Have your computer read to YOU

 

In an earlier post I described how you can talk to the computer for speech-to-text in MS Word and Google docs, but you can also have the computer read your text to you (text-to-speech).

Why would you want to do this?  

There are many possible uses for this, but one use for college students (and other writers) is to have your computer read a paper you are writing to you. It can be beneficial to hear your paper to get another perspective on how it will sound to the reader. It can also be helpful if you are stuck, to listen to the paper and see what should come next; or to hear if the points you are making are in the best possible order; or if you have edits you want to make, etc.

To have MS Word read your document:

Open the document.

Go to the Review menu and select Read Aloud.

You will get play controls. Click the play button to hear your paper!

It is also possible, but a bit more complicated, to have Google docs read your text to you through your Google doc settings.

There is also an interesting Chrome Browser extension that you can install to convert webpage text to audio (websites, blogs, etc.) and various documents (PDF, Google docs, Kindle, EPUB, etc.)

How can having your computer read aloud to you help you?

Voice typing in Google docs and Word

 

Have you ever wished you could just talk and get your brainstorm-y ideas down on paper? 

You can...with voice typing!

Voice Typing in Google Docs

Watch the video below to see how easy it is to use voice typing in Google Docs!

NOTE: This now works in all browsers, in addition to Chrome.

Voice typing in Word (Microsoft 365 only)

Word has two options for converting audio to text: Dictate and Transcribe

Dictate

This is the "classic" voice to text.  

From the home menu in Word, click Dictate.

You will see a microphone waiting for you to record.  Start talking and you will see your words appear on the page.  Click the microphone icon to toggle between recording and pausing.

One tip: you will want to say the punctuation you want included.  

Once you are done recording, you can edit the text as you would with any document.

Transcribe

There are two ways to use transcribe: (1) you can record an audio file with one or more people in Word and transcribe that file or have a link to the audio file pasted into the document. (2) What I think is more common, you can upload an audio file and get a transcript. Here is how that works:

From the home menu in Word, find the Dictate/Voice block, click the down pointing arrow, and select Transcribe.

A transcribe sidebar opens. Select your language if it is not US English. You can Start Recording or Upload Audio.  We are going to Upload Audio.

Navigate to your audio file and open it. Word gives you a message that it is transcribing. 

When it it ready, it will display the transcription in the sidebar. You can use this as a reference when you are typing, or add some/all of the transcription to the document.

How can you, (or others) use voice typing to improve your learning and productivity?

Robin's Pet Peeve with Embedded Links

 

One of my (many) pet peeves with technology has to do with embedded links. I get frustrated when I click an embedded link and instead of taking me to a new window (good), it replaces my existing window (bad). But we can avoid this! With most programs, when you add an embedded link, you have the option of opening it in a new window.  

Here is how to do it in Blogger:

What are your technology pet peeves? Maybe we can find a solution for them too!

To Link or Not to Link...That is the Question.

There are advantages and disadvantages to creating embedded links in your blogs, online documents, and training materials. On the one hand, embedded links are easy for the user to use and keeps the text clean and easy to read.  If the item will only be used online (blog post, webpage, etc.), an embedded link is a great option.

If this is a document (like a handout or reference guide or ebook) that may be used online an embedded link is useful for the reasons listed above. On the other hand, if this is a document the user might print, an embedded link is not useful (paper is not clickable!). Because of that, it is useful to include the link in parenthesis after the clickable link. Unfortunately, many links are LONG and may add a lot of additional text and visual clutter to the document that takes away from the usefulness of the document.

              The solution: use an embedded link and provide a short URL in parenthesis in the document.

To create an embedded link:

Most programs include the option to create an embedded link and the process is similar for all of them. The example below is for MS Word.

1. Highlight the text you want to be "clickable" for your embedded link.
2. Go to the insert menu and click on Hyperlink.
3. Paste the URL into the address bar. If your program has the option to "open in a new window" select that and then click OK.

Add a (Short) URL

To make sure the URL is available if the user prints your document, you can include the actual URL in parenthesis after the embedded link, and the user can read it and type it into a browser to get to the website.  If the URL is not TOO long, it is not a problem. However, many URLs are long and difficult to type without errors.  For example, the link to the Fast Company article in the above example is:

http://www.fastcompany.com/3047113/how-to-be-a-success-at-everything/how-to-keep-work-housekeeping-from-taking-over-your-life

Not only is this a lot for the user to type accurately, but this long URL will add a lot of unnecessary text to our document that will make it difficult to read.  The solution?  Use a URL shortener.

A URL shortener is a program that literally shortens your URL into an abbreviated URL that will be easier for the user to type and that will add less visual clutter to your document. (it's kind of like giving your URL a nickname.) There are several URL shorteners available on the web (examples: bit.ly, tinyurl) and several programs such as X/Twitter, include URL shorteners as part of the program.

To use a URL shortener:

1. Go to the URL shortener website (such as bit.ly).
2. Paste your long URL into the provided box and click the Shorten link.
3. Bit.ly makes you sign up for a free account, but it's free and you can use it for other links in the future.
4. Copy the shortened link and paste it into your document.

Our paper from the previous example now looks like this:

Again, if your document will only be viewed on the web, an embedded link is a great solution.  But if your document is likely to be printed, including an embedded link and a short URL is a great way to ensure your users will have access to all the links and resources you provided in your document!

What other uses do you see for embedded links and URL shorteners in your professional life?

The same old powerpoint?

 PowerPoint doesn't bore people...
people using PowerPoint in a boring way bore people!

We have all been guilty of delivering a boring PowerPoint: screens filled with too much--and too small--text, and then reading off the screen. 

It is not PowerPoint's fault. 

PowerPoint is simply a tool; a tool that we can use for good or for evil, to engage or to bore. 

There are many ways to use PowerPoint to engage people that do not use technology per se...you can vary the flow/rhythm of your presentation, not read from the screen, and use PowerPoint as a shared focus to then have your audience do activities such as problem-solving, Think-Pair-Share, small group work, journaling, etc. And there are also technologies you can integrate into PowerPoint to increase engagement, such as videos, games, polls, and quizzes. 

One of the programs that does this is Slido. Slido can be used to add live polls, Q&A, quizzes, and word clouds to PowerPoint, Google Slides, Zoom, Teams, and more. Slido is a commercial product (i.e., the full program costs money), but there is a robust free tier with up to 3 polls per Slido, and basic Q&A, with up to 100 participants.

Here is an overview of Slido by Russell Stannard.  
(click through to YouTube if you want to turn on captions.)

NOTE: Russell Stannard has an active Teacher Training Videos YouTube channel where he demonstrates and discusses technologies that can be used to support learning. His focus is K-12 education--specifically language education--but many of these technologies can be used to support adult learners, too.

How can you use Slido with your presentations or learners in the next week or two?

In case you want to know: How computers work (in 6 short videos)

You use them every day, but have you ever wondered how computers work?





Code.org, a non-profit that works to expand access to computer science in schools including increasing participation by women and underrepresented minorities, created a series of short videos on How Computers Work.  Watch the introduction video by Bill Gates (1:20m)

The six-video series on how computers work is available on YouTube. Each video is less than 6 minutes long. It's a great opportunity to see how this tool that most of us use daily works!

Take a look and let us know what you learned!

Welcome to OLP 4407-5507 and my blog!

Hi, my name is Robin, and I am the instructor for OLP 4407-5507: Instructional Technologies in HRD at Idaho State University.  My blog will be a bit different than the rest of your blogs. I will be using this blog as a way to share even more technologies and information with everyone. Be sure to check in with my blog at least once a week to see what I have to share with you!