Apple IPod Touch IOS8 User Guide

							 Appendix A    Accessibility 131
Switch apps. Double-click the Home button to see open apps, swipe left or right with one finger 
to select an app, then double-tap to switch to it. Or, set the rotor to Actions while viewing open 
apps, then swipe up or down.
Rearrange your Home screen. Select an icon on the Home screen, double-tap and hold, then 
drag. Lift your finger when the icon is in its new location. Drag an icon to the edge of the screen 
to move it to another Home screen. You can continue to select and move items until you press 
the Home button.
Speak iPod touch status information. Tap the status bar at the top of the screen, then swipe left 
or right to hear information about the time, battery state, Wi-Fi signal strength, and more.
Speak notifications. 
Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver, then turn on Always 
Speak Notifications. Notifications, including the text of incoming text messages, are spoken as 
they occur, even if iPod touch is locked. Unacknowledged notifications are repeated when you 
unlock iPod touch.
Turn the screen curtain on or off. Triple-tap with three fingers. When the screen curtain is on, the 
screen contents are active even though the display is turned off.
Learn VoiceOver gestures
When VoiceOver is on, standard touchscreen gestures have different effects, and additional 
gestures let you move around the screen and control individual items. VoiceOver gestures 
include two-, three-, and four-finger taps and swipes. For best results using multi-finger gestures, 
relax and let your fingers touch the screen with some space between them.
You can use different techniques to perform VoiceOver gestures. For example, you can perform 
a two-finger tap using two fingers on one hand, or one finger on each hand. You can even use 
your thumbs. Some people use a split-tap gesture: instead of selecting an item and double-
tapping, touch and hold an item with one finger, then tap the screen with another finger.
Try different techniques to discover which works best for you. If a gesture doesn’t work, try a 
quicker movement, especially for a double-tap or swipe gesture. To swipe, try brushing the 
screen quickly with your finger or fingers.
In VoiceOver settings, you can enter a special area where you can practice VoiceOver gestures 
without affecting iPod touch or its settings.
Practice VoiceOver gestures. Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver, then tap 
VoiceOver Practice. When you finish practicing, tap Done. If you don’t see the VoiceOver Practice 
button, make sure VoiceOver is turned on.
Here are some key VoiceOver gestures:
Navigate and read
 •Tap: Select and speak the item.
 •Swipe right or left: Select the next or previous item.
 •Swipe up or down: Depends on the rotor setting. See Use the VoiceOver rotor on page 13 2 .
 •Two-finger swipe up: Read all from the top of the screen.
 •Two-finger swipe down: Read all from the current position.
 •Two-finger tap: Stop or resume speaking.
 •Two-finger scrub: Move two fingers back and forth three times quickly (making a “z”) to dismiss 
an alert or go back to the previous screen.
 •Three-finger swipe up or down: Scroll one page at a time. 
						

							 Appendix A    Accessibility 13 2
 •Three-finger swipe right or left: Go to the next or previous page (on the Home screen,  
for example).
 •Three-finger tap: Speak additional information, such as position within a list or whether  
text is selected.
 •Four-finger tap at top of screen: Select the first item on the page.
 •Four-finger tap at bottom of screen: Select the last item on the page.
Activate
 •Double-tap: Activate the selected item.
 •Triple-tap: Double-tap an item.
 •Split-tap: As an alternative to selecting an item and double-tapping to activate it, touch and 
hold an item with one finger, then tap the screen with another.
 •Double-tap and hold (1 second) + standard gesture: Use a standard gesture. The double-tap and 
hold gesture tells iPod touch to interpret the next gesture as standard. For example, you can 
double-tap and hold, and then without lifting your finger, drag your finger to slide a switch.
 •Two-finger double-tap: Play or pause in Music, Videos, Voice Memos, or Photos. Take a photo in 
Camera. Start or pause recording in Camera or Voice Memos. Start or stop the stopwatch.
 •Two-finger double-tap and hold: Change an item’s label to make it easier to find.
 •Two-finger triple-tap: Open the Item Chooser.
 •Three-finger double-tap: Mute or unmute VoiceOver.
 •Three-finger triple-tap: Turn the screen curtain on or off.
