[Missouri-l] Fwd: The Bookshare Bulletin
Chip Hailey
chiphailey at cableone.net
Thu Oct 1 09:52:00 CDT 2009
>Delivered-To: chiphailey at cableone.net
>From: "Bookshare" <Bookshare at mail.vresp.com>
>Reply-To: "Bookshare" <reply-5164f5ce36-598ae6be7f-339d at u.cts.vresp.com>
>To: chiphailey at cableone.net
>Subject: The Bookshare Bulletin
>Date: Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:16:01 +0000
>
>The Bookshare Bulletin: News and events for the Bookshare Commu
>
>Issue 4 :: Fall 2009
>
>The activity at Bookshare this Fall is non-stop
>and we’re busier than ever with new books,
>features and software. We’re excited to announce
>additional publishers and universities as well
>as conferences and webinars. Membership is now
>over 60,000 and we have 57,000 books in our collection.
>
>
>Connect with Bookshare
>
>
>
>Come friend us on
><http://cts.vresp.com/c/?Benetech/5164f5ce36/598ae6be7f/9240482dd3>Facebook,
>or follow us on both standard
><http://cts.vresp.com/c/?Benetech/5164f5ce36/598ae6be7f/fada7a9b7e>Twitter
>and
><http://cts.vresp.com/c/?Benetech/5164f5ce36/598ae6be7f/3ef52f3539/uid=bookshare>Accessible
>Twitter. Also, look for our new Bookshare Blog, launching soon.
>
>
>In This Issue
>
>
>
> * A Fall Update
> * Bookshare Volunteers
> * Professional Development Workshops
> * University Partnerships Growing
> * International Program Expands
> * Readers Voice Contest Extended
> * Upcoming Events
>
>
>Unsubscribe
>
>
>
>The Bookshare Bulletin was sent to you because
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><http://cts.vresp.com/c/?Benetech/5164f5ce36/598ae6be7f/170732c6c1>web site.
>
>If you no longer want to receive The Bookshare
>Bulletin, please click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of this page.
>
>
>
>A Fall Update: New Software for Bookshare
>
>
>
>By Betsy Burgess
>
>Can the Bookshare you already know and love get
>any better? The short answer is yes. We’ve added
>some exciting new capabilities in the last few
>months and have more planned. There’s something for everyone.
>
>
>Textbook Search Improved
>
>
>
>Are you a K-12 educator looking for NIMAC
>(National Instructional Materials Access Center)
>textbooks? You probably remember how hard it was
>to just figure out how to find out which textbooks were available.
>
>Now, it’s much easier; you just go to Bookshare.
>Any Bookshare member authorized to download
>NIMAC books can now use our new “one-step”
>search that allows you to simultaneously search
>through Bookshare and the NIMAC. If the book is
>in the NIMAC, you’ll get a “Request Book” button
>or guidance on how to get the book depending
>on which state you’re from. One-step search
>should get textbooks to students much more
>quickly: in under a week in some cases or no more than two weeks.
>
>
>Digital Images
>
>
>
>Many Bookshare Members told us that digital
>images topped their wish lists. Well, wish no
>longer. Digital images are here. All NIMAC
>textbooks are available for download as a DAISY
>(Digital Accessible Information System) file
>with or without images: your choice. We’ll
>also start including image descriptions in other books.
>
>Don Johnston's Read:OutLoud and Dolphin Easy
>Reader text to speech software already display
>the images but do not include descriptions. If
>you want to know how the assistive technology
>you use will support images, please contact your
>vendor. Have faith assistive technology is
>increasingly incorporating digital images.
>
>
>More Powerful Search
>
>
>
>Have you ever wished you could search Bookshare
>for all references to a certain topic? Maybe
>you’ve been baffled about the source of a famous
>quotation. This fall, Bookshare is launching full-text search.
>
>When students need to conduct research for a
>school report, they can now search all books in our collection simultaneously.
>
>A search for “William Shakespeare,” for
>instance, will return all books with William
>Shakespeare in the title or in the text of the
>book as well as Shakespeare’s works. Watch for
>the Bookshare Blog to learn how to use full text
>search and for more information. Note that you
>still will be able to search by author, title, or ISBN.
>
>
>Software for Bookshare
>
>
>
>Don Johnston has introduced a Macintosh version
>of its Read: OutLoud Bookshare edition software.
