1. Bookshare.org ETTC: Train the Trainers April 4, 2011 Presented by Kim Parra, MA

2. A little background about Reading Disorders……

3. Dyslexia – The Reading Disability A type of learning disability Impairs an individual’s ability to read properly Individuals affected by this disability read at levels that are significantly lower than other normal individuals

4. Some Statistics... It is estimated that as many as 15 percent of American students may be dyslexic. 50 percent of American adults are unable to read an eighth grade level book. 44 percent of American 4th grade students cannot read fluently, even when they read grade-level stories aloud under supportive testing conditions.

5. 3 rd and 4 th grade Independent reading becomes part of the learning process Struggling readers begin to lose content knowledge and fall behind in all academic areas

6. Traditional Supports... Books on tape Reading assistance from parent, teacher, or aide

7. Digital Textbooks with Bimodal Presentation

8. The Power of Bimodal Presentation... Presentation of text through visual and auditory channels simultaneously. Students see and hear the word at the same time; It is highlighted when spoken by the computer.

9. Researched-based Benefits of Bi-Modal Presentation: Improved auditory and reading comprehension; Improved word recognition skills; Improved word retrieval stills

10. Getting Books into Digital Format...

11. $1400$1000 Excellent, but expensive text –to-speech software required...

12. Along came Bookshare...

13. What is Bookshare? Bookshare is an online library of accessible books for readers with print disabilities. Over 100,000 members Over 8,500 schools and other organizations Over 95,000 titles in the collection Thousands of new books added every month www.bookshare.org

14. How does a Bookshare digital accessible book look and sound?

15. Bookshare for Education In October 2007, Bookshare was awarded funding from the federal Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to: Provide Bookshare content and services FREE to all U.S. qualified students with a print disability of any age Expand the Bookshare collection Focus on educational materials requested by teachers Add textbooks from the NIMAC and publishers

16. What Does Bookshare Offer? Access to digital books for individuals with print disabilities FREE for all qualified students through an award from OSEP (regardless of age) Library is available online 24/7 Flexible membership options FREE assistive technology software downloads that will allow student access to text in bimodal manner: simultaneously “see” the words and “hear” the words spoken at the same time.

17. Bookshare Spans a Lifetime StudentAdulthoodTransitions

18. ( National Instructional Materials Accessibility Center)

19. September 22, 2006 - From Governor Corzine

20. “In the recent reauthorization of IDEA 2004, Congress recognized a national need to increase the availability and timely delivery of print instructional materials in accessible formats for blind and other students with print disabilities in elementary and secondary schools.”

21. In order to address this need, Congress enacted: NIMAS: National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard A standardized means for the preparation of electronic format for those materials.

22. NIMAC-Sourced Material (National Instructional Materials Accessibility Center) NIMAC-sourced books are digital books produced from publisher files deposited in the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Center (NIMAC), a national repository. Bookshare converts these books from the NIMAS format (National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard) to student-ready DAISY and BRF formats before placing them in the Bookshare library.

23. Printed textbooks and printed core materials Written and published primarily for use in elementary and secondary school instruction Are required by a State Educational Agency (SEA) or Local Educational Agency (LEA) for use by students in the classroom Curriculum materials covered by NIMAS include:

24. Congress also established NIMAC: National Instructional Material Access Center A central electronic file repository for print instructional materials that have been prepared in accordance with NIMAS. Files arrive in “ NIMAS ” format.

25. What does "NIMAS" format mean? The files are used as the starting point for creating braille, audio, large print, or digital text formats. In most all cases, some type of conversion is needed to convert NIMAS into a fully accessible version for a print disabled student.

26. If files don't go directly to students, who does access them? Direct access to the NIMAC is provided to a small number of Authorized Users in each state They are responsible for converting and/or distributing the accessible versions to eligible students. Teachers, parents or students seeking student- ready formats can go through Bookshare, an authorized NIMAC broker.

27. Qualifying for a Bookshare Membership In order to qualify for Bookshare services, applicants must be able to verify that they have a print disability. For that purpose, Bookshare uses the definition of print disability found in the Chafee Amendment to the copyright law.

28. Qualifying for Bookshare Print Disabilities: Generally described as a disability that makes it difficult or impossible to access standard text 1. Include blindness or visual impairments, 2. Physical disabilities that make it hard to hold a book, or 3. A severe learning disability that makes it difficult to process written text.

29. The nature of the disability may vary; The common thread for any student with a print disability is that he or she cannot access print in the way most students do.

30. Visually Impaired Physically Impaired Severe Learning Disability – Difficulty Reading Text

31. How about these disabilities: Autism? Emotional Disabilities? ADHD? ESL and ELL? Not Qualified unless accompanied by a visual or physical disability, or a qualified reading disability that has a physical basis.