Use the VoiceOver rotor
Use the rotor to choose what happens when you swipe up or down with VoiceOver turned on, or 
to select special input methods such as Braille Screen Input or Handwriting.
Operate the rotor. Rotate two fingers on the screen around a point between them.
Choose your rotor options. Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Rotor, then 
select the options you want to include in the rotor.
The available rotor options and their effects depend on what you’re doing. For example, if you’re 
reading an email, you can use the rotor to switch between hearing text spoken word-by-word or 
character-by-character when you swipe up or down. If you’re browsing a webpage, you can set 
the rotor to speak all the text (either word-by-word or character-by-character), or to jump from 
one item to another of a certain type, such as headers or links.
When you use an Apple Wireless Keyboard to control VoiceOver, the rotor lets you adjust settings 
such as volume, speech rate, use of pitch or phonetics, typing echo, and reading of punctuation. 
See Use VoiceOver with an Apple Wireless Keyboard
 on page 13 5 . 
						

							 Appendix A    Accessibility 13 3
Use the onscreen keyboard
When you activate an editable text field, the onscreen keyboard appears (unless you have an 
Apple Wireless Keyboard attached).
Activate a text field. Select the text field, then double-tap. The insertion point and the onscreen 
keyboard appear.
Enter text. Type characters using the onscreen keyboard:
 •Standard typing: Select a key on the keyboard by swiping left or right, then double-tap to enter 
the character. Or move your finger around the keyboard to select a key and, while continuing 
to touch the key with one finger, tap the screen with another finger. VoiceOver speaks the key 
when it’s selected, and again when the character is entered.
 •Touch typing: Touch a key on the keyboard to select it, then lift your finger to enter the 
character. If you touch the wrong key, slide your finger to the key you want. VoiceOver 
speaks the character for each key as you touch it, but doesn’t enter a character until you lift 
your finger.
 •Direct Touch typing: VoiceOver is disabled for the keyboard only, so you can type just as you do 
when VoiceOver is off.
 •Choose typing style: Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Typing Style. Or set 
the rotor to Typing Mode, then swipe up or down.
Move the insertion point. Swipe up or down to move the insertion point forward or backward in 
the text. Use the rotor to choose whether you want to move the insertion point by character, by 
word, or by line. To jump to the beginning or end, double-tap the text.
VoiceOver makes a sound when the insertion point moves, and speaks the character, word, or 
line that the insertion point moves across. When moving forward by words, the insertion point 
is placed at the end of each word, before the space or punctuation that follows. When moving 
backward, the insertion point is placed at the end of the preceding word, before the space or 
punctuation that follows it.
Move the insertion point past the punctuation at the end of a word or sentence. Use the rotor 
to switch back to character mode.
When moving the insertion point by line, VoiceOver speaks each line as you move across it. 
When moving forward, the insertion point is placed at the beginning of the next line (except 
when you reach the last line of a paragraph, when the insertion point is moved to the end of the 
line just spoken). When moving backward, the insertion point is placed at the beginning of the 
line that’s spoken.
Change typing feedback. 
Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver > 
Typing Feedback.
Use phonetics in typing feedback. 
Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver > 
Phonetic Feedback. Text is read character by character. VoiceOver first speaks the character, then 
its phonetic equivalent—for example, “f ” and then “foxtrot.”
Delete a character. Use 
 with any of the VoiceOver typing styles. VoiceOver speaks each 
character as it’s deleted. If Use Pitch Change is turned on, VoiceOver speaks deleted characters in 
a lower pitch.
Select text. Set the rotor to Edit, swipe up or down to choose Select or Select All, then double-
tap. If you choose Select, the word closest to the insertion point is selected when you double-
tap. To increase or decrease the selection, do a two-finger scrub to dismiss the pop-up menu, 
then pinch. 
						

							 Appendix A    Accessibility 13 4
Cut, copy, or paste. Set the rotor to Edit, select the text, swipe up or down to choose Cut, Copy, 
or Paste, then double-tap.
Undo. 
Shake iPod touch, swipe left or right to choose the action to undo, then double-tap.
Enter an accented character. In standard typing style, select the plain character, then double-tap 
and hold until you hear a sound indicating alternate characters have appeared. Drag left or right 
to select and hear the choices. Release your finger to enter the current selection. In touch typing 
style, touch and hold a character until the alternate characters appear.
