Customize your Accessibility Features!

     Here are some reminders about accessibility features that you already have on your Macs.  Some of you may use these features often.  But, if you're like me, you may not have been taking full advantage of them.  These features are valuable for students who need them for accessibility.  In addition, they can be used to help students with or without an IEP to read better of faster or to be motivated to read.

     Today the spotlight is on 2 features:

• Text-to-Speech in Word Documents
• Keyboard shortcuts for Text-to-Speech in all Applications

Text-to-Speech in Word Documents

It's simple!  

1. In your Word document, select the text you want the computer to read to you.
2. Click View>Toolbars>Speech
3. Click Speak Selection

Keyboard shortcuts for Text-to-Speech in all Applications

The computer can read text aloud in any Office application.  When using the Text-to-Speech feature, you select the text you want to hear and then use a keyboard shortcut. Here's how you do it.

1. On the Apple menu, click System Preferences.
2. Under System, click Speech.
3. On the Text-to-Speech tab, check the "Speak selected text when the key is pressed" box.
4. Press the keyboard shortcut that you want to use to hear text read aloud (for example, Control + Option + R), then click OK.
5. Now, when you're in any Office application, you can select some text and then press the keyboard shortcut to hear the text read aloud.

There's a nice little tutorial about this, too.  Go to PowerPoint>Help>PowerPoint Help>Topics>Accessibility>Customize your applications by using accessibility features.

Note:  Some of you may have used Voice Over on the Mac.  Anyone can use it.  It's key feature is that it can be used by individuals who can't see the screen.  Voice Over is a special use of Text-to-Speech.