to each program, visit http://www.stanford.edu/group/OAE/technology.html.
The software was added primarily to improve accessibility for students with visual and learning disabilities. Like most assistive technology, however, they have features or capabilities that may benefit all users.
ZoomText
Designed for individuals with visual impairments and blindness, ZoomText performs three primary functions: magnify the screen image; read aloud selected text; and change the colors, contrast, and other attributes of the screen image to improve readability. The Windows-only program sits above other open programs and can be used with them.
ZoomText users will find a wide variety of features to improve interaction with what's on the screen, including:
- Magnify screen from 1.25 to 16 times in a selection of resizable window types (e.g., full screen, floating lens, docked); zoomed window also can be frozen.
- Smooth magnified text and images to eliminate that pixilated look.
- Enhance pointer and cursor to make them easier to find (e.g., enlarged, screen crosshairs, flashing circle).
- Change screen colors, brightness, and contrast to improve screen readability and reduce eyestrain via a number of preset color filtering effects.
- Control speech rate of spoken text as well as verbosity (i.e., what is spoken - just selected text, information about that text, text as it's being written, etc.).
- Special DocReader extracts text from documents, web pages, and email and reformats it for easier viewing.
For a list of features and a look at the user interface, visit:
http://www.aisquared.com/Products/index.cfm
Some of these features (as well as features in the programs below) have application beyond the realm of accessibility and can benefit all users, as described in Free Assistive Technology You Already Own from the previous issue of Speaking of Computers.
TextAloud MP3
TextAloud MP3 is a basic text-to-speech program that can read aloud text from documents, the web, or email. Sitting as a toolbar above other programs, TextAloud can be set to speak any text copied to the clipboard. With the toolbar expanded, TextAloud shows the copied text and highlights the words as they are read. This dual audial and visual feedback while reading can greatly increase comprehension and retention for those with learning differences. It's also great for proofreading documents. We all have a tendency to see what we think we wrote, but it's difficult to overlook a missing or repeated word when we hear that text read aloud as well.
Users can change both the speed and pitch of the synthesized voice to suit their reading preferences. Many students pace themselves at about 220 words per minute when reading text for greatest understanding, but increase the speed to 350-400 WPM when either skimming material or just reading for pleasure (and some people have trained themselves to understand at up to 600 WPM!).
As installed in the public clusters, PC-only TextAloud uses Microsoft's SAPI voices, a far cry better than a 1980's "Speak'n'Spell", but still noticeably computer synthesized. If you wish to download TextAloud MP3 onto your own Windows PC (it's inexpensive - just $30), you can spend an additional $25 and get AT&T's Natural Voices, a speech synthesis engine that produces near-human quality speech. Natural Voices achieves this by concatenating the waveforms of actual human utterances in a wide variety of contexts. The result is synthesized speech that closely resembles the pronunciation and prosody (melody and rhythm) of natural speech. In addition, Natural Voices is available in a number of dialects that interpret text according to different language rules. Thus when the French voice Juliette speaks "c'est la vie", it sounds like "seh-la-vee", not "sest-la-vye".
Copy the text to the clipboard, set the desired voice and reading speed, then click "Read to File". Instead of reading out loud, Text Aloud will "read" to an audio file at about 10 times normal reading speed. That file can be burned to a CD to play in your vehicle or downloaded to your iPod or other MP3 player. Imagine being able to listen to research you've collected from the Web, journal articles, an annual report, or reading assignments during otherwise nonproductive time!
A TextAloud plugin for Internet Explorer permits reading of web page text directly without the need to copy to the clipboard. Within Internet Explorer, choose View -> Toolbars -> TextAloud for IE. A new toolbar will appear on the IE toolbar with controls to start and stop speaking as well as to easily change the reading speed and speaking voice.
For more information about TextAloud MP3, visit http://www.nextup.com/TextAloud/index.html. Also, check out demos of the human-sounding voices at http://www.nextup.com/attnv.html.
Inspiration
Available on both the Mac and PC systems in the clusters, Inspiration is a visual learning tool which permits students to create, organize, and present information graphically as well as textually. It is especially beneficial for those of us who are visual learners and who prefer to represent and manipulate ideas in a graphical environment.
Inspiration has two views: Diagram View and Outline View. Each view has its advantages, and additions and changes in one view are instantly reflected in the other. In Diagram View, ideas are represented by symbols or graphics; it is ideal for creating ideas initially, grouping them, and seeing the relationship between them. Outline View, which resembles the linear Roman numeral-type text outlining we learned in grade school, is best for arranging ideas ("topics") in sequence, organizing them, and changing their hierarchy. Moving a topic around is simple: just click, drag, and drop the topic where you want it. Inspiration automatically changes its relationship to other topics. To add content under any topic, simply start writing. These so-called "notes" can be exported later to a word processing application. Virtually every aspect of a topic in either view can be changed to suit the user's preferences: font, size, style, color, and (in Diagram View) symbol shape and type.
Inspiration can be thought of as an "idea processor". Individual ideas can be grouped, rearranged, and linked to help the user better understand interrelationships or to simply get a clearer view of "the big picture". It also facilitates brainstorming ideas in the first place: in RapidFire mode, users can record ideas as fast as they can think (and type), then easily categorize and group them later.
This ability to represent the same ideas in two learning modes, visual and linguistic, makes it an invaluable tool for thinking, composing, and writing.
For a quick tour of Inspiration, visit http://www.inspiration.com/test/dswmedia/quicktour.html. (Note: Macromedia Shockwave required.)
For More Information
If you have questions about computer accessibility and technology accommodations, want consultation on these issues, or just wish to learn more about the intriguing assistive technology available, call Shelley Haven in the ALTeC lab at 725-6173. ALTeC's services are available to students, faculty, and staff who need assistance due to a disability. Students should contact the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC) at 723-1066 for more information. Faculty and staff who would like to access the Center should contact Rosa Gonzalez, Stanford's ADA/504 Compliance Officer, at 723-0755 for a referral.
