June 2010 - Bookshare Blog

Published July 1, 2010

Bookshare Members Headed to NFB and ACB?

At NFB and ACB, plan on more fun, surprises, and goodies this year than ever. Come by the Bookshare booth first to say hello. Then get in a party mood and be sure to add the Member party to your calendars. We have a new game planned that will get everyone thinking and laughing. Please do save room that evening to enjoy the delicious desserts! At NFB, the party is on July 6, from 7 to 8:30 pm in Lalique, in the Atrium Mezzanine. At ACB, the party is on July 12, from 7 to 8:30 pm in Camelback B.…

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Published June 26, 2010

On the Road…with Bookshare’s Summer Reading Contest!

Wow! Bookshare’s Summer Road Trip Reading Contest is off to a great start! In just four weeks, over 300 students have signed up and submitted more than 150 book text messages. Way to go Road Trippers! Contestants are sharing lots of fun and interesting messages about the books they are reading in Bookshare and about U.S. States. You can still sign up for the contest! Here are some of our favorite messages: • I learned that Helen Keller was blind and deaf and still talked to people. She had a harder time than I do. I’m glad I use a…

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Published June 24, 2010

Through Virginia’s Eyes – Painting with Macular Degeneration

A famous local artist, Virginia Doyle, has graciously lent her work to Benetech/Bookshare for display on conference room and hall walls. The unique aspect of this display is that in 2002, Virginia was diagnosed with macular degeneration, a medical condition of the eye that makes it difficult or impossible to read or recognize faces. This disease is a leading cause of blindness among older citizens due to the loss of light sensing cells in the retina. Many view her work as representations of the world through the eyes and lens of a person with macular degeneration. Viewers glimpse the world…

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Published June 22, 2010

Resources for Summer Staff Development

Many districts schedule staff development during summer vacation. Some teachers use the time independently for continuing education. A good topic for this summer is accessible instructional materials (AIM) as these materials are rapidly finding their way into schools and classrooms. Further, IDEA 2004 calls for use of AIM when indicated by a student’s learning style and IEP. Accessible books from Bookshare for qualified students are a great way to start bringing AIM into your classrooms, and good tools and resources exist to help you get started: 1. There’s a wealth of information on Bookshare’s site and Training page. 2. A…

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Published June 16, 2010

Landing that Job…Career Advice on Bookshare

Job and Career Advice – Suggested Books to Get on the Right Track

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Published June 9, 2010

Do Accessible Instructional Materials Work?

Every educator would like an answer to this question, as accessible instructional materials, AIM, become more prevalent in classroom use. Think of AIM as the books from Bookshare or content “read” in non-traditional ways, beyond print on a page. Often reading AIM combines multiple modalities such as seeing a word and hearing it at the same time. Good news is emerging that yes, AIM does help improve student outcomes. We have early, encouraging indications from informal research, not from controlled studies, pointing to better performance. The first sign of success comes from an informal survey of teachers in K-12 who…

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Published June 5, 2010

Top Talent!

The Bookshare Volunteer Program is very pleased to have the continued assistance of Dr. Scott Rains, the well-known author and consultant on topics about travel and issues in the tourism industry of interest to people with disabilities. The operations team appreciated Scott’s energy, creative new approach, and leadership so much that they decided to extend his interim contract and keep him on board as a Fellow. To support the growth of the Volunteer Program, Scott will develop a curriculum and training materials for volunteers, in addition to recruiting volunteers. For those of you who don’t know Scott, he is the…

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Published June 2, 2010

Enter Bookshare’s Summer Reading RoadTrip Contest – Win FUN Prizes!

FASTEN Your Seatbelt and ENTER Bookshare’s Summer Road Trip Reading Contest Discover new places! Explore! What’s more fun than a summer road trip? Bookshare’s Summer Road Trip Contest! Students in grades K-12 with individual Bookshare memberships can win awesome prizes like iPod Nanos, Victor Reader Streams, digital book bags and more! Participants will go on a “virtual road trip” across the 50 U.S. states by downloading and reading Bookshare books. Many of the titles come from the National Education Association – 50 State Booklist. Participants who want to go on a journey will share their thoughts about the books in…

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Month: June 2010