>The program is specifically designed for people with learning disabilities.
>
>Humanware has upgraded VictorReader Soft
>Bookshare edition to version 2.6. We’re
>encouraging everyone who uses this software to download the latest version.
>
>For more information on software tools, go to
><http://cts.vresp.com/c/?Benetech/5164f5ce36/598ae6be7f/fd1ab773e5>www.bookshare.org/readingTools
>
>
>- Back to Top -
>
>
>Bookshare Volunteers
>
>
>
>By Pavi Mehta
>
>If you thought volunteering at Bookshare only
>meant scanning and proofing books, you haven’t
>met our summer volunteers. Of course, our crew
>of nearly 30 in-person volunteers did some
>scanning and proofing, joining the ranks of some
>1,700 virtual volunteers. But this summer, those
>visiting our cozy Palo Alto, California offices,
>also helped us market, develop our business and
>engineer our services. You name it they did it.
>
>Volunteers have now scanned and proofed more than 23,500 books.
>
>Here are three snapshot profiles of individuals
>who lent us their time and skills over the summer.
>Satej Soman
>
>
>Satej Soman
>
>Satej Soman will be a high school senior this
>fall. His previous experience proofreading
>scanned books for the National Institute for the
>Blind in Mumbai, India, led him to Bookshare. He
>pretty much hit the ground running, assisting us
>with processing books submitted by our
>outsourcers and helping with inventory checks.
>
>When Satej is not volunteering, he is listening
>to music, biking or reading. He plans to volunteer with us again next summer.
>Vonn Xavier
>
>
>Vonn Xavier
>
>Vonn Xavier, a Stanford University
>communications student, spent her summer helping
>us process vendor submissions and working on a
>draft of a manual for vendors assisting with
>Bookshare’s collection development. When Vonn is
>not volunteering with Bookshare she’s finishing
>up her senior year at Stanford. Her impetus for
>volunteering? “I believe in Benetech’s mission
>to serve humanity with technology,” she says. “And, I love books.”
>Kartik Gopal
>
>
>Kartik Gopal
>
>Kartik Gopal just graduated with a master’s
>degree in management from Stanford and is
>currently involved in a start-up venture of his
>own that seeks to put technology to meaningful
>use for people with visual disabilities. Kartik
>is working with Bookshare on a launch plan for
>Route 66 an exciting Internet-based initiative
>that will provide reading and writing
>instruction to adolescent and adult beginning
>readers with developmental delays. With his 13
>years of semiconductor engineering and
>management experience across India, Germany,
>Singapore - as well as his skills as an amateur
>bike racer, a marathoner and a mountaineer
>Kartik brings a unique blend of skills with him.
>
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>
>
>Professional Development Workshops
>
>
>
>By Terri Icasiano
>
>Educators: you told us in our recent survey that
>you want professional development to help you
>understand how to use Bookshare and assistive
>technology. When asked about your plans for
>spending stimulus funds, you told us that you
>want to know how to improve education for
>students with print disabilities. You also told
>us you’d be interested in professional
>development from a non-profit such as Bookshare.
>
>In response, we are developing professional
>workshops that qualify to be funded under the
>stimulus bill, the American Recovery and
>Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Here is information about our first two workshops.
>
>
>Aligning Assistive Reading Tools to Student Needs
>
>
>
>This course is designed to review a broad range
>of assistive technology software and devices
>available for students with print disabilities.
>The goal is to identify the appropriate
>technology to meet the unique needs of each student.
>
>Through an interactive curriculum, course
>participants will learn how to use software and
>devices from a variety of vendors. They will
>then be able to use their knowledge to make
>educated decisions about matching the right
>devices and software to individual students. In
>addition, every participant will leave with
>action plans they can take back to the classroom
>to ensure lasting results after the workshop is over.
>
>
>Bookshare in Depth
>
>
>
>In this workshop, participants will learn how to
>use Bookshare with their students.
>
>This course is designed to cover all levels of
>use. Through labs and exercises, participants
>will learn how to create and manage class
>rosters as well as how to search, request, and
>download books. In addition, every participant
>will leave with lesson plans they can take back
>to the classroom to ensure lasting results after the workshop is over.
>
>Bookshare’s support extends beyond the workshop.
>We include online follow-up coaching after each
>course. Coaching will focus on each
>participant’s progress and his or her implementation of action plans.
