This month, Read2Go, the popular accessible eBook reader for the Apple iOS, turns one year old. Happy birthday Read2Go! To celebrate, we are running a Read2Go Giveaway on Twitter and sharing our reflections over the past year.
And what a year it has been. Since the launch of Read2Go in July of 2011, over 16,000 apps have been installed in 33 countries around the world!
When we originally developed Read2Go with partner Shinano Kenshi Co., Ltd, the developer of the PLEXTALK brand of products, we knew we were building an innovative app that could help many people with print disabilities to read.
It was designed to be easy to use and to provide a great reading experience. Users can easily find and download Bookshare books in seconds, all from within the app. There is no need to worry about finding where the files are downloaded or unzipping them. After a quick download, readers simply tap “Play” and begin reading with customizable voices, reading speed, font size, color, and an option to read with refreshable braille displays linked via Bluetooth.
What we may not have anticipated is the tremendous response we have gotten for Read2Go. It was inducted into the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame. It has a 4+ rating in the Apple App Store and is a featured app in the Special Education Section. And our users have provided valuable feedback on how we can make Read2Go better and shared amazing stories. Here’s what some have said:
“My son has dyslexia and has a difficult time keeping up on his required independent reading. He loves this format. He follows along in the book while Bookshare reads aloud to him. He is gaining a great deal of confidence and improving his reading at the same time.” – Parent
“My teachers and students love this app! Its ease of use, customizable features, and strong support have made it possible to increase the reading lexiles in my district, pretty much universally.” – Educator
“This app is amazing! I am a special education teacher and am new to Bookshare. I have been able to download books through Bookshare for my students with print disabilities onto the computer, CDs, and a SanDisk MP3 player. None of those can compare to the ease of use of Read2Go for the iPad.” – Educator
“I am 56 and embrace a lifetime of learning. I have not encountered any other accessible source that gives me access to a broad range of textbooks and professional educational reading. With this software, I have opportunities that I have not had for years. “ – Adult
Do you have a Read2Go story to tell? Review it on the Apple App Store (tutorial on reviewing) and share Read2Go with others today. Happy birthday Read2Go!
Read2Go has complemented and accelerated my reading of the printed word life which started when I became a Bookshare member in 2007.
Thank you to the Bookshare team and to all the developers, my life has truly been changed. Since 2007 I have read at least close to 100 books. Recently I went to a conference and one of the speakers mentioned Ron Chernow’s biography on John D. Rockefeller titled Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr., I looked it up in Bookshare’s library on Read2Go and have been reading it since. What a blessing, waves of joy now flow over me to be able to read a suggested book.Where in the past it was waves of failure which would wash over me, because my internal voice would say “you’ll never read that book, because you have dyslexia.”
Once I was blind to the printed word, but today I can read.
Davis Graham, mygiftofdyslexia.blogspot.com