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Re: [Athen] online text to speech

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From: Morin, Gary (NIH/OD) [E]
Date: Aug 7, 2012 1:56PM

Readspeaker has been implemented at the National Institutes of Health<http://www.nih.gov/>; on the public facing websites of a couple of the NIH's Institutes. It is not being used as a substitute for accessible web design or Section 508-conformance of those sites. And, it's not for accessibility of persons who would normally use a screen reader. Rather, it's for those with low literacy, other print disabilities, those with a learning preference for 'reading' aurally, etc., as Donna and others described. In addition to ReadSpeaker, there is http://www.browsealoud.com/. I see pros and cons in each of the two products.

Here are links to a couple of instances where it's located here at the NIH:
* National Eye Institute: http://www.nei.nih.gov/tools/readspeaker.asp, http://www.nei.nih.gov/nehep/newsletter/2012/0111.asp#5
* National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
o Guillain-Barré Syndrome Fact Sheet http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/gbs/detail_gbs.htm
o Stroke http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/stroke/stroke.htm

If you're like to contact persons connected with those pages, let me know.

You might want to contact ReadSpeaker directly (note: no endorsement is implied or otherwise given).
Stefani Cuschnir
Business Development Manager, USA
ReadSpeaker
1600 Tysons Boulevard, Floor 8
McLean, VA 22102
T: 703 909 8084
E: <EMAIL REMOVED> <mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> >
W: www.readspeaker.com<;http://www.readspeaker.com/>;
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ReadSpeaker<;http://twitter.com/ReadSpeaker>;
ReadSpeaker, The Voice of the Web!


Gary M. Morin, Program Analyst
NIH Office of the Chief Information Officer
10401 Fernwood Rd, Room 3G-17
Bethesda, MD 20892, Mail Stop: 4833

(301) 402-3924 Voice, 451-9326 TTY/NTS
(240) 380-3063 Videophone; (301) 402-4464 Fax

Section 508 coordinators: http://ocio.od.nih.gov/Accessibility/Sec508coordinators.html

NIH Section 508 Team: mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ?subject=Section 508 Help or, for Section 508 Guidance, http://www.hhs.gov/web/508/index.html

Looking for Training: AT100 - Section 508 Electronic & IT Training - Phase II

Consider the environment. Please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to.

WHAT IF THE FIRST QUESTION WE ASKED WAS, "WHAT IS SO UNIQUE ABOUT THIS SITUATION THAT IT JUSTIFIES EXCLUSION? INSTEAD OF, "HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO MAKE IT ACCESSIBLE?"

-----Original Message-----
From: Pratik Patel [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ]
Sent: Monday, August 06, 2012 5:16 PM
To: 'Access Technology Higher Education Network'; 'webaim-forum-list.webaim.org'
Cc: 'itd-jnl-listserv.icors.org'; 'DSSHE-L-LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU'
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] [Athen] online text to speech

Hello Marshall,

Disclaimer, I am the owner of a consulting firm which works with many colleges and universities about their web strategies, accessibility design, and usability.

Generally, we do not recommend that you employ services like this for making web sites accessible. It is unlikely to meet the needs of most of your users who rely on assistive technology. Users who do rely on assistive technology will often bring their own assistive technology to experience your web site.
Purchasing this option does not solve a fundamental problem for your site.
That is-your web site needs to be accessible first in order to make this service work well. If it is not, then either this service or the the assistive technology that your visitors will be using will not be able to access your site effectively. Services like these are often marketed as magical solutions that will solve all your problems. But conducting development in the right way will often solve more problems than using services such as this one.

If your web developers would like training, testing services, or other assistance on making your web site more friendly to visitors with disabilities, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Warm regards,

Pratik


Pratik Patel
CEO, EZFire


From: <EMAIL REMOVED> <mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> >
[mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ]<mailto:[mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ]> On Behalf Of Marshall Bryant
Sent: Monday, August 06, 2012 4:57 PM
To: athen-list-u.washington.edu; webaim-forum-list.webaim.org
Cc: itd-jnl-listserv.icors.org; DSSHE-L-LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU
Subject: [Athen] online text to speech

Is anyone familiar with the online speech to text service Readspeaker? I happened to run across the DSS website at Ohio State and they are using this to read the content of their web site. I want to make our school's website accessible with the speaking option, but this is the only service I have seen in use so far (and it sounds expensive). I also am curious if there is anything else out there that can do this for a low cost or even free.

Thanks,
Marshall
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