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Category: Conferences and events

Benetech Secures U.S. Department of Education Award to Expand Access to Bookshare for Students with Disabilities

Benetech extends reach to make education more inclusive Benetech, the parent company of Bookshare, is pleased to announce that it has received a five-year award from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, to expand and improve access to books for students who read differently due to blindness, low vision, a physical disability, or dyslexia. Bookshare, the largest online library of accessible books, will remain free for all U.S. school districts, schools, educators, and their qualified students. “Access to knowledge through reading is a basic human right and a critical step on the path to economic, educational,…

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Bookshare Takes the Show on the Road

Come meet the Bookshare team at four exciting conferences this summer Members of the Bookshare team are packing their bags for Houston, Chicago, Sparks, and Orlando this summer to attend four conferences sponsored by: Texas Assistive Technology Network (TATN), American Library Association (ALA), American Council of the Blind (ACB), and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). We hope to see you at one or more of these events where you can learn about: Bookshare’s huge collection of over 550,000 titles in accessible formats for school, work, and recreational reading Reading tools like Capti Narrator and Voice Dream Reader Better…

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Benetech Showcases Leading Edge Literacy Initiatives at 32nd Annual CSUN Conference

See what’s new with Bookshare, DIAGRAM and Born Accessible Assistive technology — whether it’s a mobile app or a modified wheelchair — can transform the lives of people with disabilities. The latest in the field of assistive technology will be the focus of the world’s largest gathering of people who develop or use assistive technology, taking place at the 32nd Annual CSUN Assistive Technology Conference from February 27-March 3 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego. The “CSUN Conference,” as it is known in the industry, is organized by California State University, Northridge’s Center on Disabilities. It provides a unique…

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Learn How to Read Easier with Bookshare at the 2017 ATIA Conference

Are you going to the 2017 ATIA Conference in Orlando (January 18-21)? The 2017 ATIA Conference is where the assistive technology community meets to network, learn and share, and Benetech is excited to be in on the action. We invite you to visit us in the Benetech/Bookshare booth (#419) and attend our presentations. Come see how to get easy access to over 500,000 ebooks in alternative formats for students who cannot read or process printed text. Here’s a preview of what you will learn: New Bookshare Features We’ve made Bookshare faster and easier with new features like Assign & Read,…

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Bookshare Members Now Have Access to Over 500,000 Ebooks

Benetech accelerates toward a future in which all digital content is Born Accessible By Brad Turner, VP Global Literacy, Benetech On November 29, 2016, Bookshare hit a momentous milestone when it passed the mark of 500,000 titles in its collection. That means that people unable to read standard print now have access to 500,000 ebooks in various formats to suit their individual needs. It wasn’t that long ago that the blind community had to rely on braille, a limited number of human-narrated books, or having someone read to them if they wanted to enjoy a book. Even just 15 years…

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Bookshare Funding Support – Moving Forward

How you can help us extend Bookshare federal funding By Jim Fruchterman, Founder and CEO, Benetech As you may have heard or seen, the federal government funding from the Department of Education that includes Bookshare is in danger. Benetech and the entire Bookshare community have been hard at work resolving this issue in a variety of ways, from field visits to congressional offices in key districts and states to a letter-writing campaign to representatives and senators. Thousands of students, parents, teachers, and supporters around the country have contacted their representatives letting them know how critical Bookshare is to students with…

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Benetech Summer Interns Dive Deep into Bookshare

By guest author Mercedes Mack, Bookshare Operations Associate Benetech’s Summer Internship Program is now in its fourth year, and with maturity comes evolution. This year we had a mix of high school and college students who worked on Bookshare-related projects with specific focus in two areas: data analysis and member experience. Our interns – Justin Yu, Cathy Vu, Josephine Kong, Abhinav Arya, and Reece Jones – did amazing work for our Bookshare team and were such a delight to work with this summer. Intern Projects Justin Yu, an incoming freshman to Santa Clara University, conducted data analysis of our books…

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