>
>Watch
><http://cts.vresp.com/c/?Benetech/5164f5ce36/598ae6be7f/0e5f0cb87d>www.bookshare.org
>for more information. Remember these workshops qualify for ARRA funds.
>
>- Back to Top -
>
>
>University Partnerships Growing
>
>
>
>By Cherie Miller
>
>When a student at Michigan State University
>needs a book transformed from pulp into a
>flexible electronic format, the staff at the
>Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities jumps into action.
>Tom Hwang
>
>
>Tom Hwang
>
>They search the Internet including Bookshare
>to see if the book already exists or if they
>need to process it themselves, says Tom Hwang,
>specialist with the Resource Center.
>
>Normally turning a book into an accessible
>electronic form involves cutting the spine off a
>book, scanning it and then making sure that the
>scan is correct. That’s something that can only
>be done by humans. The process can take an hour
>for a super clean, very simple book.
>
>Complex books, on the other hand, take much
>longer. A scientific textbook can take up to 200
>hours to produce with descriptions of all of the tables, charts and graphs.
>
>So it’s a big time saver when Bookshare already has a book in its collection.
>
>Bookshare is “a treasure,” Hwang says. “I feel
>it’s quite a blessing for students to have the Bookshare resources available.”
>
>Until recently, the process of sharing went one
>way. University students with qualifying
>disabilities have always had access to
>Bookshare’s 57,000-plus book collection. Now,
>books are flowing two ways, thanks to
>Bookshare’s growing university partnership program.
>
>When a university partners with Bookshare, it
>shares its accessible materials with Bookshare,
>as appropriate under the terms of U.S. copyright
>law. The partnership helps other universities.
>If one university scans and contributes a book,
>other universities don’t have to duplicate the
>effort. However, the real beneficiaries of the
>university partnerships are the students who
>have access to a much larger collection of books
>that they can use in their classes.
>
>Currently, Bookshare has 14 university partners
>with more universities expressing interest in
>the program all the time. These partners are
>Alliant University, Indiana University, Arizona
>State University, Hadley School for the Blind,
>De Anza Community College, Michigan State
>University, George Mason University, Landmark
>College, Monterey Peninsula Community College,
>Texas A&M, University of California, Berkeley ,
>University of Idaho, the University of Montana
>and Ohio State University, which boasts the
>largest population of students with disabilities.
>
>Sarah Terry, auxiliary services administrator
>for the Office for Disability Services at Ohio
>State University, says Bookshare and programs like it represent the future.
>
>“I have no reason to believe that Bookshare will
>not become an extremely viable component to
>students having accessible materials, whether
>they are textbooks or supplemental course
>materials in the future,” Terry says. “They
>won’t be the only player in the field but
>they’ll probably be one of the biggest ones supporting students.”
>
>- Back to Top -
>
>
>International Program Expands
>
>
>
>By Viji Dilip
>
>Before Bookshare came to India, Balasubramanian
>Kannan would painstakingly chop and scan his own books 20 pages at a time.
>Balasubramanian Kannan
>
>
>Balasubramanian Kannan
>
>“It took 15 to 20 days to complete a book,” says
>Kannan, a stenographer from Chennai, India.
>
>In October 2008, not quite a year ago, Bookshare
>came to India and now Kannan. Who is blind, can
>often find the books he is seeking already
>transformed in to an accessible formats. He is
>full of gratitude especially because Bookshare
>is giving him access to computer programming
>books, which he needs to make a career change.
>
>“We appreciate your efforts to bring popular
>books,” says Kannan. He adds a humble request:
>He wants “more and more books in the Indian section.”
>
>In fact, this is exactly what Bookshare is
>trying to do. Not only is Bookshare now in
>India, but it is making inroads to other
>countries as well, including Kenya and Nigeria.
>Unfortunately, bringing books to countries
>outside of the United States can sometimes be a complicated process.
>
>In the United States, an exemption in the
>copyright law allows authorized entities to
>reproduce or distribute electronic copies of
>published books for use by people with
>qualifying disabilities such as blindness. There
>is no such law in India. In fact, in India, you
>cannot just take a book, chop it and scan it and
>put it online. Instead, you have to talk to
>every single publisher and author to get
>permission. The process is slow, but working.
