September 2010 - Bookshare Blog

Published September 30, 2010

Summer Roadtrip Reading Contest – Announcing the Winners!

Drum roll please. This year’s winners for the 2010 Bookshare Summer Road Trip contest are… each of the 340 students who registered and participated! The contest was a “virtual road trip” where students downloaded and read books about our U.S. 50 states. After reading, they submitted a short review, including one “cool” thing they learned about that state. Collectively, these students downloaded, read, and submitted reviews for over 840 books… way to go! Everyone who participated should feel a great sense of accomplishment. Bookshare also wants to acknowledge our most active Road Trippers. These are the top downloaders and readers for…

1 Comment

Published September 28, 2010

Parent Spotlight – The Impact of Digital Literacy on One Child, sponsored by Kurzweil, a Bookshare partner

Special thanks to Darla Hatton, a certified reading specialist who sent us this article. Mrs. Hatton created Dyslexia Facts (http://www.dyslexiafacts.net/) to provide information and resources to parents of children with dyslexia. Her mission is to encourage parents to be better informed and to seek early interventions for their school-age children. “As a mother with a familial propensity for reading difficulties, I knew that my preschool daughter was struggling. Her name is Kaila. She is dyslexic and was officially diagnosed in third grade. In her 5th grade year, I reviewed the required paperwork and signed her up for a Bookshare account.…

Leave a Comment

Published September 27, 2010

Federal Technology Leaders Discuss 21st Century Learning

Broadband, mobile, digital: three words repeated frequently by Julius Genachowski, Chairman of the FCC, and Karen Cator, Director of the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Dept of Education, at the “Learning in a Digital Age” conference last week that Bookshare attended in Mountain View, California. These three words paint a vision that has the potential to transform education. Chairman Genachowski discussed a modernization of the e-rate plan that in its first wave brought the Internet to almost all schools. The modernization will equip schools for mobile. He envisions connected schools, the most up-to-date textbooks – digital, of…

Leave a Comment

Published September 24, 2010

What We’re Reading {September 24 2010}

This week “What We’re Reading” recommendations come to us from our Facebook fans. Several weeks ago we asked our fans to share some of their favorite books with us, recent reads that left them wanting more, books that they consider the best of the best. This list is long and covers many grade levels and genres. Perhaps, like me, you’ll discover some new authors or find a new favorite title! Be sure to comment and let us know what your must-read titles are! This I Believe – Based on the National Public Radio series of the same name, This I Believe features eighty essayists—from the famous to the unknown—completing…

Leave a Comment

Published September 23, 2010

Transitioning from High School to College – Students with Disabilities

By Guest Blogger Jean Ashmore, President, Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD). This article was originally published on www.disability.gov. It’s the time of year again when yellow school buses are on the roads, uniforms and school supplies are everywhere, and students and parents alike are excited and anxious about a new school year. Those years when a student switches schools are particularly salient, with much to be learned and encountered in the new school. This is especially true when a young person transitions to college. All college students bring along academic and social experiences and lots of expectations and…

Leave a Comment

Published September 21, 2010

Will Correy Crawford Win the Contest?

This summer, eight-year old Correy Crawford read more than 114 digital accessible books through the Bookshare Summer Reading Roadtrip Contest, a reading program developed for children with print disabilities. Correy was one of 350 youngsters and teens who participated in the contest. He is dyslexic and finds it difficult to decode words, especially vowels. He can read digital accessible books from Bookshare, an online library with over 90,000 books, because the free Bookshare software he uses to read highlights words and reads them aloud simultaneously. This multimodal combination of letters and sounds helps with decoding. Laurie Crawford, Correy’s mom, feels…

Leave a Comment

Published September 21, 2010

Teacher Discovers A Better Alternative: Digital Accessible Books Instead of Books On Tape

Heather Tellier NJ Teacher Talks about the Benefits of Bookshare for students with physical and learning disabilities.

1 Comment

Published September 17, 2010

What We’re Reading {September 17 2010}

This week in “What We’re Reading” we’re sharing Fiction & Literature Classics that are regularly included on high school required reading lists. Download these books today; they’re fantastic reading! I would also like to ask you to please share your required reading lists with us. And be sure to take a minute to let us know what you think about the weekly “What We’re Reading” feature. We love to hear from you! Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston – Their Eyes Were Watching God is a story of growing up, discovering, and embracing one’s true self. Janie, in her attempt to find love, navigates through…

1 Comment

Published September 17, 2010

What Does Bookshare’s Librarian Do?

This post was contributed by Amy McNeely, Bookshare’s librarian. While this post is longer than most, it’s quite interesting and worth taking a few minutes to read. After you’ve read the post be sure to leave Amy your thoughts, comments and questions! ****************** How to read a book like a (particular) (cataloging) librarian To begin with, there are three main types of librarians: the kind who find things, the kind who build things, and the kind who put things away. The kind that find things are called public services librarians, and these are the most widely known of all librarians. They include…

2 Comments

Published September 15, 2010

Parents In The Know! Where Are the Accessible Textbooks?

“Good morning students, let’s begin by opening our textbooks to page 1…” Has your child been welcomed to a new school year with a greeting like this? Were they ready with an accessible version of their textbook they could read? For many students with print disabilities, traditional textbooks are not an option. Accessible versions, like digital books, now provide a promising alternative. Accessible textbooks allow students to listen to words being spoken, read words on the computer screen, look up word definitions and much more. Until recently, getting accessible textbooks has been difficult. Parents have alerted teachers of their children’s…

Leave a Comment

Month: September 2010