The same text-to-speech option you've seen in many of our library databases is now available in Blackboard. ReadSpeaker includes various text reading and translation features. Watch the video below for an overview.
The ReadSpeaker translation tool allows you to translate any highlight text into another language. When you select any text within Blackboard, a menu will appear with 3 options: Listen, Dictionary and Translation. To read the highlighted text in a different language, simply click Translation from the menu and select the language you'd like to use.
A version of ReadSpeaker is also available as a Chrome browser extension. Click on the link above to install the extension.
ReadSpeaker also offers advanced text options with a tool called TextAid. In addition to text-to-speech, text highlighting, and language translations, you can also listen to scanned documents, get writing assistance, spellcheck and a lot more.
If linked by your instructor, the TextAid tool may be available within your course menu in Blackboard. Simply click on the TextAid Tool link, if one is provided, and you'll be redirected to the dashboard. From there you can enter any text into the blank space and have it read aloud, translated into another language and much more.
Watch the videos and visit the sites below to learn about all the options available to you with the TextAid tool.