Change the keyboard language. Set the rotor to Language, then swipe up or down. Choose 
“default language” to use the language specified in Language & Region settings. The Language 
rotor item appears only if you select more than one language in Settings > General > 
Accessibility > VoiceOver > Speech.
Write with your finger
Handwriting mode lets you enter text by writing characters on the screen with your finger. In 
addition to normal text entry, use handwriting mode to enter your iPod touch passcode silently 
or open apps from the Home screen.
Enter handwriting mode. Use the rotor to select Handwriting. If Handwriting isn’t in the rotor, go 
to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Rotor, then add it.
Choose a character type. Swipe up or down with three fingers to choose lowercase, numbers, 
uppercase, or punctuation.
Hear the currently selected character type. Tap with three fingers.
Enter a character. Trace the character on the screen with your finger.
Enter a space. Swipe right with two fingers.
Go to a new line. Swipe right with three fingers.
Delete the character before the insertion point. Swipe left with two fingers.
Select an item on the Home screen. Start writing the name of the item. If there are multiple 
matches, continue to spell the name until it’s unique, or swipe up or down with two fingers to 
choose from the current matches.
Enter your passcode silently. Set the rotor to Handwriting on the passcode screen, then write 
the characters of your passcode.
Use a table index to skip through a long list. Select the table index to the right of the table (for 
example, next to your Contacts list or in the VoiceOver Item Chooser), then write the letter.
Set the rotor to a web browsing element type. Write the first letter of a page element type. For 
example, write “l” to have up or down swipes skip to links, or “h” to skip to headings.
Exit handwriting mode. Do a two-finger scrub, or turn the rotor to a different selection.
Type onscreen braille
With Braille Screen Input enabled, you can use your fingers to enter 6-dot or contracted braille 
codes directly on the iPod touch screen. Tap codes with iPod touch laying flat in front of you 
(tabletop mode), or hold iPod touch with the screen facing away so your fingers curl back to tap 
the screen (screen away mode).
Turn on Braille Screen Input. Use the rotor to select Braille Screen Input. If you don’t find it in the 
rotor, go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Rotor, then add it. 
						

							 Appendix A    Accessibility 13 5
Enter braille codes. Place iPod touch flat in front of you or hold it with the screen facing away, 
then tap the screen with one or several fingers at the same time.
Adjust entry dot positions. To move the entry dots to match your natural finger positions, tap 
and lift your right three fingers all at once to position dots 4, 5, and 6, followed immediately by 
your left three fingers for dots 1, 2, and 3.
Switch between 6-dot and contracted braille. Swipe to the right with three fingers. To set the 
default, go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Braille > Braille Screen Input.
Enter a space. Swipe right with one finger. (In screen away mode, swipe to your right.)
Delete the previous character. Swipe left with one finger.
Move to a new line (typing). Swipe right with two fingers.
Cycle through spelling suggestions. Swipe up or down with one finger.
Select an item on the Home screen. Start entering the name of the item. If there are multiple 
matches, continue to spell the name until it is unique, or swipe up or down with one finger to 
select a partial match.
Open the selected app. Swipe right with two fingers.
Turn braille contractions on or off. Swipe to the right with three fingers.
Translate immediately (when contractions are enabled). Swipe down with two fingers.
Stop entering braille. Do a two-finger scrub, or set the rotor to another setting.
Use VoiceOver with an Apple Wireless Keyboard
You can control VoiceOver using an Apple Wireless Keyboard paired with iPod touch. See Use an 
Apple Wireless Keyboard
 on page 27 .
Use VoiceOver keyboard commands to navigate the screen, select items, read screen contents, 
adjust the rotor, and perform other VoiceOver actions. Most commands use the Control-Option 
key combination, abbreviated in the list that follows as “VO.”
You can use VoiceOver Help to learn the keyboard layout and the actions associated with various 
key combinations. VoiceOver Help speaks keys and keyboard commands as you type them, 
without performing the associated action.
