Keeping the mind active is essential to prevent mental illness in the elderly and preserve cognitive and intellectual functions for as long as possible. Reading is a way to protect the brain and ensure the mental well-being of older people. It is an ideal exercise for the mind, it helps us to promote concentration, memory, and imagination. Reading also gives us a new knowledge and different ways of seeing life. However, the truth is that for many older adults this task becomes very difficult when vision fails. For this reason, today we present a tool that can help older adults with this difficulty: Woord. Using Text-To-Speech For Elderly Readers is a great option because, while it’s not exactly the same as traditional reading, according to studies, the parts of the brain that get stimulated are almost exactly the same.
3 Benefits Of Audiobooks
Although the benefits of reading have been widely talked about and we all know them, we have promoted the practice of it, whether in traditional books or in e-books, the recent proliferation of audiobook applications put at our disposal an extensive catalog of books that we can access audibly. But what are the benefits of listening to the narration of a book?
1. Stimulates the imagination
Although this is an attribute of all reading, in audiobooks, the voice timbre and intonation of the narrator can give a special nuance to the story. This facilitates and stimulates a deeper imagination process.
2.- Multitasking
When we read a book, our dedication is 100% to reading. The use of audiobooks allows us to combine reading with other tasks, without this interfering with the understanding of the story heard. In the case of older adults, this works as a great stimulus for the brain, since attention is necessarily shared with other stimuli.
3.- Portability
Just as e-books and some light traditional books can accompany us everywhere without problems, audiobook applications can be carried on our smartphones all the time. This benefit is not exclusive to the elderly, but certainly they can also benefit from it.
Why Woord‘s Text-To-Speech For Elderly Readers?
Woord is an extremely versatile TTS software; it allows converting texts into MP3 sound files for free. Works from text files such as PDF or web pages, but also with image or gif files. This Saas has more than 20 languages and a wide variety of accents for each of them. In addition, it allows you to edit the text as many times as necessary. Some of the editing options Woord provides freely are speed, gender of the voice, and the type of device on which the file will be played.
The elderly probably need help with this task, since current technology often eludes them. However, if those who do the conversion themselves, Woord is a great option, since the most basic knowledge of using a computer is enough.
Using this intuitive tool is as easy as the following steps:
- Go to https://www.getwoord.com/guest/upload
- Share or upload the book or text file.
- Select the type of voice you like from the languages, gender, and accents available.
- Click on ‘Speak it’ and let the platform create your audio. Once it is ready, play it. And, if you are happy with it, you can download it as an MP3 file.
You might also want to check these articles…
How To Use Woord’s SSML Editor
Free TTS Chrome Extension To Help You Read
Also published on Medium.