Text-to-Speech converts written text to spoken audio. Having written text spoken aloud can support learners with visual or cognitive accessibility needs who can still navigate without needing a screen reader. It can also be useful for users whose first language differs from the language of the elearning or for learners who prefer learning by listening to audio rather than reading.
The audio files can be used with the Elucidat audio player. The audio player can be added anywhere on your page using Layout, giving you full control over where the audio appears to your learners.
Once created, Text-to-Speech files can be managed like any other file in the Asset Library—you can re-use them in other Projects or replace them with a new version if they become out-of-date.
There are several voice options available to use, in numerous different languages. For the full list, see Languages supported by Text-to-Speech.
| Note: While Text-to-Speech can be helpful for accessibility, it is not a replacement for screen readers which offer navigational capabilities alongside reading out written text. You should consider the accessibility needs of users who require a screen reader in addition users who would benefit from text-to-speech. |
Generating text-to-speech from an audio player
Text-to-Speech audio can be generated directly from an audio player.
Before you begin
You must have an audio player on your page to before you can generate Text-to-Speech from it. For instructions, see Adding an audio player to your page.
Steps
- Open the audio player’s edit menu by selecting the Edit menu button (
).
- Open the Audio accordion to reveal the audio options.
- Choose Text to speech to open the Text to speech configuration options.
- Choose the language you’d like the text-to-speech to be in from the Select language drop-down menu.
- Choose a voice from the Select voice drop-down menu—each language has its own set of voices.
- Type the text you’d like to convert to spoken audio in the Add your text field.
- Select Generate—once generated, the audio will be immediately added to the audio player.
- Save the page.
| Note: The audio player may show the message ‘Audio uploading...‘ for a short time. This indicates the audio has been generated and is currently processing. You may continue editing in Elucidat during this time or refresh the page periodically to check its status. When the audio has been processed, the message will disappear and the controls on the player will be visible and usable. |
Generating text-to-speech from the Asset Library
You can generate text from the Asset Library. This can be useful if you’d like to create a Text-to-Speech audio file to use in your Projects at a later time.
Before you begin
To generate Text-to-Speech files, you must have the Asset Library Maintenance permission. If you do not have this permission, contact your Administrator to request access.
Steps
- Go to the Asset Library.
- Select Upload.
- Choose Generate Text-to-Speech from the drop-down menu.
- Choose the language you’d like the text-to-speech to be in from the Select language drop-down menu.
- Choose a voice from the Select voice drop-down menu—each language has its own set of voices.
- Type the text you’d like to convert to spoken audio in the Add your text field.
- Select Generate—once generated, the audio will be immediately added to the audio player.
The audio will be added to your Asset Library.
See Using files from the Asset Library in Projects for instructions on how to add your text-to-speech audio to your Project.