32. Bookshare offers 3 types of books: 1.Public Domain Books: Copyright expired. 2.Books with U.S. Copyrights 3.Educational Textbooks a/k/a NIMAC based books

33. FREE Reading Software ONLY available to Members and Educators to download.

34. Best Sellers List

35. Local and National Newspapers

36. Teen Bestsellers Summer Reading Lists & Assignments – All Grades

37. Many Resources for Transition Disabilities and Employment Job Hunting Resume and cover letter writing Interview Skills Choosing a Job Salary Negotiation Career Assessment Executive guidance Career Counseling Starting a business Occupation-specific information

38. Membership to Bookshare Two types of Membership: Individual Membership Organizational Membership

39. Organizational Membership & Individual Membership In addition to belonging to Bookshare through an organizational membership, a student may also have an individual membership. Bookshare encourages both.

40. Individual Membership Parent can enroll their child online at Bookshare website & download application. Children under 18 will need a parent’s permission (signature). No cost if child is a student. Bookshare requires that individual application is signed by an educational or medical professional acknowledging a print disability. Parent can fax/mail back paperwork. Membership access sent via email to parent. Nimac Textbooks not available through individual memberships.

41. Organizational Membership Any organization serving members or clients with print disabilities can join Bookshare.

42. Organizational Memberships: The Options are Endless!

43. NIMAC Textbooks are ONLY accessible through an Organizational Membership.

44. Every individual book downloaded: MUST be aligned with a student.

45. x

46. Organizational Membership Organizations that serve adults or students with print disabilities (e.g., individual schools, school districts, departments within schools) can register with Bookshare. Within each organization, there are three possible roles: Primary Contact Sponsor Member

47. Primary Contact Oversees all Bookshare services at that organization, such as Administering the school's account Signing and faxing in the organizational membership agreement Designating other staff as Sponsors Managing the rosters of Members and Sponsors Downloading books for Members. This individual—for example, a coordinator of visual services or a teacher—might work in a single school setting or else might serve a number of schools in a district.

48. Sponsor Supports the Primary Contact in fulfilling certain Bookshare-related responsibilities, for example: Adding new Members and managing the Members roster Downloading books. Sponsors agree online to the organizational membership terms. He or she might be a school employee such as a teacher, librarian, or paraprofessional.

49. Member A student with a print disability whose organizational role is reading the books and educational materials that the Primary Contact or Sponsor has downloaded from the Bookshare library.

50. All Primary Contacts and Sponsors should agree and adhere to Bookshare's membership terms, which require that they: 1. Use the services only for a qualifying student, and not for personal use or for non-qualifying students; 2. Inform student Members and new Sponsors that the materials downloaded from Bookshare may not be shared; 3. Maintain the student roster; and 4. Inform Members that they may also have an individual account

51. Only teachers and staff members of U.S. K-12 education agencies can download these books. (Organizational Membership) To ensure that Bookshare complies with the above limitations, students, parents, transcribers, and non- student Individual Members cannot download these books. Acquiring Academic Textbooks:

52. Managing Student Records Bookshare provides an organizational management tool that makes it easy for Primary Contacts or Sponsors to manage student records. The roster for students who qualify can be managed on a single spreadsheet through Bookshare's Web site. This tool allows a Sponsor to keep track of each student's information.

54. Confidentiality Bookshare recognizes the importance of protecting the confidentiality of students' information and has a strict privacy policy posted on its Web site. Bookshare prefers that organizations enter actual identifying information (e.g., first or last name) when registering Members for consistency in data, such as when a student moves to another school. Because some organizations have a need for greater confidentiality, Bookshare allows them to instead register Members using student numbers or pseudonyms.

55. Locating Books and Materials

56. Once a Member has found the desired book, he or she will download it in either the DAISY or BRF format depending on his or her individual needs.

57. Free Text-Reader Software Programs Bookshare offers its Members two free text-to-speech software programs that allow them to access, navigate, and manipulate DAISY digital files. 1.Read: OutLoud Bookshare Edition

58. Read:OutLoud: DAISY text reader software program High-quality text-to-speech Study tools (e.g., bookmarks, annotation capability) A customizable display Reading guides Synchronized text highlighting (Bi-Modal Support) Dictionary capability using Google This software gives teachers a management tool that allows them to set the preferences for all of the features listed above. The management tool also allows teachers to create assignment templates (e.g., individualized e-text supports such as pre-selected vocabulary words).

59. Compatible Assistive Technology Software HumanWare Victor Reader Soft Don Johnston READ:OutLoud Kurzweil 3000, 1000 WYNN OpenBook Window-Eyes JAWS ZoomText TextHelp

60. How to Download Read:OutLoud for PC’s

61. How to Use Read:OutLoud for PC’s

62. Demonstration of Refreshable Braille Display Using Bookshare

64. http://blog.bookshare.org/

65. http://booksharementors.grouply.com/members

66. Important Information Bookshare Customer Service: (650) 644-3400 On-line video tutorials: How to Download Read:OutLoud for Mac: http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/bs/bs_07_LINK_TUT_downloadMAC rol.html How to Download Read:OutLoud for PC: http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/bs/bs_07_LINK_TUT_downloadWIN rol.html How to use Read:OutLoud http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/bs/bs_07_LINK_TUT_software.html

67. www.kimparra.com

69. Individual Memberships for non- students $50/year with one time $25 registration fee Membership Fees: