Mainstreaming Accessible Content through DAISY SPD-Microsoft Collaboration

DAISY project in Singapore  Background  The Ministry of Education appointed SPD to convert printed textbooks into digital text for visually impaired students in a destinated mainstream Secondary School  Students use the Braille Note takers to ‘read’ the text formatted textbooks by means of Braille display or using the audio function of the device  Textbooks with mathematical or scientific symbols were converted manually into Braille embossed textbooks

DAISY project in Singapore  DAISY Pilot Project  In Singapore, most people with print disability are unfamiliar with DAISY  Microsoft and SPD generated a literature textbook for students in this mainstream Secondary School during the pilot  Student tested the DAISY book using Assistive Devices loaned from SPD (Victor Stream)  Feedback were collected from the students to improve future conversions

DAISY Book Demo  Demonstration of DAISY book playback using Victor Reader and AMIS software

DAISY PLAYBACK Portable players Computer-based players Others Commercial Victor Stream Victor Reader Milestone 312 DAISY Player Kurzweil Products Victor Reader Soft gh PLAYER™ 2.2 Mobile DAISY Player Open Source/Freeware Open Source AMIS Dorina DAISY Reader TPB Reader TAB Player for Thai and English

Student feedback FeedbackAgreeDo not agree Neutral Have you heard of Daisy formatted digital books? 300 Daisy formatted books makes reading easier 111 The overall navigational features (i.e. the ability to navigate at different levels, chapters, page, etc) of the DAISY book were useful 111 I found the book-marking feature of the DAISY book useful 111 If I have more Daisy formatted books, I would read more 201 The sound quality was adequate and clear 111 Average student age :14

FeedbackComments How the DAISY formatted ook compares with the other digital formats that you have used? 1.Unlike mp3 or wma audiobooks, daisy books allow for two modes of playback: text to speech & the synchronized audio 2.However, unlike mp3 & wma audiobooks, daisy books are rarely available 3.Voice sound very robotic Do you know that the National Library has digital formatted books for loan? 1.NLB’s overdrive.com service, those books are drm-protected which makes it troublesome to access as it is difficult to copy it to a player for example, the victor stream for playback. 2.Latest books (best sellers) are not available quickly. 3.The National library’s website for downloading these books are not so user-friendly Student Feedback

Future Plans  Short term  To convert more textbooks for the next school year (2010) for the students  Target all 30+ visually impaired students in the pilot Secondary School  Give student another alternative format of accessing reading materials besides the Braille Notetakers  Expanding the project to include people with learning disabilities e.g. dyslexia and ASD  Convert textbooks with scientific symbols and diagrams into DAISY DTB

Future Plans  Long Term  Introduce DAISY as an alternative DTB format to benefit more users via public forums and PE activities  Find more partners, including publishers to collaborate on conversion of more print publications into DAISY DTB  Participate as a member of DAISY consortium to garner stronger network globally and build knowledge and competency within Singapore

Challenges Change of users mindset to accept DAISY Limited availability of DAISY readers Cost of owning a DAISY reader Limited availability of DAISY format reading material e.g. newspaper, magazine, bestsellers Understanding users’ preference and perspective on navigation of digital books Lack of publication rights to convert from print to DAISY

The End SPD – Microsoft : Mainstreaming DAISY content to the masses