In a usual monthly announcement of new features for Office 365, Microsoft introduced a new feature for Word intended to assist people with dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities. It's called Read Aloud, and it can be found in the Review tab right now if you're an Office 365 insider.
It's not the first text-to-speech feature in Word, but this one allows for finer controls. Once users select Read Aloud in the Review tab, they can highlight text to have it read back to them. Previous efforts would generally read only selections or the entire document, but this one allows for finer control, reading as you highlight.
This should let people with learning disabilities more easily catch mistakes in their work (and, in theory, could help anybody who likes having their work read back to them to proofread).
Additionally, the Office 365 update includes the ability to turn text into timelines in PowerPoint and add 3D objects from Remix Studio into Word, PowerPoint or Excel.
If you're an Office 365 insider, you should be able to find Read Aloud and the other features now. General availability is scheduled to take place later this year.
Image credit: Microsoft
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