visual impairments Archives - Page 2 of 14

Published January 28, 2016

Heading to ATIA? Register Now for FREE Bookshare Training Sessions!

ATIA – February 2-5, 2016 – Orlando, FL Attendees of this year’s Assistive Technology Industry Association conference will learn about the latest trends, tools, and best practices in the field of assistive technology that can improve the lives of people with special needs. To learn more about Bookshare and how you can help students with print disabilities get accessible books and educational materials, we invite you to attend our presentations and training events. Bookshare Training at ATIA on Friday, February 5th Register now to reserve your spot in one of the FREE 30-minute Bookshare training sessions throughout the day. There is a…

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Published December 1, 2015

Why We Are #Thankful

The Bookshare community is amazing. It’s over 370,000 people strong with an even larger cast of parents, teachers, and supporters. They live in over seventy countries and read more than a million and a half books every year. They dream big, accomplish great things, and live life to its fullest. The holiday season is a time for thanks, and we at Bookshare are thankful for this community. Let’s meet some of them. Lily loves to read, especially books about horses. She didn’t always like reading though. In fact, Lily disliked it because of her dyslexia. That changed when she started using Bookshare, and…

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Published November 24, 2015

A New Perspective on Literacy for Students with Low Vision

By guest author Allison Hilliker Imagine a reading solution where students with low vision could read for an extended period of time without eye fatigue. A solution where their ability to distinguish among letters was not dependent upon print size, contrast, lighting, color, or font style. Where skimming or rereading a paragraph or page wouldn’t be cause for frustration or eye strain. Where students could easily discern the subtleties of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and paragraph layout. Imagine a reading option in which individuals didn’t have to hold the book close to their face or hunch over a tablet screen in…

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Published July 20, 2015

75 Reasons to Love Bookshare

Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the National Federation of the Blind Earlier this month, members of the Bookshare team traveled to Orlando, Florida, to attend the 2015 Annual Convention of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). Founded in 1940, the Federation is the largest organization of blind and low-vision people in the United States with over fifty-thousand members. Thousands of members and supporters celebrated the NFB’s 75th anniversary and are a living testament to the NFB’s motto: You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back. The Bookshare team was excited to have the…

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Published July 10, 2015

Bookshare a Notable Advantage for People With Visual Impairments, says The New York Times

This post originally appeared in Benetech’s Blog on July 6, 2015 For people who cannot use standard print, the increasing availability of digital books and services such as Benetech’s Bookshare library are a boon that is unlocking the world of reading, says The New York Times. In a story titled “An App to Aid the Visually Impaired,” author Jonah Bromwich highlights Bookshare as a “notable advantage” of an app called Spotlight Text. This reading tool, explains Bromwich in App City, The New York Times’ biweekly column about influential mobile apps, is outfitted with adjustable scrolling text, adjustable font, sharp contrast,…

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Published April 28, 2015

Support Bookshare on May 5!

Bookshare is the thriving community it is today thanks to the enthusiasm and dedication of all of you—members, parents, teachers, mentors, volunteers, partners, and friends! We’re so grateful for your continuous support and can’t wait to bring the gift of reading and educational opportunities to even more people. Please help us bring Bookshare to others who need our services by supporting our Silicon Valley Gives (SVGives) fundraiser on May 5, 2015. For those of you who may not have heard of it, SVGives is a community-wide day of giving hosted by the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. On Tuesday, May 5,…

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Published April 20, 2015

Bookshare Volunteers Rock!

On this Volunteer Recognition Day, we thank our volunteers who make Bookshare the best it can be. Bookshare and Benetech, our parent nonprofit, are so fortunate to have the generous support from volunteers around the world. You are positively impacting people with print disabilities, and we appreciate your life-size contributions! In this blog, let’s catch up on the latest and greatest from the Bookshare volunteer community. Congratulations to Marcus Garner! Did you know that every year through the Mayrie ReNae Scholarship Fund, Bookshare provides a free membership for someone in need? Mayrie is remembered for her volunteer work and valuable…

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Published April 13, 2015

What’s Next for Bookshare Members after College?

Bookshare enriches the lives of people with print disabilities well beyond school into their adult lives. Often members tell us they now enjoy exploring new interests and hobbies and finding resources to help them with their careers. Members stay connected to the world through local and national news. They catch up on the hottest books their friends are reading, and they pursue lifelong learning. Our staff is catching up with college students about how they plan to use Bookshare after school, and today’s blog features Amber Steet, a Bookshare member since the ninth grade. Meet Amber Steet Amber has a…

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Published April 6, 2015

Students on School Accounts Can “Read Now” Using Popular Bookshare Web Reader

Did you know that Bookshare Web Reader, the popular web-based reading tool that was previously available only to Individual Members, is now available for students on school accounts too? Yes! Bookshare Web Reader is so easy to use! All you need is a computer with an Internet connection, and you can find, open, and start reading Bookshare books directly within popular Internet browsers like Google Chrome and Safari. Your reading experience is easier, faster, and efficient! There is no software to install, and you don’t need to worry about downloading and finding book files on your computer or reading device.…

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Published March 23, 2015

Canada Reads with Bookshare!

Calling all Canadians…do you love to read a good story? How about 225,000 amazing stories, all available at your fingertips for FREE? Canadians with qualified print disabilities can easily access all the latest ebooks, like NYPD Red 2 by James Patterson, Oprah’s Book Club titles, like I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb, and CBC Canada Reads books, like When Everything Feels Like the Movies by Raziel Reid. Free ebooks—How Is This Possible? The Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA) partnered with Bookshare, the world’s largest accessible online library for people with print disabilities, to offer a…

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Category: visual impairments