Key's Quick Tips—Using the iPad to Make Any Text Accessible

Key's quick tips are provided by Kelly Key, Assistive Technology Coordinator for Barrington 220. Each month, Kelly features a tool that is available universally for all of our students in the district.

This month Kelly shares two features that are built into the iPad that together, makes any text accessible and read out loud:

Live Text + Alex = Reading & Editing Success

Live Text is a feature that is available on our new Generation 9 iPads. It allows our students to take a picture of text (a book, worksheet, sign, screenshot on the iPad, etc). It will convert the image to text and will make the text accessible including having the ability to read the text out loud.

Directions for using Live Text

Open the Camera app. Take a picture of the document, tap the Live Text button (bottom-right).

Check out this short video demonstration:

The text is now accesssible! See directions below on how to have it read out loud. 

Alex is the most sophisticated voice on the iPad that students can download and use with the Live Text feature. Alex analyzes the text on the screen before reading it out loud. This allows it to read words spelled the same correctly based on the context of the sentence. It also reads numbers correctly (great for math problems) and will read the text in different languages and will switch to reading it with a voice that reads it in the correct dialect.

Directions to Turn On Text-to-Speech

Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content > On

Directions to Download and Add the Alex Voice

Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content > Speak Selection > On

Scroll down to Voices > English > Alex > tap the cloud to download. Once it is downloaded, tap Alex to add a check mark.

Directions to Select Text and Listen

Once text is accessible, tap twice on the screen, select the text you would like read outloud, and press speak on the toolbar.

Check out this short video demonstration: 

This technique is excellent to use for reading comprehension, decoding, and listening to writing out loud to edit writing!