VoiceOver keyboard commands
VO = Control-Option
 •Turn on VoiceOver Help: VO–K
 •Turn off VoiceOver Help: Escape
 •Select the next or previous item: VO–Right Arrow or VO–Left Arrow
 •Double-tap to activate the selected item: VO–Space bar
 •Press the Home button: VO–H
 •Touch and hold the selected item: VO–Shift–M
 •Move to the status bar: VO–M
 •Read from the current position: VO–A
 •Read from the top: VO–B
 •Pause or resume reading: Control
 •Copy the last spoken text to the clipboard: VO–Shift–C
 •Search for text: VO–F 
						

							 Appendix A    Accessibility 13 6
 •Mute or unmute VoiceOver: VO–S
 •Open Notification Center: Fn–VO–Up Arrow
 •Open Control Center: Fn–VO–Down Arrow
 •Open the Item Chooser: VO–I
 •Change the label of the selected item: VO–/
 •Double-tap with two fingers: VO–”-”
 •Adjust the rotor: Use Quick Nav (see below)
 •Swipe up or down: VO–Up Arrow or VO–Down Arrow
 •Adjust the speech rotor: VO–Command–Left Arrow or VO–Command–Right Arrow
 •Adjust the setting specified by the speech rotor: VO–Command–Up Arrow or VO–Command–
Down Arrow
 •Turn the screen curtain on or off: VO–Shift–S
 •Return to the previous screen: Escape
 •Switch apps: Command–Tab or Command–Shift–Tab
Quick Nav
Turn on Quick Nav to control VoiceOver using the arrow keys.
 •Turn Quick Nav on or off: Left Arrow–Right Arrow
 •Select the next or previous item: Right Arrow or Left Arrow
 •Select the next or previous item specified by the rotor: Up Arrow or Down Arrow
 •Select the first or last item: Control–Up Arrow or Control–Down Arrow
 •Tap an item: Up Arrow–Down Arrow
 •Scroll up, down, left, or right: Option–Up Arrow, Option–Down Arrow, Option–Left Arrow, or 
Option–Right Arrow
 •Adjust the rotor: Up Arrow–Left Arrow or Up Arrow–Right Arrow
You can also use the number keys on an Apple Wireless Keyboard to enter numbers in Calculator.
Single-key Quick Nav for web browsing
When you view a webpage with Quick Nav on, you can use the following keys on the keyboard 
to navigate the page quickly. Typing the key moves to the next item of the indicated type. To 
move to the previous item, hold the Shift key as you type the letter.
 •Turn on Single-key Quick Nav: VO-Q
 •Heading: H
 •Link: L
 •Text field: R
 •Button: B
 •Form control: C
 •Image: I
 •Table: T
 •Static text: S
 •ARIA landmark: W
 •List: X
 •Item of the same type: M 
						

							 Appendix A    Accessibility 13 7
 •Level 1 heading: 1
 •Level 2 heading: 2
 •Level 3 heading: 3
 •Level 4 heading: 4
 •Level 5 heading: 5
 •Level 6 heading: 6
Text editing
Use these commands (with Quick Nav turned off ) to work with text. VoiceOver reads the text as 
you move the insertion point.
 •Go forward or back one character: Right Arrow or Left Arrow
 •Go forward or back one word: Option–Right Arrow or Option–Left Arrow
 •Go up or down one line: Up Arrow or Down Arrow
 •Go to the beginning or end of the line: Command–Left Arrow or Command–Down Arrow
 •Go to the beginning or end of the paragraph: Option–Up Arrow or Option–Down Arrow
 •Go to the previous or next paragraph: Option–Up Arrow or Option–Down Arrow
 •Go to the top or bottom of the text field: Command–Up Arrow or Command–Down Arrow
 •Select text as you move: Shift + any of the insertion point movement commands above
 •Select all text: Command–A
 •Copy, cut, or paste the selected text: Command–C, Command–X, or Command–V
 •Undo or redo last change: Command–Z or Shift–Command–Z
Support for braille displays
You can use a Bluetooth braille display to read VoiceOver output, and you can use a braille 
display with input keys and other controls to control iPod touch when VoiceOver is turned on. 
For a list of supported braille displays, see www.apple.com/accessibility/ios/braille-display.html.
Connect a braille display. 
Turn on the display, then go to Settings > Bluetooth and turn on 
Bluetooth. Then go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Braille and choose 
the display.
Adjust Braille settings. 
Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Braille, where  
you can:
 •Choose contracted, uncontracted 8-dot, or uncontracted 6-dot braille input or output
 •Turn on the status cell and choose its location
 •Turn on Nemeth code for equations
 •Display the onscreen keyboard
 •Choose to have the page turned automatically when panning
 •Change the braille translation from Unified English
For information about common braille commands for VoiceOver navigation and information 
specific to certain displays, see support.apple.com/kb/HT4400.
Set the language for VoiceOver. 
Go to Settings > General > Language & Region.
If you change the language for iPod touch, you may need to reset the language for VoiceOver 
and your braille display. 
						

							 Appendix A    Accessibility 13 8
You can set the leftmost or rightmost cell of your braille display to provide system status and 
other information. For example:
 •Announcement History contains an unread message
 •The current Announcement History message hasn’t been read
 •VoiceOver speech is muted
 •The iPod touch battery is low (less than 20% charge)
 •iPod touch is in landscape orientation
 •The screen display is turned off
 •The current line contains additional text to the left
 •The current line contains additional text to the right
Set the leftmost or rightmost cell to display status information. 
Go to Settings > General > 
Accessibility > VoiceOver > Braille > Status Cell, then tap Left or Right. 
See an expanded description of the status cell. On your braille display, press the status cell’s 
router button.
Read math equations
VoiceOver can read aloud math equations that are encoded using:
 •MathML on the web
 •MathML or LaTeX in iBooks Author
Hear an equation. Have VoiceOver read the text as usual. VoiceOver says “math” before it starts 
reading an equation.
Explore the equation. Double-tap the selected equation to display it full screen and move 
through it one element at a time. Swipe left or right to read elements of the equation. Use the 
rotor to select Symbols, Small Expressions, Medium Expressions, or Large Expressions, then swipe 
up or down to hear the next element of that size. You can continue to double-tap the selected 
element to “drill down” into the equation to focus on the selected element, then swipe left or 
right, up or down to read one part at a time.
Equations read by VoiceOver can also be output to a braille device using Nemeth code, as well 
as the codes used by Unified English Braille, British English, French, and Greek. See Support for 
braille displays
 on page 13 7 .
Use VoiceOver with Safari
Search the web. Select the search field, enter your search, then swipe right or left to move down 
or up the list of suggested search phrases. Then double-tap the screen to search the web using 
the selected phrase.
Skip to the next page element of a particular type. Set the rotor to the element type, then 
swipe up or down.
Set the rotor options for web browsing. 
Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver > 
Rotor. Tap to select or deselect options, or drag  up or down to reposition an item.
Skip images while navigating. 
Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Navigate 
Images. You can choose to skip all images or only those without descriptions.
Reduce page clutter for easier reading and navigation. Select the Reader item in the Safari 
address field (not available for all pages).
If you pair an Apple Wireless Keyboard with iPod touch, you can use single-key Quick Nav 
commands to navigate webpages. See Use VoiceOver with an Apple Wireless Keyboard on 
page 13 5 . 
						

							 Appendix A    Accessibility 13 9
Use VoiceOver with Maps
With VoiceOver, you can zoom in or out, select a pin, or get information about a location.
Explore the map. Drag your finger around the screen, or swipe left or right to move to 
another item.
Zoom in or out. Select the map, set the rotor to Zoom, then swipe down or up with one finger.
Pan the map. Swipe with three fingers.
Browse visible points of interest. Set the rotor to Points of Interest, then swipe up or down with 
one finger.
Follow a road. Hold your finger down on the road, wait until you hear “pause to follow,” then 
move your finger along the road while listening to the guide tone. The pitch increases when you 
stray from the road.
Select a pin. Touch a pin, or swipe left or right to select the pin. 
Get information about a location. With a pin selected, double-tap to display the information 
flag. Swipe left or right to select the More Info button, then double-tap to display the 
information page.
Edit videos and voice memos with VoiceOver
You can use VoiceOver gestures to trim Camera videos and Voice Memo recordings.
Trim a video. While viewing a video in Photos, double-tap the screen to display the video 
controls, then select the beginning or end of the trim tool. Then swipe up to drag to the right, or 
swipe down to drag to the left. VoiceOver announces the amount of time the current position 
will trim from the recording. To complete the trim, select Trim, then double-tap.
