dyslexia Archives - Page 8 of 10

Published May 15, 2012

New Jersey Task Force Researches Services to Students with Reading Disabilities

We recently learned about the work of the New Jersey Reading Disabilities Task Force from Kathy Stratton, the mother of a Bookshare member. Appointed by the governor, this 11-member task force is researching the services available to students who struggle with reading to find out if the state is meeting the needs of its students with reading disabilities. On April 30, the Task Force held a public hearing to gather testimony; over 130 attended and 60 spoke. In Kathy’s words, “The theme was clear and consistent – schools are not meeting the needs of students who struggle with reading. Parent after…

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Published April 20, 2012

Words of Wisdom on Transition from a College Freshman

How does a very talented, bright, highly motivated young woman with severe dyslexia succeed in college? How is she getting almost a 4.0 GPA, top grades in all her classes, without her mom sitting beside her, patiently reading every word in every book as she did for twelve years? All incoming freshman experience some college jitters, but this driven young woman, Elizabeth, was justifiably concerned about succeeding in classes with hundreds of others students who didn’t have dyslexia. Her story about her transition should inspire many high school seniors in similar situations: “When I applied to college, I asked for…

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Published April 16, 2012

Can We Give Too Much?

A guest post from Lucy Greco, a blind advocate for accessible technology. An Assistive Technology Specialist at UC Berkeley, San Francisco Bay Area, Greco is the user of various assistive technologies since the early 1980s. She is passionate about the ways technology makes the world more accessible to everyone but especially to individuals with disabilities. “For students with disabilities in college and universities, where do we draw the line between providing them support services and teaching them to be independent,” asks Lucy Greco. I graduated from California State University Hayward in 1997. The ADA was only six years old and…

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Published April 9, 2012

Assistive Technology Spotlight – Texthelp Apps

We are happy to feature innovative new assistive technologies in this blog. Today, we want to tell you about a Web App from Texthelp, eBook Reader, that reads Bookshare books in the Cloud. eBook Reader is one of a new suite of Web Apps that work within browsers on iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone, and other mobile devices as well as PCs and Macs. A short video shows how the eBook Reader works. Current Apps include: Read&Write Web, eBook Reader for Bookshare® eBooks, Speech, and Dictionary. Students in schools and colleges who use Read&Write GOLD can use these Apps at school…

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Published April 2, 2012

U.S. Senator Congratulates Bookshare on 10th Anniversary! Digital eBook Access Breaks Down Reading Barriers for U.S. Students with Qualified Print Disabilities

On March 8, 2012, ninety guests gathered at the U.S. Capitol to hear Senator Tom Harkin (IA- D), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Appropriations Committee, recognize the good work of the staff and volunteers of Bookshare on its 10th anniversary. The Iowa Senator and Julie Freed, an assistive technology teacher and constituent of the Senator’s home state, thanked Bookshare for breaking down barriers to reading access for individuals with print disabilities. In his speech, Senator Harkin first acknowledged the leadership of Jim Fruchterman, Benetech’s CEO and the founder of Bookshare along with Betsy Beaumon, V.P. and General…

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Published March 15, 2012

A Teen with Dyslexia Describes Benefits of Reading with Technology

A guest post by Brian Meersma, a student member of the Bookshare Advisory Board I am a high school sophomore with dyslexia. I was diagnosed at a young age, but was always eager to learn new things. Because I had trouble reading, my parents and grandparents would read to me for hours. I loved listening to all the great books they read to me and I knew there was no way I was able to read those books on my own. What I realized was that I had great listening skills. I got so much more out of books when…

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Published December 2, 2011

Boy Scout Manuals on Bookshare!

Credit for this post goes to Bryan Wendell, with the Boy Scouts of America. Here’s the original. For some boys, reading doesn’t come easy. And that makes the Boy Scouts of America a challenging place. The Boy Scout Handbook. Merit Badge pamphlets. BSA training manuals. Daunting prospects for boys with print disabilities. Fortunately, the BSA has some great resources for those Scouts. Starting with Bookshare. This summer, the BSA signed a memorandum of understanding that cements a partnership aimed at improving the Scouting experience for boys and girls with print disabilities. Bookshare’s cool online library (bookshare.org) allows Scouts in your…

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Published May 11, 2011

Win an iPad 2 in the “Bookshare Everywhere” Summer Contest!

Tell us all the ways Bookshare made your summer fun! One of the best things about Bookshare is that you can take it anywhere you want. Whether you go on vacation, hang out at a local park, or curl up on a comfy chair at home, you can enjoy Bookshare books wherever you want. This summer, don’t just have fun reading with Bookshare, enter the summer contest and you might win some totally awesome prizes, like an Apple iPad 2! Who can play: Contestants must be U.S. Individual Members of Bookshare in grades K-12 and college. Don’t have an individual…

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Published May 11, 2011

Find Hidden Savings in Textbook Purchases

When a state or district has or had money to buy new textbooks, textbook selection committees comprised of curriculum specialists, teachers, administrators and others review the available options and select the books that best fit the curriculum. The complex process takes many months, and may include previews of the choices in districts around a state, before the best new textbook is chosen. The process lumps the learning styles of 90% to 98% of the students into one learning style, although every classroom teacher knows that all students learn differently. The needs of between 2% and 10% or more of the…

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Published March 22, 2011

It’s about COMMUNITY

Community is very important at Bookshare. Student members, parents, teachers, and advocates all contribute to a vibrant Bookshare community that continually strives to support our children. This blog post focuses on the many ways students and families can participate in the Bookshare community. Bookshare in the community Although Bookshare is a small California nonprofit, we do all that we can to get out and meet families around the U.S. Often, we do this by attending and providing trainings at conferences and events. Last month, we attended two notable conference events for families. The PEAK Parent Conference on Inclusive Education…

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Category: dyslexia