Assistive Technology

Bookshare recently announced that they will be providing free membership for disabled veterans who are currently attending a United States college or university. Bookshare also serves disabled civilian students and others with print disabilities by providing free downloadable accessible books. Veterans who qualify, but are not enrolled in school will have access to a 30 day free trial. After the trial veterans continue using Bookshare for a $50 yearly membership fee. Especially on Veterans Day it is great that veterans who are disabled will be able to access over 215,000 accessible books from the Bookshare library. Bookshare's press release says, "Accessible books can break down reading barriers and open a new lifeline to reading to go back to school, learn a new vocation or read for pleasure." A membership provides an individual with electronic books that can be read with text-to-speech or used with a braille device. This makes reading possible for people who are blin...

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.

Bookshare's new web reader allows members to read through a browser and eliminates the need to download books. The web reader also allows members to read any of Bookshare's 177,000 books on a library or school computer without having special software installed. Bookshare is a free accessible ebook library for people with print disabilities . To learn if you qualify and how to join click here . Once you're signed in with your Bookshare account you can access the web reader via your bookshelf or the search page. When you search for a book you can click on the "read now" link to open the book in the web reader or you can add it to your bookshelf. From the bookshelf you can click the "read now" link as well. The web reader offers features such as text-to-speech with highlighting, nighttime reading mode, adjustable text-to-speech speed, table of contents, and go-to-page options. Bookshare recommends sighted members use the Google Chrome browser for impro...

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...