EdReady does not have an all-encompassing, on-board text-to-speech feature because there are many such tools available that can be used with EdReady. It would be an entirely separate software project to build something proprietary. However, we do support common screen reader technology which serves that purpose on a broader scale for students who need that type of support across many platforms.
We do have some specific supports built into English. Math is a bit more challenging. Please read on for details.
ENGLISH
There are two options to consider for English, depending on your students' needs.
The most granular option is the Active Reader, which reads the Reading topic selections out loud. However, it only works on the Reading topics, and cannot be applied to other parts of the EdReady system. You can learn more about that here: Is there a read-aloud option for English?
If your students need text-to-speech for other parts of the system, they will need to find a screen reader they like and learn to get comfortable with it. EdReady does not have a built-in capability for reading aloud, but it is designed with accessibility supports and should work well with common screen readers, such as ChromeVox on Chromebooks, VoiceOver on Mac, JAWS, NVDA or Narrator on Windows, etc.
Those are the "big names" but there are other screen reader options out there too, such as browser extensions (including the "Screen Reader" extension for Chrome).
You can read more about EdReady's screen reader capabilities and learn the best settings we found for Chrome's browser extension here: EdReady Screen Reader and Accessibility Settings
With all screen readers, there is a certain learning curve to get comfortable with it: e.g., finding the correct settings to read at a pace and voice that you like, and getting used to the keyboard commands. Sighted students can overcome these challenges by using mouse controls, while students with visual impairments may need assistance in navigating the options until they become accustomed to the system. On the other hand, visually impaired students may have their own preferred screen reader already and are often quite adept at using them.
EdReady has an option in the student's personal account preferences to enable the use of a screen reader. However, it is important to know that this setting will remove from view any learning tools that are not compatible with screen readers...such as videos. If the student wants to continue using all of the learning tools, they should not enable this setting. Or they can try it both ways, and see if the reader works better on text passages when this feature is enabled. They can turn it off and on at will.
MATH
Screen readers are notoriously buggy when it comes to reading math equations, and the available technology and industry support is constantly evolving to keep up with demand (although not fast enough for most people's liking). We undertook major efforts in 2019 to ensure that all our systems work well with screen readers. We are always interested in getting feedback and bug reports so we can further improve.
For sighted students, this does not pose a huge problem. If the screen reader skips or wrongly reads a math equation, the student can still see the equation on-screen and compensate for the screen reader glitch. Sighted students can also easily overcome any navigational issues thanks to visual cues on the screen, and the ability to choose mouse control over keyboard control. But of course, it's more challenging for students with visual impairments. On the plus side, those students are often already well-versed in screen reader usage and may even have tips and tricks that we can learn from. They also typically have a preferred screen reader already installed on their own device.
You can read more about EdReady's screen reader capabilities and learn the best settings we found for Chrome's browser extension here: EdReady Screen Reader and Accessibility Settings