accessible books Archives - Page 25 of 26

Published October 7, 2010

Free MP3 Players Help Students with Print Disabilities

Corporate philanthropy greatly aids students with print disabilities in need of technology to read books and study! The post about Collaborative Philanthropy in August described a summer initiative to find donations of “low tech,” such as MP3s and thumb drives, to give tech-needy students alternate ways to read books. Well, we now extend our sincere thanks to SanDisk Corporation for hearing the need and responding. SanDisk generously donated 100 MP3 players and 250 thumb drives to Bookshare for students without access to technology outside of school to use to read. How would you use these low-tech devices? At school, teachers…

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Published October 5, 2010

Nichole Maples Wants People with Disabilities to Share her Joy of Reading

In rural Tupelo Mississippi, there’s a teenager who cannot speak or hold a book, yet is so passionate about encouraging people to read, she visits her local library to make sure reading happens for people like her. Nichole Maples, now 17, has severe Athetoid Cerebral Palsy, a disability caused by damage to the cerebellum or basal ganglia, an area of the brain that coordinates body movements. Nichole has little control of anything except her eyes, but she loves to read with the help of her computer and can listen to stories read aloud. For this bright young gal, reading has…

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Published October 1, 2010

What We’re Reading {October 1 2010}

In celebration of Banned Books Week, I have focused this week’s “What We’re Reading” on, no surprise, banned books. The first known record of banned books is The Index of Prohibited Books, developed by Pope Paul IV, intended to protect Catholics from controversial ideas. Since that time many lists have been developed around the world as various groups have tried to censor authors and prevent the publication of works the groups objected to. The good news, for us, is that many authors have found ways around censorship by publishing their books in other countries. One of the most well-known authors, who published…

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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…

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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.…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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.

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Category: accessible books