Intended Audience: Students
About
DocReader is a tool from ReadSpeaker that helps students listen to the text in online documents directly from Brightspace. This tool is helpful for students who prefer listening to their learning materials or need reading support. When students see a DocReader button near an online document in Brightspace, clicking it will open the document in a new browser tab using the DocReader tool.
- The document will open on the first page.
- A toolbar will appear at the top of the screen, and a sidebar will allow students to move between pages.
- Pressing the Listen button will read the text aloud, highlighting each sentence and word in different colors as it reads.
- If a student selects specific text, only that selection will be read aloud.
Instruction
DocReader Toolbar Features
The toolbar includes buttons for:
- Show/Hide Sidebar – Open or close the sidebar to choose document pages.
- Start/Stop/Pause/Restart – Control the reading.
- Layout Mode – See the document in its original layout.
- Text Mode – Switch to a plain-text version that is easier to read and can be customized.
- More Tools – Expand the toolbar to see extra features.
- Help – Open a help page with instructions on how to use DocReader.
Additional Features
When "More Tools" is selected, students can access:
- Settings – Adjust reading speed, change highlight styles, set language, and turn on/off automatic reading or page turning.
- Page Mask – Blocks out parts of the screen to help students stay focused on one line at a time.
- Reading Ruler – Adds a gray bar that moves across the text as it is read.
- Highlighter – Lets students highlight important sentences. Highlights can be saved as a summary in a PDF file.
Watch the Video
Keyboard Accessibility
DocReader can be used with a keyboard:
- Use Tab and Shift+Tab to move between options.
- Press Enter or Space to select a tool.
Supported File Types
DocReader works with many document types, including:
- .pdf (Adobe PDF)
- .doc / .docx (Microsoft Word)
- .odt (OpenOffice/LibreOffice)
- .rtf (Rich Text Format)
- .epub (ePub2)
- .ppt / .pptx / .pps (Microsoft PowerPoint)
- .xls / .xlsx (Microsoft Excel – limited table support)
- .odp / .ods (LibreOffice presentations and spreadsheets)
Note: Google Docs is not supported directly. Students can download a Google Doc as a supported file type and then open it with DocReader.
Device and Browser Compatibility
DocReader works on all types of devices and web browsers. It does not require any downloads or installations, making it easy for students to use on school or personal devices.