Trim a voice memo. Select the memo in Voice Memos, tap Edit, then tap Start Trimming. Select 
the beginning or end of the selection, double-tap and hold, then drag to adjust. VoiceOver 
announces the amount of time the current position will trim from the recording. Tap Play to 
preview the trimmed recording. When you’ve got it the way you want it, tap Trim.
Zoom
Many apps let you zoom in or out on specific items. For example, you can double-tap or pinch to 
look closer in Photos or expand webpage columns in Safari. There’s also a general Zoom feature 
that lets you magnify the screen no matter what you’re doing. You can zoom the entire screen 
(Full Screen Zoom) or zoom part of the screen in a resizable window and leave the rest of the 
screen unmagnified ( Window Zoom). And, you can use Zoom together with VoiceOver.
Turn Zoom on or off. 
Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Zoom. Or use the Accessibility 
Shortcut. See Accessibility Shortcut on page 12 8.
Zoom in or out. With Zoom turned on, double-tap the screen with three fingers.
Adjust the magnification. Double-tap with three fingers, then drag up or down. The tap-and-
drag gesture is similar to a double-tap, except you don’t lift your fingers on the second tap—
instead, drag your fingers on the screen. You can also triple-tap with three fingers, then drag the 
Zoom Level slider in the zoom controls that appear. To limit the maximum magnification, go to 
Settings > General > Accessibility > Zoom > Maximum Zoom Level.
Pan to see more. Drag the screen with three fingers. Or hold your finger near the edge of the 
screen to pan to that side. Move your finger closer to the edge to pan more quickly. 
						

							 Appendix A    Accessibility 14 0
Switch between Full Screen Mode and Window Zoom. Triple-tap with three fingers, then tap 
Window Zoom or Full Screen Zoom in the zoom controls that appear. To choose the mode that’s 
used when you turn on Zoom, go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Zoom > Zoom Region.
Resize the zoom window ( Window Zoom). Triple-tap with three fingers, tap Resize Lens, then 
drag any of the round handles that appear.
Move the zoom window ( Window Zoom). Drag the handle on the edge of the zoom window.
Show the zoom controller. 
Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Zoom, then turn on Show 
Controller, or triple-tap with three fingers, then choose Show Controller. Then you can double-
tap the floating Zoom Controls button to zoom in or out, single-tap the button to display the 
zoom controls, or drag it to pan. To move the Zoom Controls button, tap and hold the button, 
then drag it to a new location. To adjust the transparency of the zoom controller, go to Settings > 
General > Accessibility > Zoom > Idle Visibility.
Have Zoom track your selections or the text insertion point. Go to Settings > General > 
Accessibility > Zoom > Follow Focus. Then, for example, if you use VoiceOver, turning on this 
option causes the zoom window to magnify each element on the screen as you select it using a 
swipe in VoiceOver.
Zoom in on your typing without magnifying the keyboard. 
Go to Settings > General > 
Accessibility > Zoom, then turn on Follow Focus and turn off Zoom Keyboard. When you zoom in 
while typing (in Messages or Notes, for example), the text you type is magnified, but the entire 
keyboard remains visible.
Display the magnified part of the screen in grayscale or inverted color. Triple-tap with three 
fingers, then tap Choose Filter in the zoom controls that appear.
While using Zoom with an Apple Wireless Keyboard the screen image follows the insertion point, 
keeping it in the center of the display. See Use an Apple Wireless Keyboard
 on page 27.
Invert Colors and Grayscale
Sometimes, inverting the colors or changing to grayscale on the iPod touch screen makes it 
easier to read.
Invert the screen colors. 
Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Invert Colors.
See the screen in grayscale. Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Grayscale.
Turn on both effects to see inverted grayscale. You can also apply these effects to just the 
contents of the zoom window—see Zoom
 on page 13 9 .
Speak Selection
Even with VoiceOver turned off, you can have iPod touch read aloud any text you can select.
Turn on Speak Selection. Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Speech. There you can also:
 •Adjust the speaking rate
 •Choose to have individual words highlighted as they’re read
Have text read to you. Select the text, then tap Speak.
You can also have iPod touch read the entire screen to you. See Speak Screen, next.