1. NIMAS & Accessible Textbooks
Where are we now?
Skip Stahl

2. The Techie Bits (Deciphered)
Sources of Accessible Instructional Materials
(What you’ve always wanted to know about XML, but have been afraid to ask)

3. The Techie Bits (Deciphered)

4. The Techie Bits (Deciphered)

5. The Techie Bits (Deciphered)

6. The Techie Bits (Deciphered)
Digital Media can be “tagged”
For Structure

7. The Techie Bits (Deciphered)
Digital Media can be “tagged”
For Semantics
(meaning)

8. The Techie Bits (Deciphered)
With proper tagging, subsequent transformations can create multiple “student-ready” versions (e.g.; Braille, Digital Talking Book, etc.) from a single source document.
A Textbook sample

9. This is NIMAS XML

10. Web page from
NIMAS XML

11. DAISY Book from
NIMAS XML

12. Braille from
NIMAS XML

13. Relevant to Higher Education?
Unsure…
IP challenges – every student a market
22,000 publications vs. 3500
Few duplicate requests
No market for braille
What incentives for content producers?
AMP-based solutions?
Market solutions?
Legislated soutions?

14. What exists now Ad Hoc local solutions Accessible Media Producers
AccessText.org
Market options
State mandates (CA, KY, TX, etc.)

15. RFB&D
RFB&D is an Accessible Media Producer (AMP) providing instructional materials in the NIMAS format.
RFB&D offers many of the core textbooks in navigable audio format that predate the “published” date required for publishers to submit files to the NIMAC

16. RFB&D
Phase 1 product – Synthetic speech audio and full text delivered with quick turnaround
textbooks are prioritized and produced through human narration, in order for highest quality product for beginning readers
Phase 2 product – Human narrated audio replaces the synthetic speech version and is enhanced with figure descriptions

17. RFB&D Phase 1 Synthetic Audio Books offer
Speedy delivery to states and students of texts
Audio playback on hardware devices and portability for students
Audio synchronized with full text of book on software
Phase 2 Human Narrated Audio Books offer
Unsurpassed human audio narration for correct pronunciation and prosody of text
Enhanced content with description of figures making them accessible for students with visual disabilities

18. Bookshare.org

19. Bookshare.org
New Web Site – January, 2009

20. Accomplishments
Bookshare.org content and services are FREE to all U.S. qualified students with a print disability of any age
Bookshare membership includes free versions of Humanware’s Victor Reader Soft Bookshare Edition and Don Johnston’s READ:OutLoud Bookshare Edition.)
Bookshare books can be read in a browser with a screen reader (a good option for Mac Users), other DAISY reading software (like eClipseReader and Book Wizard), with a portable device, or listened to on an MP3 player.

21. Braille National Library Service American Printing House
Federal Quota funds
Many local/regional braille production & distribution centers

22. AccessText Network
Created by Publishers

24. Challenges remain
AHEAD is fully supportive of the philosophy behind the development of the ATN project.  However, we have a number of concerns with how the project is being implemented, the majority of which concern the relationship between the ATN and local DS offices as articulated in the language of the "User Agreement" (AUA) that campuses are required to sign in order to participate.   

25. Market Models

26. Market Models ?