We recommend using the Edge browser for students who rely on text-to-speech functionality, as it offers more advanced language models compared to other browsers.
Edge browser has Immersive Reader integrated into the browser, as well as read aloud and language translation capabilities.
While the text-to-speech functionality in Edge can help support multitasking and can improve focus for users who find it easier to absorb spoken rather than written material, we recommend using Screen Readers for any user with a visual disability.
Immersive Reader in Microsoft Edge Browser
While viewing web content, the Immersive reader icon may become visible in your browser address bar. Click the icon to open immersive reader.
Microsoft Immersive Reader enhances reading comprehension by providing customizable text size, color, voice narration, language translation, and other tools that make reading more accessible and focused.
For more information, please see the Guide to using Immersive reader in Microsoft Edge and the video demo of Immersive Reader.
Read Aloud in Microsoft Edge
Immersive reader is not available for all web pages, but you can still use the text-to-speech function to have a page or document read aloud to you.
When viewing content in Edge browser, click the “Read Aloud” icon to start text-to-speech.
You can use the Voice Options button to change the reading speed and the voice. Microsoft provides hundreds of voice options for many languages. We recommend the Microsoft Online (Natural) voices, as they sound the most natural.
As the content is read aloud, you can navigate between page headings by using the back and forward buttons.
Read Aloud for PDF files in Microsoft Edge
The read aloud function in Edge can be used for PDF files also, but there are a few things you should be aware of.
Reading PDFs in Canvas
Inside Canvas, PDF files open within a preview window. In order to read aloud these documents, you must first highlight some text within the document itself, then right-click or control click and choose “… More Actions”. The document will be read from that point forward.
Reading downloaded PDF files
You can also have any PDF you have downloaded read aloud by Edge browser. Simply drag and drop a PDF file into the browser to open it or choose File > Open File to open the PDF in Edge.
You can then use the read aloud controls to have the document read aloud to you.
Language Translation in Microsoft Edge
You can also use the translation button any time you are viewing a webpage or PDF document in Edge browser to translate the content to a different language. Once translated, the read Aloud function can even read the page to you in the second language.