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Thread: [Athen] online text to speech
Number of posts in this thread: 4 (In chronological order)
From: Pratik Patel
Date: Mon, Aug 06 2012 3:15PM
Subject: [Athen] online text to speech
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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 ADDRESS REMOVED =
[mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS 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
Please Note:
Due to Florida's very broad public records law,
most written communications to or from College
employees regarding College business are public
records, available to the public and media upon
request. Therefore, this e-mail communication may
be subject to public disclosure.
From: Ryan Hemphill
Date: Mon, Aug 06 2012 3:46PM
Subject: Re: [Athen] online text to speech
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We use ReadSpeaker on our platform but we don't consider it to be a 'screen
reader' because it cannot handle interactive sites. The only people that
benefit from the ReadSpeaker tech are usually sighted users. It certainly
doesn't qualify as a comprehensive solution.
Ryan
On Mon, Aug 6, 2012 at 5:15 PM, Pratik Patel < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> 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 ADDRESS REMOVED =
> [mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS 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
> Please Note:
> Due to Florida's very broad public records law,
> most written communications to or from College
> employees regarding College business are public
> records, available to the public and media upon
> request. Therefore, this e-mail communication may
> be subject to public disclosure.
> > > >
--
Shipping is a Feature...Perhaps the Most Important Feature.
From: Donna Lettow
Date: Tue, Aug 07 2012 12:52PM
Subject: Re: [Athen] online text to speech
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ReadSpeaker is not intended for users of assistive technology or to take the place of screen reading software for the blind. We're just beginning to pilot it with an eye toward the print-disability population -- low vision, elderly, dyslexic, cognitive impairments, English learners, anyone who might get an assist by hearing the content rather than reading it, or by hearing it while reading along.
Donna Lettow
Staff Specialist, Electronic Accessibility & Internal Communication
MD Division of Rehabilitation Services
2301 Argonne Drive
Baltimore, MD 21218
www.dors.state.md.us
410-554-9402
888-554-0334
410-554-9411 (TTY)
From: Morin, Gary (NIH/OD) [E]
Date: Tue, Aug 07 2012 1:56PM
Subject: Re: [Athen] online text to speech
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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 ADDRESS REMOVED = <mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS 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 ADDRESS 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?"