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SSML / TTS - Custom Guide

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Text-to-speech tool can handle normal punctuation, such as pausing after a period, or speaking a sentence ending in a question mark as a question. However, in some cases, you may want additional control over how the text-to-speech tool generates the speech from the text within an assessment.

For example, you may want a longer pause within the speech, or you may want a string of digits read back as a standard telephone number. The Custom Speech tool provides this type of control with Speech Synthesis Markup Language (SSML) support.

SSML is a markup language that provides a standard way to mark up text for the generation of synthetic speech. A subset of the tags defined in the SSML specification are supported. The following supported tags are available for Item Bank assessments:

  1. Pause: Add a pause
    • 1-10 seconds
    • Strength of Medium, Strong, X-Strong
  2. Emphasis: Emphasize words
    • Emphasis of Strong, Moderate or Reduced
  3. Paragraphs: Add a pause between paragraphs
  4. Prosody: Control volume, speaking rate, and pitch
    • Volume:  Default, Silent, X-Soft, Soft, Medium, Loud, X-Loud
    • Rate: X-Slow, Slow, Medium, Fast, X-Fast
    • Pitch: Default, X-Low, Low, Medium, High, X-High
  5. Sentences: Add a pause between sentences
  6. Say-as: Control how special types of words are spoken
    • Spell Out
    • Number
    • Ordinal
    • Digits
    • Fraction
    • Units
    • Time
    • Address
    • Expletive
    • Telephone
  7. Sub: Substitute words or sentences
  8. Pronunciation: Specify the parts of speech
    • Interprets the word as a verb (present simple)
    • Interprets the word as past tense or as a past participle

How to Use Custom Speech - SSML Markup

Custom Speech can be applied during item creation or assessment creation. Custom Speech added during item creation will display during assessment creation, but is editable. Item level Custom Speech would be used when you want to apply the Custom Speech to all assessments that include the item. Assessment level Custom Speech would be useful when the Custom Speech should only apply to a single item or if the assessment creator does not have access to edit the item. If Custom Speech is added to an item that is already a part of an unpublished assessment, the user must accept the edits at the assessment level for the Custom Speech to display.

Item Level

  1. Navigate to the Preview & Publish Tab of Item Creation for an unpublished item.
  2. Select Online Markup.
  1. Once you click the Online Markup button, you will be taken to the Markup Panel.
  2. Highlight text to which you would like to add SSML Custom Speech
  3. Select the Custom Speech button.
  1. The Custom Speech (SSML) Editor will launch.  
  2. You may select the custom speech tags to apply to the selected text by clicking on the blue buttons at the top of the window. Clicking many of the custom speech options will launch a pop-up that contains selections.
  3. You can hear how the text will sound without SSML markup by clicking the Speech button to the right of Selected Text.
  1. The example is what displays for the Sub tag.
  1. Once a selection is added, it will be reflected in the Custom Speech (SSML) section of the Custom Speech (SSML) Editor.
  2. The button will turn orange to indicate that the custom speech was applied. You can apply more than one tag for the selected text.
  3. Once the Add Markup button is clicked, users will be taken back to the Markup Panel.
  4. Text that has custom speech applied will display in blue. Hovering over the text will display Play and Delete buttons. Clicking Play will play the text with the custom speech applied. Clicking Delete will delete the custom speech for the selected text.

Assessment Level

  1. Navigate to the Summary Tab of assessment setup for an unpublished assessment.
  2. Select Online Markup.
  1. Once you click the Online Markup button, you will be taken to the Markup Panel.
  2. Highlight text to which you would like to add SSML Custom Speech.
  3. Select the Custom Speech button.
  1. The Custom Speech (SSML) Editor will launch.  
  2. Select the custom speech tags to apply to the selected text by clicking on the blue buttons at the top of the modal.
  3. You can hear how the text will sound without SSML markup by clicking the Speech button to the right of Selected Text.
  1. Once a selection is added, it will be reflected in the Custom Speech (SSML) section of the Custom Speech (SSML) Editor.
  2. The button will turn orange to indicate that the custom speech was applied. You can apply more than one tag for the selected text.
  3. Select the Add Markup button and users will be taken back to the Markup Panel.
  1. Once the Add Markup button is clicked, users will be taken back to the Markup Panel.
  2. Text that has custom speech applied will display in blue. Any custom speech applied at the item level will also display in blue.
  3. Hovering over the text will display Play and Delete buttons. Clicking Play will play the text with the custom speech applied. Clicking Delete will delete the custom speech for the selected text.

Online Preview

Within the Online Preview or the Student Portal, when users use the text-to-speech tool, they will hear the text with the modifications that have been applied in assessment setup.

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