Too Much Reading? Try Listening Instead

For most college students, there’s so much reading, and so little time.

California State University-Dominguez Hills is trying to make students’ lives easier by turning some of that reading into listening. About a year ago, a library administrator was tinkering with text-enlarging software, which makes it easier for visually impaired students to read. She found that the software could also turn text into sound, and thought it would make sense to make the program available to all students.

Seventeen computers at labs across thecampus are now set up so that students can scan and convert their reading materials into MP3 files, which they can then download onto cellphones or other mobile devices.

The speed of the scanning itself depends on the quality of the scanner, but the software, called Kurzweil 3000, converts the scanned text into sound at a rate of three pages per second. Users can choose from several human voices and set a speed at which the text will be read. A few choice voices are named Nancy, David, Grandma, and Grandpa.

Computer labs offer handouts that explain how to use the program.

Wei Ma, the library’s acting information-technology coordinator, said that she came across the program’s audio feature and thought, “I have so many papers on my desk, why can’t I convert it to audio and listen to it in a workout or when I’m driving?”

“We read all day long, and if we want to give our eyes a break, this is a good alternative way of learning,” she added.