The assistive technology that I would like to share this week is a new discovery for me. While doing some research on adaptive technologies, I found some links to a website called Bookshare. Bookshare is a Benetech Initiative that makes millions of books available in ebook format for the visually impared. No copyright laws are violated and in most cases, this service is free or costs as little as a dollar a week.
Bookshare is a great resource for those with low or no vision, dyslexia, and other impairments the availability of textbooks as well as most books found in your public library. Some of the features include font and size adjustability with text highlighting capabilities, different voices can be chosen to read the text as well as varying read back speeds.
Visual impairment is a concern for many and the costs of providing large print books or ebooks can be considerable. Public institutions have funding for additional services but public schools run on a much smaller budget. Financially it is difficult for public schools to purchase a variety of interesting books for the few students who would benefit. This program is a great resource for teachers, parents, students, and librarians.
Bookshare is FREE or low cost for anyone with a qualifying disability. This is a great resource and I am very excited to see about introducing it to some of the students I teach. Check out Bookshare at the link provided.
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Hi Christine, what a great resource! I like that this ebook reader has a variety of options that go beyond just font size or an audio feature. The text highlighting is an especially interesting feature that I’m sure could be very helpful for many students. Another great feature, of course, is that it is free to use or low cost. I like your point that providing one tool where students could access a variety of books is more beneficial than a library purchasing a few large print books. I think this is something to keep in mind when thinking about accessibility. The tools and resources we provide as librarians should be versatile and include a wide variety of content. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete— Callie Graham
Christine - this is a really great resource! I love the choice of narrator and the highlighted words as the reading progresses. I didn't know that was called "karaoke style" highlights, but that makes sense! I can't wait to go to the site and see the number and variety of titles they have! I like the low cost for adults as well - again, I will be excited to check it out to see if it is a great resource for children and adult reading titles. Thanks for this information!
ReplyDeleteHey Christine,
ReplyDeleteBookshare seems like a great resource. And I would agree with you my budget at the school is no where near what it was for the public library. I love that its free for students and low cost for adults, as well. You brought up that there is a text book feature! That would greatly help students. I know I listen to articles when the features are included, its again all about universal design. Making these resources for everyone, benefits everyone. Thanks for sharing this week.
Erin Castle
Hi Christine! My son has peripheral vision loss and this resource is something I am going to look into for him to try out. I also have visually impaired students in my school that could benefit from this technology. Thank you for sharing.
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