[bksvol-discuss] Fw: BlindNews: Bookshare.org offers 17,000 royalty-free texts

From: "Louise" <lougou@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksVol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 13 May 2004 17:50:38 -0500

> eSchool News - MD,USA
> Friday, May 07, 2004
>
> Bookshare.org offers 17,000 royalty-free texts
>
> By Corey Murray, Assistant Editor
>
> For special-education teachers, providing required reading for blind and
learning-disabled students is a significant challenge. Now, thanks to the
aid of Bookshare.org, a non-profit digital book service based in Palo Alto,
Calif., educators have access to a library of thousands of titles they can
download and reproduce for use on screen readers or as MP3 files.
>
> Bookshare is made possible by a narrow exception to U.S. copyright law,
which enables students with certain physical and learning disabilities to
obtain copyrighted materials without paying royalty fees. The program
currently offers access to more than 17,000 titles, running the gamut from
chart-topping best sellers and legal thrillers to classic Hemingway novels
and sixth-grade biology textbooks, says Alison Lingane, senior product
manager for Bookshare.
>
> Across the country, special-education teachers are turning to
Bookshare.org to help provide the visually impaired with volumes of
textbooks and literary works they otherwise might not have access to.
>
> Advocates of the technology say the paperless books make in-class reading
assignments easier for these students, many of whom get left behind while
educators labor to scan printed text into cumbersome Braille embossers and
other assistive-learning devices, such as screen readers and MP3 players.
>
> JoEllen Waddell, program support teacher for Cooperative Education Service
Agency 5, one of 12 such organizations across the state of Wisconsin
responsible for helping educators implement special-education plans and
other services, said at least 20 students enrolled in the three schools she
oversees currently have access to Bookshare.
>
> Waddell, who holds a master's degree in English, said she is often
befuddled by the complex nature and design of most assistive-technology
solutions. "You need a Ph.D. to figure some of this stuff out," she said.
But that's not the case with the web-based interface that accompanies
Bookshare, she added.
>
> "Bookshare is so easy to access," Waddell said. "It's simple for teachers
to use."
>
> And simplicity is key for special-education teachers, who often are
responsible for several students with very different learning needs, she
said. They have neither the time nor the patience to sift through complex
manuals to figure out how to operate the latest technologies.
>
> "Before we make assistive technology available to students, we have to
have the materials they need on eText," she said. "Schools don't have the
time or the personnel to do that; scanning and editing text is so
labor-intensive."
>
> Price is another factor. With a Bookshare subscription, Waddell claims
schools can purchase full-text novels and required reading material for as
little as $6 per text.
>
> "Getting a book for $6 on eText is a steal," she said. "It is a fraction
of the cost [of other alternatives]--I couldn't begin to hire an aide to do
that work."
>
> The site's collection consists of books scanned by educators and other
individuals using scanning and optical character-recognition technology, as
well as books contributed directly by publishers and authors in original
digital format.
>
> Unlike paper-based books, Lingane said, the digital texts enable
special-education teachers to customize each title to the exact, and often
wide-ranging, circumstances of special-needs learners. "It really optimizes
access to the book for different needs," she said.
>
> For instance, a blind student could download one of Bookshare's titles and
then upload the entire text of the novel to his or her Braille reader. The
student also could listen to the book by transferring the document to some
form of text-to-speech software or MP3 player.
>
> When opened in a screen reader, visually impaired and learning-disabled
students--who often require documents in large print--can view the books
with the aid of a special magnifying device.
>
> The idea, Lingane said, is to "enable students to learn within their
means."
>
> For students to gain access to the digital library, schools must provide
certified proof of students' physical or learning disabilities. Bookshare
provides forms to participating institutions that can be signed and returned
by qualified special-education teachers or program directors.
>
> Bookshare recently began offering institutional access to participating
schools, through which educators can download between 30 and 100 different
titles for special-needs students per year. Teachers are not allowed to
download a single book and share it among several students. Rather, the
agreement specifies that teachers download one book as needed for each
individual learner.
>
> Packages start at $300 a year for 30 downloads and range to $600 a year
for 100 titles over a 12-month period.
>
> Schools and students also can purchase individual access to the library,
in which students receive a password and user name and can gain access from
home.
>
> Waddell said she prefers the institutional approach, because it enables
educators to download necessary books on their own time and ensures that
they are available to help students upload the files into their text reader,
MP3 player, or other reading device.
>
> In March, Bookshare announced a partnership with Indiana University (IU),
one of the nation's leading alternative-text production facilities for
students with disabilities, in which Bookshare will provide university
students with qualifying disabilities full access to its entire online
library.
>
> In turn, IU has agreed to provide Bookshare with more than 1,800 textbooks
the school has scanned for its students.
>
> "We've spent several years developing a book-scanning operation that can
effectively meet the alternative-text needs of our students with
disabilities," said Margaret Londergan, manager of the Adaptive Technology
Center at IU, "and we understand the effort and resources required to do so.
As more institutions join us in partnering with Bookshare.org, the impact of
our collective scanning efforts on educational opportunities for disabled
students will only increase."
>
> Bookshare currently features volumes contributed by 20 major university
libraries.
>
> Links:
>
> Bookshare.org http://www.bookshare.org
>
> Indiana University http://www.indiana.edu
>
> Publications eSchool News, the nation's single best source for school
technology news and information.
>
>
>
[bksvol-discuss] Fw: BlindNews: Bookshare.org offers 17,000 royalty-free texts

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