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Month: June 2012

Fun Summer Titles for Adults

Any game players? My Life as a Night Elf Priest  –  Examines an online community the size of Ohio – the players of World of Warcraft.   Bestsellers for the beach and beyond: Calico Joe – John Grisham’s latest novel follows the divergent paths of Joe Castle, a rookie hitter for the Chicago Cubs, and Warren Tracey, a hard-throwing Mets pitcher. It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership – Colin Powell, one of America’s most admired public figures, reveals the principles that have shaped his life and career in this inspiring and engrossing memoir. Maine – Three generations of…

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Fun Summer Titles for Kids

Try these stories about games: Gollywhopper Games – Twelve-year-old Gil Goodson competes against thousands of other children at extraordinary puzzles, stunts, and more in hopes of a fresh start for his family. Goblins Don’t Play Video Games (Bailey School Kids #37)– Could the new computer teacher be the king goblin in Melody’s video game?   The Summer Olympics are next month. Get in the mood with these stories: Buzz Beamer’s Radical Olympics – Buzz offers wacky suggestions for new summer Olympic sports Hour of the Olympics (Magic Tree House #16)– No girls allowed at the ancient Olympics!  What will Jack…

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Fun Summer Titles for Teens

Justin Bieber’s Own Story: First Step 2 Forever: My Story. By Justin Bieber. “It’s a big, big world It’s easy to get lost in it…” -Justin Bieber, “Up”. I love those lines in the lyrics. Sometimes I feel like that’s what everyone’s expecting.   Fun stories about video games and gadgets: Attack of the Video Villains (Hardy Boys #106)  – Joe, Frank and Chet attend a national Hack Attack tournament in New York City and get involved in a deadly video game mystery! Daniel X: Game Over  – A duo of evil extraterrestrials is plotting to control kids around the…

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GoogleServe Volunteers Write Image Descriptions

On June 14, Google invited Bookshare to participate in their annual GoogleServe volunteerism week.  We were warmly welcomed by Googlers, Seth Marbin and Kat Pham-Ouyang, who set us up in a computer lab. Before I had read through the instructions, our highly astute group of volunteers had already registered on the Poet image description tool and delved into the guidelines. Nineteen Google employees participated in the highly successful event (two remotely).  In just four hours, Google volunteers wrote over 1,200 descriptions for images in four different text books!  With the great success of this event, we plan to host many…

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Publishers, Industry Moguls, and Disability Advocates Gather to Discuss Access

Saturday, June 9, 2012 wrapped up the first Inclusive Publishing conference hosted by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) at Jernigan Institute in Baltimore, MD, and the DAISY Consortium. NFB and DAISY teamed up with representatives from 20 countries, including Benetech/Bookshare, U.S. K–12 and higher education publishers (Pearson, Cengage, and SAS), and industry moguls (Apple, Google, and Adobe) to collaborate on issues of access affecting millions who cannot read print. Participants met to: Discuss current levels of accessibility in global and U.S. markets Share the landscape of today’s eBook evolution in publishing and education Collaborate and exchange ideas on…

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Benetech Wins “Do-Gooder” Award

Atlassian, developers of software that helps innovators everywhere plan, build and launch great software, holds an annual “Do-Gooder” competition, in which they ask their customers with Community Licenses to talk about how they use their products.  After 6 months at Benetech, one of our product managers felt compelled to express her wonder at how much good we do for people.  Her entry below was the winning entry, for a prize of $10,000 of unrestricted funds for Benetech and 2 passes to the 2012 Atlassian Summit. Thank you, Ginny Grant, for your great work at Benetech, your haiku, and your application…

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“Get on the Bookshare Express” Summer Reading Event!

Are you looking for something fun to do this summer? Get on the Bookshare Express, our annual summer reading event! This summer, all Individual Bookshare Members are invited to participate in our annual reading event that keeps getting better. In the event this year, take a trip to places near and far, real or imaginary, all through books! How do you participate? There are two ways to participate in this summer’s reading event: Summer Contest for U.S. students with Individual Memberships Summer Promotion for non-students and International Members Summer Contest for U.S. Student Members U.S. student members are invited to…

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Summer Crafts and Activities

Summertime is a great time to show off your creativity and try new things – especially when you can make them from old things!  Here are some books which might spark your imagination and get fun new projects rolling with your family. What Can You Do With An Old Red Shoe? A Green Activity Book About Reuse by Anne Alter.   In this “green” craft book, children can appreciate that recycling is a part of everyday life, and with a little creativity, exciting projects are only a few steps away. Turn a worn flip-flop into an art stamp, a ripped shower…

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