Assistive Technology

Recently Bookshare's downloadable library of accessible ebooks reached 200,000 titles. The 200,000 mark comes just months after the 11th anniversary of the service. Bookshare books contain digital text and can be read with text-to-speech and synchronized highlighting. Text-to-speech paired with synchronized highlighting can help dyslexics with comprehension. Members can also read books on a refreshable braille display. As a result of funding from the United States Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs ( OSEP ) Bookshare is able to provide its services free to qualified U.S. students. For information on membership click here.  Members are provided with software to read Bookshare books on their Mac or PC but  Bookshare books can also be read on many other devices including iOS devices using the   Read2Go or Voice Dream Reader app. An Android app called Go Read is also available.

As 2012 comes to a close I decided to make a run down of my favorite assistive technology apps and products that I have been using this year. This list is in no particular order. Click read more view the list. Sky WiFi Smartpen from Livescribe The Sky WiFi Smartpen is easy to use and seamless. It has a built in recorder and camera that, when used with specialized paper, syncs audio and written notes in the cloud. To read the Sky WiFi Smartpen review click here. iPad mini iPad mini is a great tablet because of its size, app selection, and accessibility. The lower price point makes it even more compelling. Most of all iPad mini runs all the apps that the full size iPad does and has accessibility features second to none. Click here to read more about the iPad mini. iOS 6 While iOS 6 many have been short on mainstream features it has several useful accessibility features including Guided Access , highlighting with Speak Selection, Siri improvements, and VoiceOver improvements. Click...

Did you get the iPhone 5 today? Below is a list of apps to make the most out of your new iPhone 5. Read2Go (Bookshare) - $19.99 Read2Go  is the best way to access  Bookshare.org  books on your  iOS  device. Bookshare  provides free accessible eBooks for people with print disabilities. Click here to learn more about  Bookshare . Once you download the app you can download over 150,000 books directly to your device. The best part of  Read2Go  is that students can easily read books anywhere because of the portability of  iOS  devices. To learn how to become a member  click here . Learning Ally Audio - Free Learning Ally  (formally  RFB&D ) provides audio books to people with print disabilities. Members must pay a yearly fee in order to download books. To learn about how to become a member of Learning Ally  click here . Prizmo - $9.99 Prizmo  converts a picture of a document into text which can be read using...

The start of school is just around the corner. Teachers, students and parents are preparing for another year. Below is a list of iPhone , iPad and iPod Touch apps that could be helpful for the upcoming school year. Read2Go (Bookshare) - $19.99 Read2Go is the best way to access Bookshare.org books on your iOS device. Bookshare provides free accessible eBooks for people with print disabilities. Click here to learn more about Bookshare . Once you download the app you can download over 150,000 books directly to your device. The best part of Read2Go is that students can easily read books anywhere because of the portability of iOS devices. To learn how to become a member click here . Learning Ally Audio - Free Learning Ally (formally RFB&D ) provides audio books to people with print disabilities. Members must pay a yearly fee in order to download books. To learn about how to become a member of Learning Ally click here . Prizmo - $9.99 Prizmo converts a picture of a document int...