Experts in dyslexia have for many years focused on teaching children to read in the conventional way. But there are hidden costs that impact many children who have a hard time in a mainstream classroom: shame and bullying. I’m dyslexic. When I was a kid, my mom read aloud to me. When I went away to college, I used to fax my term papers home to her in New Hampshire and have her read them to me over the phone so I could find my own spelling mistakes. I went on to become the Director of Access Technology at Intel…
2 CommentsCategory: Higher ed
Back-to-School Books for Schools and Universities
Throughout August, we’re encouraging students to get ready for the new school year. You can start this now and get on the right foot by reading this blog and following the steps below. In our last blog post, you read how to make sure your school or home accounts are up-to-date. Today, let’s make sure you’ve got your books! Get the books you need! Start by getting your required book list from your school or DSS office, then follow these steps to success: Go to www.bookshare.org and log in. Use the search feature located at the top of every page…
Leave a CommentPhoto Journal: U.S. Official Visits Benetech and High School/College Transition Program Using Bookshare
Michael Yudin, the Acting Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, visited our Benetech headquarters recently. He was on his way to observe a dual-enrollment transition program at Mission Middle College in Santa Clara. This unique collaboration of Santa Clara Unified School District and Mission Middle College offers new opportunities for high school seniors who were not performing well academically to complete high school graduation courses and accumulate college credits. At the technology demonstration, students, parents, and educators shared experiences with Mr. Yudin and Betsy Beaumon, our General Manager and VP. Bookshare student members demonstrated…
Leave a CommentBookshare Webinars in April and May
During the next couple of months, we have several webinars to help you get your students prepared for summer reading, their transitions, and your fall planning. Register for the webinars that are of interest to you, and note that there are dates in April and May for each webinar. If you can’t attend, but are interested in the content, please go ahead and register anyway. You will be sent a link to the recording after the webinar. Google Education on AIR – Tips for Using Bookshare’s Web Reader with Chrome (a 45-minute hangout) Date: Weds, May 8, 2013 Time: 4:00…
Leave a CommentBYU Peery Entrepreneurship Program and Bookshare Partnership
Bookshare has developed innovative technology to make textbooks more accessible to blind and visually impaired students. Before now, blind and visually impaired students missed out on thousands of images in their textbooks. Imagine studying science without being able to see the charts, graphs or diagrams in your textbook! Using a simple on-line tool we call Poet, our volunteers write vital descriptions for textbook images. On March 4, Brigham Young University students sponsored a competition among campus-based church groups to write image descriptions in textbooks for Bookshare members. Dozens of students participated in the two-hour challenge, writing over 600 descriptions…
1 Comment10 Tips for Creating Accessible EPUB 3 Files
The goal of the DIAGRAM Center at Benetech is to impact how image and graphic content for accessible instructional materials (AIM) is produced and accessed throughout the country. The DIAGRAM Center, WGBH National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM), and the U.S. Fund for DAISY are collaborating to identify challenges within the technologies, standards and production practices used to produce and display accessible images and graphic content within AIM, and develop technologies, tools, recommended practices and training materials that address them. In support of this goal, the DIAGRAM Center has produced this document with 10 tips for creating accessible EPUB 3…
1 Comment