The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Cross-cultural study into the use of text to speech with electronic files to aid access to textbooks

Cross-cultural study into the use of text to speech with electronic files to aid access to textbooks
Cross-cultural study into the use of text to speech with electronic files to aid access to textbooks
Objective. At present, pupils, teachers and parents struggle with the lack of textbooks and supporting materials in accessible formats that can be used by pupils with visual or print impairment including specific reading difficulties such as dyslexia. Independent projects in Japan and the UK were conceived to assess whether the provision of textbooks and teaching materials as electronic files, along with technologies to convert and ‘read’ them could provide a new and sustainable model and enhance the skills of the users. Main Content. In the UK, 40 students with print impairment were presented with Microsoft Windows XP system laptops that had specialist text to speech software. The software either provided full screen reading with highlighting and magnification or a tool bar above the etext provided in MS Word document format. The latter allowed for text resizing, colour changes, reading speed options, voice preferences and text highlighting. In Japan, Apple iPads were given to 30 self-selecting students (some of whom were dyslexic) over a period of 10 weeks. There was the option to use a ‘Touch and Read’ application which offered text to speech and phrase highlighting with an outlined box around the characters in vertical mode. These etext books were presented in PDF format with the same look and feel as the actual text books used by the rest of the class. Results. Over 90% of the students involved in the projects aged between 10 and 14 years showed improvements in self-esteem, continued to be motivated and there were clear indications that the use of the technology aided both reading skills and confidence levels. Teachers supporting the students in the UK study commented on significant improvements in reading skills for those who had dyslexia and improved concentration for those with visual impairments. Time saved by the use of electronic texts was also commented upon in relation to the provision of alternative formats. In the Japanese study, students chose to use the ‘Touch and Read’ software preferring the look and feel of the original text books and without training soon learnt to zoom and scroll on the iPads. Conclusion. The projects confirmed that making teaching materials available to print and visually impaired students in an appropriate electronic form along with access technologies to read them can make a significant difference to their reading, writing, confidence, development and inclusion. The same electronic materials can also provide productivity savings for staff in schools and local authorities who support, in particular, visually impaired students.
assistive technology, iPads, text to speech, dyslexia, disability, reading
1383-813X
897-904
Draffan, E.A.
021d4f4e-d269-4379-ba5a-7e2ffb73d2bf
Wald, Mike
90577cfd-35ae-4e4a-9422-5acffecd89d5
Iwabuchi, Mamoru
34836aef-1e14-4bf1-aea7-97a41c0c10bc
Takahashi, Maiko
6a3faefa-5a65-4887-8226-9497be558ae3
Nakamura, Kenryu
d72b52c9-071e-40c5-891e-7793725ec1d7
Draffan, E.A.
021d4f4e-d269-4379-ba5a-7e2ffb73d2bf
Wald, Mike
90577cfd-35ae-4e4a-9422-5acffecd89d5
Iwabuchi, Mamoru
34836aef-1e14-4bf1-aea7-97a41c0c10bc
Takahashi, Maiko
6a3faefa-5a65-4887-8226-9497be558ae3
Nakamura, Kenryu
d72b52c9-071e-40c5-891e-7793725ec1d7

Draffan, E.A., Wald, Mike, Iwabuchi, Mamoru, Takahashi, Maiko and Nakamura, Kenryu (2011) Cross-cultural study into the use of text to speech with electronic files to aid access to textbooks. Assistive Technology Research Series, 29, 897-904.

Record type: Article

Abstract

Objective. At present, pupils, teachers and parents struggle with the lack of textbooks and supporting materials in accessible formats that can be used by pupils with visual or print impairment including specific reading difficulties such as dyslexia. Independent projects in Japan and the UK were conceived to assess whether the provision of textbooks and teaching materials as electronic files, along with technologies to convert and ‘read’ them could provide a new and sustainable model and enhance the skills of the users. Main Content. In the UK, 40 students with print impairment were presented with Microsoft Windows XP system laptops that had specialist text to speech software. The software either provided full screen reading with highlighting and magnification or a tool bar above the etext provided in MS Word document format. The latter allowed for text resizing, colour changes, reading speed options, voice preferences and text highlighting. In Japan, Apple iPads were given to 30 self-selecting students (some of whom were dyslexic) over a period of 10 weeks. There was the option to use a ‘Touch and Read’ application which offered text to speech and phrase highlighting with an outlined box around the characters in vertical mode. These etext books were presented in PDF format with the same look and feel as the actual text books used by the rest of the class. Results. Over 90% of the students involved in the projects aged between 10 and 14 years showed improvements in self-esteem, continued to be motivated and there were clear indications that the use of the technology aided both reading skills and confidence levels. Teachers supporting the students in the UK study commented on significant improvements in reading skills for those who had dyslexia and improved concentration for those with visual impairments. Time saved by the use of electronic texts was also commented upon in relation to the provision of alternative formats. In the Japanese study, students chose to use the ‘Touch and Read’ software preferring the look and feel of the original text books and without training soon learnt to zoom and scroll on the iPads. Conclusion. The projects confirmed that making teaching materials available to print and visually impaired students in an appropriate electronic form along with access technologies to read them can make a significant difference to their reading, writing, confidence, development and inclusion. The same electronic materials can also provide productivity savings for staff in schools and local authorities who support, in particular, visually impaired students.

Text
Subjects.aspx - Version of Record
Download (72kB)
Text
StandAloneBooks.aspx - Version of Record
Download (241kB)
Text
BookSeriess.aspx - Version of Record
Download (137kB)
Text
View.aspx?piid=20953 - Version of Record
Download (39kB)
Text
BookSeriess.aspx - Other
Download (137kB)
Text
StandAloneBooks.aspx - Other
Download (241kB)
Text
AAATE Full paper Text to Speech Draffan.pdf - Other
Download (262kB)
Text
View.aspx?piid=20953 - Other
Download (39kB)
Text
Subjects.aspx - Other
Download (72kB)

Show all 9 downloads.

More information

Published date: 2011
Additional Information: ISBN 978-1-60750-813-7 (print)
Keywords: assistive technology, iPads, text to speech, dyslexia, disability, reading

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 272988
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/272988
ISSN: 1383-813X
PURE UUID: d2fa25f2-84d9-4437-be27-b485e887cb9c
ORCID for E.A. Draffan: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1590-7556

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 09 Nov 2011 12:11
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:28

Export record

Contributors

Author: E.A. Draffan ORCID iD
Author: Mike Wald
Author: Mamoru Iwabuchi
Author: Maiko Takahashi
Author: Kenryu Nakamura

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×