Incorporating blind, dyslexic, and learning-disabled students into mainstream classroom activities is getting easier, thanks to a new generation of affordable, high-tech tools that convert electronic text to audio. The software allows students to hear the contents of electronic documents spoken aloud instead of having to read them from a computer screen.

Screen-reading software is nothing new. Products such as Freedom Scientific's JAWS and GW Micro's Window-Eyes have been around for some time. The problem for educators has been that neither of these options was designed with the needs of studentsor the budgets of schoolsin mind.For instance, JAWS was designed predominantly for use in the professional workplace and, while effective, operates on a very high scale. Window-Eyes, too, is effective but not inexpensive. Annette Parslow, outreach vision consultant at the Utah Schools of the Deaf and the Blind and a teacher for 16 years, said that while the technology has continued to develop, many of its advancements have led to programs that are too complex and leave younger learners behind.

"Some of these products have too many bells and whistles," she said.

Now, two companies in particularNextup.com and Premier Programming Solutions Inc.have introduced solutions they say favor simplicity and affordability over technical complexity and higher prices, making their products ideal for schools teaching younger students on tight budgets.

Nextup.com's TextAloud product allows students to hear text spoken through a variety of voices by copying any amount of text from a document and pasting it into the open TextAloud program window. Students can hear eMail messages read to them, listen to eBooks, and even download audio files to portable MP3 players or burn files onto compact discs for use at home.

Premier Programming's Text-to-Audio program is one in a suite of options it markets specifically for use in assistive learning. The company's Accessibility Suite offers schools 10 different applications to aid in the teaching of blind and learning-disabled children and reportedly is used in more than 1,000 schools nationwide.

Rick Ellis, president and chief marketing officer of Nextup.com, said the company originally developed its software for the consumer market but received an instant response from educators interested in implementing TextAloud in the classroom.

"Our product is very well-suited for learning," he said.

Gayle Underwood, assistive technology coordinator for the Allegan County Intermediate School District in Michigan, said her district has used the TextAloud product to great effect with blind and learning-challenged students.

Underwood said Allegan County is considering a teamwork system that would pair blind students with learning-disabled (LD) students and encourage them to use the software together, effectively teaching each other as they go.