Text-to-Speech

Using the text-to-speech support during the editing process can be very beneficial for struggling writers.  For instance, allowing an individual to hear back what he/she has written can help to catch errors that may have been made.  Also, for students who are auditory learners, converting text to speech can further assist in editing the document.  As a teacher, I have used text-to-speech support in my classroom.  In one instance, a student, who had great difficulty with his handwriting, was allowed to type a non-fiction animal report for a writing assignment.  In addition to printing out the report and allowing him to edit it with colored pencils, he also used text-to-speech to listen to his document.  This accommodation can be beneficial for all students as an added level of proofing their work.  I feel that the text-to-speech tool is very useful as part of the editing process.

Peet, W. (2004) Why, how, and for whom we need to use talking word processors. http://www.drpeet.com/whyhow.htm