The ReadSpeaker for Moodle® text-to-speech plugin is a certified Moodle integration. It is simple to implement and gives students UDL-enhanced content and accessibility tools at their fingertips, directly within the Moodle® environment.
Utilizing ReadSpeaker on a Moodle Course Page
Watch this training video for ReadSpeaker held by Marybeth Koon & Keri Wesley
Most Moodle Courses have ReadSpeaker already available. If you do not see the ReadSpeaker toolbar at the top of your Moodle course, you can add it using the ReadSpeaker block on your dashboard.
STEP 1: Open your Moodle course. Turn on Edit Mode at the top right of the page. Locate and click on the + Add a block button on the righthand side of your Moodle page, NOT the middle area where your course content is located.
STEP 2: Choose ReadSpeaker webReader from the list that pops up:
STEP 3: The ReadSpeaker block will appear in the list of blocks on the righthand side of your page. Select Configure ReadSpeaker webReader block from the gear icon dropdown.
STEP 4: Choose Any page, from the "Display on page types" dropdown, and Save Changes.
STEP 5: Look for the ReadSpeaker toolbar at the top left of your course page. Be sure to turn Edit Mode back to the Off position.
NOTE: There are two ways in which students can use the text-to-speech capability of the ReadSpeaker tool: the webReader and the docReader. Refer to the information and images on the right.
webReader: Students will be able to use ReadSpeaker webReader to have content read aloud on any Moodle course page, including the Grades tool, Quizzes, and other Moodle activities.
docReader: Uploaded content such as PDFs and Word documents will have a volume icon appear to the left of the title. By clicking on this icon, students can have this type of content read aloud as well.
If you DO NOT use the "Any Page" setting but instead enable the setting "Any type of course page" or "Any type of course main page", ReadSpeaker will only be accessible through the course's home page. It will not appear on any other pages, including the Quiz. It is important to note that if you use the Quizzing tool when these other settings are enabled, you will need to enable ReadSpeaker for each individual quiz you may require:
STEP 1: Open your Moodle course. Turn on editing on the top right of the page. Open the Quiz for which you would like to add ReadSpeaker. Click on the "Preview" button:
STEP 2: In the Preview of your Quiz, click on the righthand tray + Add a block; select ReadSpeaker webReader in the pop-up list:
STEP 3: Look for the "Listen" toolbar at the top of your first quiz question in Preview. If you see this, you have correctly activated ReadSpeaker on your quiz!
Repeat these steps for each quiz where you want to add ReadSpeaker: