School News

VocaliD Service-Learning Project

Fifth graders are donating their voices to a human voicebank through the VocaliD platform, which creates unique, digital “vocal identities” for those who need them. The students were inspired to participate in this project by the book they read this summer, Rules, by Cynthia Lord. It features a character, Jason, who is unable to speak because of cerebral palsy.

Jason has a notebook with words in it, and he points to the words he wants to say. His friend, Catherine, helps him by adding words to the notebook. They are “typical words that teens use like ‘gross,’ ‘cool beans,’ and ‘whatever,’” says 5th grader Antonia Romm. While Jason uses a notebook to communicate, some people with cerebral palsy (CP) use digital devices to speak. They type in what they want to say, and their devices speak for them. But, as Antonia explains, “there aren’t enough voices” and kids often have devices that speak with adult voices.

That’s where VocaliD comes in. VocaliD crowdsources voices from people of all ages from all over the world. These digital voices can be used for virtual assistants, GPS devices, and more. For someone with CP, VocaliD will record a few seconds of their voice and then match it with a voice that was donated to the voicebank. The two voices are blended, and the person with CP can use the unique voice that has been created on their speaking machine. Rupal Patel, the founder of VocaliD is passionate about bringing this communication technology to the people who really need it and to make sure “every voice is heard.” Her TEDTalk, “Synthetic Voices, as Unique as Fingerprints,” has almost a million views.

Fifth graders at Lowell are excited about donating their voices to VocaliD’s voicebank, despite the commitment required. Initially, students must get their voice “accepted.” After that, they need to record their voice for a total of about six to seven hours. A couple of times a week, the students go in small groups to the Primary School library where they record their voices in turns for 20 minutes or so.

When the VocaliD platform boots up, students read the lines on their screens. They get to pick the topics they read about. One day, four different students were recording. To minimize background noise, they alternated:

Antonia: “Okay, everybody be quiet.”
Abigail: “Ahhhhh, I’m going to do ‘Introduction to Biology!’”
Paolo: “Once upon a time, there was a girl named Goldilocks.”
Leo: “The body’s central organ is your heart.”
Antonia: “About Mass. Everything is made out of matter.”
Abigail: “What is life?”

VocaliD takes the hours of recordings from each person and banks them. Voices are matched using algorithms. It is a long process, but the 5th graders want to see it through. Antonia says, “I didn’t know about cerebral palsy...I didn’t know how many people have it…Everyone should have a voice.”
Lowell School is a private PK-8th grade school located in NW Washington, DC. Our mission is to create an inclusive community of lifelong learners in which each individual is valued and respected.