>
>Bookshare is growing every day. We now work with
>many big publishing houses and an equal number
>of small publishers. About 70% of our current
>Members in India are visually impaired and the
>remainder have physical and learning disabilities.
>
>In addition, Bookshare recently partnered with
>the DAISY Forum of India to reach out to even
>more Members. Anyone who has a membership in
>Bookshare’s India program also automatically
>becomes a member of The DAISY Forum of India.
>Member organizations of the DAISY Forum of India
>produce and maintain libraries of digital
>talking books, Braille books or ebooks.
>Bookshare Members will automatically have access to their collection.
>
>We’ve had some major wins. Recently, one of the
>biggest publishers of Indian literature, Sahitya
>Akademy, gave us permission to reproduce all of
>their books. In addition, we have books from
>Oxford University Press, Orient Blackswan,
>Seasons Publishing, Westland Publishing, Sheth
>Publications, Zubaan books, Leadstart
>Publishing, Book Box and Pratham. We have more
>than 300 books published in India that have been
>added to our global collections.
>
>- Back to Top -
>
>
>Readers Voice Contest Extended
>
>
>
>By Mario Oliveros
>
>Calling all Kindergarten through grade 12
>readers! The Bookshare Reader’s Voice Contest
>has been extended. You now have until Halloween,
>Saturday, October 31, to enter.
>
>Don’t be afraid. This is not a Halloween trick
>and you could get a huge treat. The prizes are a
>choice of the Victor Reader Stream or a
>ClassMate Reader, both portable, digital audio
>book player, from HumanWare. You just have to be
>a Bookshare member in elementary through high school.
>
>To participate, download books and write short
>reviews (about 100 words), telling us why you
>liked (or didn’t like) the book, discussing your
>favorite character and letting us know if you’d
>recommend the book. We know you’ve been doing
>some summer reading. So now is your chance to have it pay off.
>
>Winners will include those who read the most
>books and write the most reviews.
>
>All Bookshare Members, from kindergartners to
>high school seniors, are eligible. Please help
>us spread the word. If you have not registered,
>sign up! If you know a U.S. student in grades
>K-12 who is a Bookshare member and loves to
>read, let them know about the Reader’s Voice
>Contest.
><http://cts.vresp.com/c/?Benetech/5164f5ce36/598ae6be7f/a528e19dc6>Learn more.
>
>- Back to Top -
>
>
>Upcoming Events
>
>
>
>By Inga Zukin
>
>
>Webinars
>
>
>
> * Bookshare Reading Series: How to read on Macs with Read:OutLoud
> * Wednesday, September 30, 2009 - 12:00 PM PT
> *
> <http://cts.vresp.com/c/?Benetech/5164f5ce36/598ae6be7f/43ce1e8c9b/udc=5omomg8kbj34>Register
> here
> * Bookshare and the University Student - What's New for Fall?
> * Thursday, October 8, 2009 - 1:00 PM PT
> *
> <http://cts.vresp.com/c/?Benetech/5164f5ce36/598ae6be7f/47c03eb26a/udc=rgo6mn7si4n8>Register
> here
>
>To see archived Webinars, go to:
><http://cts.vresp.com/c/?Benetech/5164f5ce36/598ae6be7f/ed752820f1>www.bookshare.org/about/training#Pre-recorded_Webinars
>
>
>
>Conferences and Events
>
>
>
> * October 7-9, 2009
> * Bismarck, ND - Title I/Special Education Fall Conference
> * October 15-17, 2009
> * Bloomington, MN - Closing the Gap
> * Oct 17-20, 2009
> * Salt Lake, UT - The National Association
> of State Directors of Special Education
> * Oct 18-20, 2009
> * Alberta, Canada - Canadian Vision Teachers’ Conference
> * Oct 18-21, 2009
> * San Diego, CA - California Association for
> Postsecondary Education and Disability
> * Oct 23-24, 2009
> * Niagara Falls, NY - 2009 New York State.
> Council for Exceptional Children annual convention
> * Oct 28-31, 2009
> * Schaumburg, IL - Assistive Technology
> Industry Association, conference, Chicago
> * Oct 28 - Nov. 1, 2009
> * Portland, OR - Council of Great City Schools annual fall conference
> * Oct 30-31, 2009
> * Harrisburg, PA - Pennsylvania Learning
> Disabilities Association of America
>
>- Back to Top -
>Copyright © 2009 Benetech®.
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