Maine CITE Program
Training Webinar
AIM for Students with Blindness and Low
Vision
February 13, 2013
www.mainecite.org
Presenters
Cynthia Curry,
Maine AIM
Mike Adams,
Mainely Access
www.mainecite.org
Objectives
Participants will understand
•The role of AIM and AT in transition plans.
•The similarities and differences between
Bookshare and Learning Ally.
•
•
•
•
Membership options and costs.
Formats of materials.
Reading tools.
Unique features.
•Maine State Library’s BARD.
•Recommended iOS apps that support learners
with blindness and low vision.
www.mainecite.org
Transition Plans
• Transition Plans:
Are required in the IEP (IDEA).
Guide preparation for college, work, and life.
Are developed early (grade 9).
Include contributions from VR as members of the IEP
team.
• Involve the student and family.
• Include recommendations for AIM and AT.
•
•
•
•
www.mainecite.org
AMPs
www.mainecite.org
“Accessible Media
Producers”
Producers of specialized formats of copyrighted
materials.
• Digital text.
• Audio.
• Large print.
• Braille.
www.mainecite.org
Specialized
Format
Digital Text
HumanNarrated
Audio
Bookshare
Learning
Ally
www.mainecite.org
Bookshare
bookshare.org
www.mainecite.org
Bookshare Basics
• Materials in digital text format (DAISY).
• See and hear words read aloud (speech synthesis).
• Listen to books with audio only (speech synthesis).
• Read in braille (BRF).
• Reading tools provided by Bookshare and available
commercially.
• Free memberships to U.S. schools and qualifying U.S.
students (K-12, colleges & universities, all other
educational institutions).
www.mainecite.org
Bookshare Membership
Options
• Individual.
• Individuals can have their own membership and
also be listed on an organization’s membership.
• Default number of books/month is 100, which can
be increased.
• Organizational.
• Teachers and/or staff members download books
for students.
www.mainecite.org
Options for Reading
Bookshare Books
•
•
•
•
•
Free Bookshare readers.
Apps for mobile phones and tablets.
Commercial computer software.
AT devices.
Web Reader (NEW!).
www.mainecite.org
Free Bookshare Readers
for Blindness/Low vision
• Victor Reader Soft Bookshare Edition (PC only).
• Designed for people who are blind or have low vision.
• Free Acapela TTS voices.
www.mainecite.org
Bookshare on Mobile
Phones & Tablets
• Read2Go.
• iPhone, iPad, iPod touch.
• Connect via Bluetooth to specific braille displays.
• $19.99 in the Mac App Store (volume discount available).
• GoRead.
• Android.
• Optimized for readers with blindness or low vision.
• Free.
• Mobile Speak.
• Symbian or Windows Mobile.
• Screen reading software for mobile phones.
• Text to speech or braille output.
www.mainecite.org
Voice Dream Reader and
Bookshare?
• Voice Dream Reader.
o iPhone, iPad, iPod touch.
o Not directly affiliated with Bookshare.
o Full version required to activate Bookshare ($9.99 + $0.99 inapp Bookshare activation fee).
www.mainecite.org
Commercial Software for
Blindness/Low vision
• Kurzweil 1000.
• OpenBook from Freedom Scientific.
• JAWS for Windows from Freedom Scientific.
• Window-Eyes from GW Micro.
www.mainecite.org
AT Devices for Bookshare
Books
• Victor Reader Stream.
• BrailleNote.
www.mainecite.org
Bookshare Web Reader
(NEW!)
• Opens books right in a web browser.
o Use “Read Now” link rather than Download button.
• Read with a screen reader in Explorer, Firefox, and
Safari.
• Read with text to speech and highlighting in
Google Chrome.
• Adjustable text size, colors, and margins.
• Available over the web only (no app yet).
• Individual Membership required.
www.mainecite.org
Bookshare Bookshelf
(NEW!)
• Organization of books for or by individual members.
