VozMe is a free online text to speech site that allows you type or paste in text which will then be read by your computer. This is not the best of voices but a great way of create a text to speech mp3 file that you download and save to your computer.
Here is the above text saved in the mp3 format.
Gabe
"YourFonts.com is a FREE online font generator that allows you to create your own TrueType fonts within a couple of minutes. Go make your own handwriting as a font!"
Creating your own font is easy. Just follow the 7 steps:
Here is an interesting article (2006) by Christopher D. Sessums, discussing and summarizing the article of "Factors Affecting Technology Use in Schools". (Full article here)
Text to speech has come a long way since Mac's original "Talking Moose" in 1986.
"The Talking Moose was originally created by Dr. Steven Halls in Canada. Version 1.0 was published in 1986 for the Apple Macintosh. It was the first animated talking agent on a personal computer. The program featured an animated moose that would appear at periodic intervals with some joke or witicism, and would sometimes comment on what the user was doing. The moose could also 'speak' what the user typed in to it." (Wikipedia) To learn more about the Moose, this article from WIRED magazine gives a good summary.
Now users have access to a multitude of readers, from the basic Microsoft Reader to higher end products such as Kurzweil. Along with the different readers are a multitude of Voices that can be modified to meet the needs of the users.
NaturalReader 7.0 is a wonderful FREE tool that will allow users to experience how test-to-speech technology works. "The Free version allows you to experience listening to your emails, web pages, reports or any text on your PC. There are no charges for downloading, using and redistributing the free version of the software." NaturalReader 7.0
NaturalReader 7.0 offers several features that are easy to use. In the "Main Window" view, cutting and pasting of documents is v
ery simple and allows the user control in the speed in which the text is read. This view will also highlight the sentence being read and the each individual word is highlighted when read.
In the "MiniBoard" view, the "...floating MiniBoard offers another option for you to listen to text without disturbing your reading on the screen." This MiniBoard will allow the user to read any text on your computer.
For more information, go to NaturalReader 7.0's information page and for a free demo. Watch the full video and at the end you will have access to other presentations, the Speech and Application videos are available in the free version.
Gabe
As most of us are experiencing, most education boards have or are clawing back on some of the resources personnel available to educators. For many educators, teaching music is not a natural skill.
JamStudio is a free (to play and save), but also has a paid subscription that will allow you to save and download your projects.
“Learning Music Can Be Fun...Writing and exploring music is fun when you have the right tool- you found it!... Amateurs and pros alike need a musical sandbox to try out ideas unlimited variations and “what if” versions can be explored instantly in a wide range of styles” http://www.jamstudio.com/Studio/index.htm
Here is a short composition by Clarence on YouTube!
Have fun jamming with JamStudio!
Here are a few updates on the topic of “Online Privacy” that was posted on my Blog (November 21, 2008).
Elizabeth Church, in the December 23 Globe and Mail (Where everybody knows your teenaged musings) explores the ramifications of Web postings on the Web. “Seth Tee got his first Hotmail account in Grade 4. By high school he was posting content on the Web. Now, at the sober age of 22, the University of British Columbia student realizes his teenage musings are just “a Google search away” for the rest of the world, and there is not much he can do to take them back.” In an effort sensitise students to the potential pitfalls of Web postings, UBC (University of British Columbia) has developed the “digital tattoo” project. (Visit: http://digitaltattoo.ubc.ca/).
To help users understand the consequences of posting personal information on Web, specifically, on Social Networks sites, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has a short 3 min video: Privacy on Social Networks: What does a friend of a friend of a friend need to know about you?
On Youtube:
Educators should read Ericka Mellon’s article “Teachers face dilemma with Facebook; Educators find benefits, pitfalls when adding students as friends on the social networking Web site” posted in the December 20th Houston Chronicle.
