Audio resources at university and beyond.

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Audio on this Guide and other Websites

If you would like to listen to the information on this guide, and on other websites, you can use the Read Aloud: A Text to Speech Voice Reader. It is available within Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome and Firefox. The function is already built in to Microsoft Edge and you can download the extensions for the Google Chrome and Firefox web browsers below:

Microsoft Edge:

Google Chrome

Firefox

Apple also have a selection of accessibility features, which include access to the Safari Reader which can be set up on your iPhone, iPad or Mac.

There are many ways to make devices more accessible, see The Digital Student guide for more information:

Digital Learning and Accessibility apps
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Audio Books, Journal Articles, Newpapers and Magazines

Audio Books:

The majority of Teesside University Library e-books come from two suppliers called E-book Central and VLeBooks suppliers. However, some audio books can also be found in the O'Reilly database (see the Audio/Visual section of this guide for more information).

These e-books include textbooks for your course as well as fiction and non-fiction books which you can read for pleasure.

To find these e-books you will need to search in Discovery.

To filter your results in Discovery to only show e-Books, choose the filters Full Text Online and Book/eBook from the Refine your search options on the left-hand side of the Discovery search page.
Search for e-books in Discovery

To access the e-books from Discovery, click on the link Full Text Online underneath the book record. You will be able to see which supplier the book is from when you follow the Full Text Online and Read Book Online links.

VLeBooks:

This is an example of a book from VLeBooks.

VLeBooks has inbuilt text-to-speech, available through the Read Online option which can be used via desktop and mobile views.

The first step is to choose Read Online (underneath the book jacket image)

And then choose Read aloud (the speaker symbol on the top menu bar).

E-books can also be downloaded from VLeBooks to e-Reader software such as Adobe Digital Editions which can be read by most other software such as Read & Write Gold, JAWS and NVDA.

E-Book Central

This is an example of a book from E-Book Central.

You can download e-books from E-Book Central and use them with screen readers such as JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver. The Download Book option is underneath the book jacket image on the left hand side.

You can also download a chapter of an e-book as a PDF, which can then be Read Out Loud via Adobe Acrobat Reader.

The Read Out Loud function is available in Adobe Acrobat Reader via the View option on the top menu bar. You may need to activate Read Out Loud.

In Ebook Central, you can also turn on Text Only Mode in the Accessibility Settings. This allows PDF books to be displayed as plain text, which can then be read out when reading the book online. This can be done by updating the options from within the Settings Menu.

This video, from the University of Worcester, explains how to turn on the Text Only Mode in Ebook Central and then how to use a text-to-speech app to listen to this content.

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Audio for Journal Articles

The e-journals and e-journal articles we have access to at Teesside University come from a variety of suppliers.

The details of the different suppliers are shown on the journal details screen:

and via the article details screen:

The accessibility information can usually be found on the supplier's website. For example:

This means that the tools (including audio options) that are available within the journals and articles may differ.

The databases we have access to at Teesside University also come from a variety of suppliers. Again this will mean that the tools which are available (including audio options) will differ.

The EBSCO platform includes databases such as: Art Full Text, Business Source Ultimate, CINAHL Ultimate, Education Research Complete, Medline , PsycInfo and more. The Listen feature is available within the EBSCO databases when the HTML Full text is included in the record.

You can listen straight away or you can download the mp3 file. You can also choose from an English, American or Australian accent (male or female) depending on your preference.

Access this article from Education Research Complete: 'Learning styles in group composition: evidence from a marketing simulation'

This Listen function is also available via Taylor and Francis Online

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Audio for Newspapers and Magazines

Audio options within the newspaper and magazine resources also vary depending on the provider.

Within Newsbank you can refine your search to show only audio resources, using the Source type filter and choosing Audio.

Listen to the audio resource: The mental health benefits of yoga February 23, 2022 Minnesota Public Radio: Audio (MN) Minnesota Public Radio .

Alternatively you can search all of the resources and use the Read News Document option when available.

Link to access newspaper article

Within PressReader you can choose to Listen to the content of a magazine or newspaper from the home page.

From within the Listen screen you also get access to the contents page if you wanted to skip to a specific section.

Or, if you choose to read the newspaper or magazine in Text View you can go to a specific page and choose Listen via the 3 dot menu options.

There is more information available on the accessibility features of the University's online resources available via the guide below.

Teesside University Library Guide: Online resources - accessibility information
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Using Audio with Microsoft Office

There are a range of accessibility features available from Microsoft including:

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Podcasts

There are a variety of Podcasts available online covering a wide range of interests. Here are a few examples which you might enjoy. Some for educational purposes and others for relaxation/wider interests.

The Vibe: Teesside University: https://teessideuniversity.podbean.com/

The Vibe is a series of podcasts from Teesside University.

The podcasts provide information on what's going on around campus, the application process (including clearing), what to do in Teesside and much more!

BBC sounds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds

BBC Sounds provides access to BBC Radio stations, programmes, podcasts, music and more. You will need to create an account with the BBC to access the content. There is more information about that here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/help/questions/signing-in/account-sign-in

You can listen via the BBC sounds website or you can download the app:

University of Oxford: http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/

This site, from the University of Oxford, is free and includes podcasts and videos on public lectures, teaching material, interviews with academics and more.

Content includes audio and video format.

The full series is available here: http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series

JISC: https://www.jisc.ac.uk/podcasts

JISC is the UK's higher education, further education and skills sectors’ not-for-profit organisation for digital services and solutions.

Current podcasts are available here: https://www.jisc.ac.uk/podcasts

Archived podcasts are available here: https://jiscpodcast.libsyn.com/

The Open University (OU): https://podcast.open.ac.uk/

This site provides access to audio and video podcasts from the Open University which cover a range of subject areas.

Prospects: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/podcasts

Prospects provides information, support and advice regarding graduate careers.

Their podcasts include information and advice from employers, careers advisers, students and graduates.

Wellbeing series from Manchester University: https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/pgrwellbeing/podcasts/

‘All Bee-ing Well’ is a student led podcast series from The University of Manchester.

BBC Radio 4

There are a range of BBC Radio 4 Podcasts available https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06qh86j

These include:

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Audio/Visual Resources

There are many audio visual resources which are available online, depending on your area of interest. Here are a couple which you might find useful for educational and wider interests.

Box of Broadcasts (Bob)

You can access Bob from the A-Z list of databases: https://libguides.tees.ac.uk/az.php?q=Bob

Bob is an on demand TV and radio service for education.

You will need to register when you log in to BoB for the first time - remember to complete your registration by clicking on the link in the verification email.

As a Teesside student or member of staff, you can use Bob to record programmes from free-to-air channels as well as search the archive of broadcasts.

There are a selection of 'How to' videos to help you get started with Bob too: https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/how-to-use-bob/

O'Reilly

You can access O'Reilly from the A-Z list of databases: https://libguides.tees.ac.uk/az.php?q=oreilly&p=1

O'Reilly for Higher Education provides access to e-books, videos, learning paths, case studies and audio books.

You can limit your search to find audio books or videos using the options on the search screen.

For additional guidance on using O’Reilly please visit their help pages: https://proquest.libguides.com/oreilly/features

YouTube

YouTube is a free video sharing website where you can access content on a range of subject areas. You can search by keyword or you can access the videos via the different channels. You can access YouTube via https://www.youtube.com/

Some example YouTube Channels include:

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