• Members and sponsors can create Bookshelves and
add books (downloading happens from the
Bookshelf).
• Sponsor can provide multiple students with access
to the same titles (shared Bookshelf).
• Students independently download books from
Bookshelves.
• Individual Membership required.
www.mainecite.org
Bookshare Webinar on
Bookshelf and Web Reader
• Thursday, February 21, 4:30 – 5:30 PM EST
www.mainecite.org
Bookshare and Textbooks
• Access to certain textbooks limited to students who
have IEPs.
o NIMAC-sourced textbooks.
• Bookshare-scanned textbooks available to all
students.
www.mainecite.org
Bookshare Contact and
Help
• Christine Jones, Education Program Manager
o christinej@benetech.org
• Bookshare’s Support Center
o http://www.bookshare.org/portal
www.mainecite.org
Learning Ally
learningally.org
www.mainecite.org
Learning Ally Basics
• Material in audio format (DAISY).
• Human-narrated audio.
• Growing collection of K-12 materials with human
audio synced with digital text (example: The
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Shelf number:
KP052)).
• Compatible reading tools provided by Learning
Ally.
• Teacher Ally web-based tool.
www.mainecite.org
Learning Ally
Membership Options
• Individual (free Learning Ally reading tools).
• $119/year for unlimited books.
• Organizational (free Learning Ally reading tools).
• Two options:
1. Introduction Bundle.
• $79/student for minimum of 10 students.
• Unlimited books.
2. Site license.
• Unlimited number of students.
• Based on the total number of students in
organization x $2.99.
www.mainecite.org
Free Learning Ally
Reading Tools
• Learning Ally ReadHear by gh (Mac and PC).
• Learning Ally Audio app (iOS).
• Set up for multiple users.
• Connected to Teacher Ally web-based tool to capture
data on student activity.
• (Android app to come).
www.mainecite.org
DAISY Devices for
Learning Ally audiobooks
• Victor Reader Stream.
• PLEXTALK products.
www.mainecite.org
Learning Ally Contact and
Help
• Jennifer Dougherty, Regional Service Director
o jdougherty@learningally.org
• Learning Ally General Support
o http://www.learningally.org/help-and-support
www.mainecite.org
BARD through Maine
State Library
• Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD).
o New braille materials have been added!
• Requirements for a BARD account and use.
o Registered with the Maine State Library Outreach services.
o NLS digital player or compatible commercial device (e.g.,
Victor Reader Stream).
o Refreshable braille display for braille materials.
o A purchased blank NLS cartridge or recommended USB
flash drive.
www.mainecite.org
App Time with Mike!
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Jumbo Calculator.
Money Reader.
VisionSim.
Light Detector.
Recognizer.
Digit-Eyes.
ViA.
Color ID Free.
Talking Calculator.
Accessible Minesweeper.
Braille Input Editor.
Aurifi.
www.mainecite.org
Jumbo Calculator
Free
www.mainecite.org
Money Reader
$9.99
www.mainecite.org
VisionSim
Free
www.mainecite.org
Light Detector
$0.99
www.mainecite.org
Recognizer
$9.99
www.mainecite.org
Digit-Eyes
$19.99
www.mainecite.org
ViA
Free
www.mainecite.org
Color ID Free
Free
www.mainecite.org
Talking Calculator
$4.99
www.mainecite.org
Accessible Minesweeper
$0.99
www.mainecite.org
Braille Input Editor
$1.99
www.mainecite.org
Aurifi
$1.99
www.mainecite.org
Key Points
• Bookshare and Learning Ally are both Accessible
Media Producers (AMPs).
• Bookshare provides materials in digital text format.
• Learning Ally provides materials in audio format.
• Both services provide textbooks and core curricular
materials.
• NLS BARD is another source of braille materials.
• The list of recommended apps for iOS devices is
growing!
www.mainecite.org
Thank You
Please visit the Maine AIM Program online.
http://maine-aim.org
www.mainecite.org