{"id":4260,"date":"2019-09-26T13:08:16","date_gmt":"2019-09-26T17:08:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.equipmentlink.org\/blog\/?p=4260"},"modified":"2019-09-18T13:13:59","modified_gmt":"2019-09-18T17:13:59","slug":"speechify","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.equipmentlink.org\/blog\/?p=4260","title":{"rendered":"Speechify"},"content":{"rendered":"

I hope this new post finds you all well!  Wow, what a week a MDTAP — we have had a great time supporting our constituents.  Today\u2019s post focuses on an iOS based application by the name of \u2018Speechify.\u2019  I have used the aforementioned app in my current role and in quite a bit in my former role supporting document accessibility for students in higher education in the state of Maryland.<\/p>\n

\"Blue<\/a><\/p>\n

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Ok, I love text-to-speech apps that work well and don\u2019t sound like a 1970\u2019s Dr Who Dalek.  I can think of nothing worse than using an app that sound like a Dalek, in my mind I keep thinking about those Daleks chanting  \u2018Exterminate\u2019 for those that aren\u2019t familiar with Daleks, you missed out on being a kid in the 70s and 80s — head to YouTube to get a quick sample of what I am talking about today.  The voices in Speechify  are good quality, human-like, great tone, have good cadence and sound very natural.<\/p>\n

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\"CLoe<\/a><\/p>\n

This app allows you to import a variety of text file formats for text-to-speech output via file upload, paste in your text, and even scan a book using the device\u2019s camera.  Regarding file import the common cloud services are all supported which is fantastic such as Dropbox, Google drive and iCloud.  A recent feature they have added is the ability to browse preexisting \u2018free or open educational resources (OER)\u2019 — OER is the next big thing in the higher education world and something that I can see becoming very mainstream in years to come!<\/p>\n

\"Speechify<\/a><\/p>\n

Overall, I love the simplicity of the app; it\u2019s pragmatic and gets the job done for pennies compared to similar apps!  A free version is available in the app store but I do believe they sell a more \u2018premium\u2019 version of the application, too.  Check the app out and let me know your thoughts in the comments below!<\/p>\n

Thanks for reading!<\/p>\n

Andrew<\/p>\n

PS.Quick disclaimer:  We don\u2019t own the rights to the pictures but I do happen to know Cliff the man behind the app and he\u2019s an individual with a disability that is really trying to make a difference in the accessibility world! <\/p>\n

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