AccessText Network Launches an Accessible Textbook Finder

Video Tour

Try it Now

 

Accessible Textbook Finder

The Accessible Textbook Finder (ATF) searches multiple sources of accessible books by ISBN or title, and provides the combined results with links to the source materials.

The following is a list of the repositories  searched ….Note that if you are not a member of  organizations like Learning Ally (formerly the Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic,  RFBD)  and Bookshare, you should look into becoming a member so you will have access to digital books after you leave college.

Repository of Accessible College Textbooks – Do You Have a Print Disability? Is Your College a Member?

 

AccessText Network is a national membership that facilitates the delivery of alternative electronic books for students with documented print disabilities and  has grown tremendously in the number of publishers involved so that it now has digital access to 360,000 textbook titles.  In the relatively short past,  there was a 5-6 week wait for the Disability Services to obtain a digital copy for their print disabled students and there were no guarantees about the digital formats sent.  It is worth encouraging your college’s disabilities services to join- there is a free membership option.

 The AccessText Network helps college students with print disabilities by connecting their disability service offices directly with leading textbook publishers to obtain electronic files. These files are used to create accessible versions of the textbooks.

Information for Students

A goal of the AccessText Network is to provide college students access to resources on how to most effectively use alternative (electronic) textbooks and technology in the classroom as well as the study environment.

Students are encouraged to join the AccessText mailing list to receive future announcements on student resources.

If you are a student interested in receiving alternative (electronic) textbooks in college, contact the disability service provider at your college to see if they are an AccessText member. Please note that you must meet the qualification of having a print-related (i.e. mobility, visual and/or reading) disability in order to receive AccessText services.

Great Article “Student Guide to Ebooks and Online Book Buying” from PCMag

For students who do not depend upon text to speech software, I saw this great article and thought it would be helpful as a new semester is gearing up.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2391592,00.asp

Want to get your students excited about science? Free interactive access to a scanning electron microscope

Every day, I’m just so excited about what others are doing (and freely sharing the resources)  to help our students learn in new ways;  I’m hopeful that this cognitive overload will indeed change our education model.  Today I came across Bugscope from the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and just can’t wait to share it with our natural science department.

What is Bugscope?

The Bugscope project provides free interactive access to a scanning electron microscope (SEM) so that students anywhere in the world can explore the microscopic world of insects. This educational outreach program from theBeckman Institute’s Imaging Technology Group at the University of Illinois supports K-16 classrooms worldwide.

Bugscope allows teachers everywhere to provide students with the opportunity to become microscopists themselves—the kids propose experiments, explore insect specimens at high-magnification, and discuss what they see with our scientists—all from a regular web browser over a standard broadband internet connection.

iEducation Apps Review – Mobile Apps for Education

Nominated Apps for 2010 – Nicely Organized by Tony Vincent

The educator and developer community at iear.org has taken nominations and votes for their 2010 Best App Awards. While nominations and voting is now closed, the list of dozens of nominees is a valuable resource. Nominations were made in early December by those who read I Educational Apps Review’s blog. There are nearly 20 categories and each category is divided into elementary and secondary.

You can view the 125 apps categorized in a spreadsheet or view their icons in a widget. Clicking an icon will take you to the app’s details page in the App Store. The widget was made using Appsfire’s Widget Maker.

( Document Creation with Dragon Dictation and Google Education Apps via iPod Touch | Main | Overview of the IEAR Community as of 12/21/2010 )

How cool is that?

Free Online Learning Teacher Resources from PBS

PBS LearningMedia

 
Browse their collection of 14,000+ resources by subject area.

This next-generation digital media service empowers PreK–16 educators to re-imagine classroom learning, transform teaching, and creatively engage students. It brings together the best of public media, produced specifically for educators, from PBS, WGBH, and 55+ public media partners. This flexible service includes high-quality content tied to Common Core and national curriculum standards. The service is freely available to educators as a basic service that can be enhanced with premium solutions for schools and districts-designed for seamless media integration and customization. The basic service offers:

• Unique access to best-in-class resources from PBS producers and partners and technology resources tied to Common Core and national curriculum standards
• A robust content library of thousands of digital core curriculum resources, designed with today’s student in mind
• Carefully created, purpose-built media: videos, interactives, audios, lesson plans, multimedia, professional development, and more
• Ability for educators to search, save, share, and review content
• Cross-platform flexibility to display on classroom presentation tools to mobile devices

Learning in the Digital Age from Frontline Workshops for Parents and Teachers

 PBS LearningMedia -  Learning in the Digital Age.

More and more educators are tapping into the power of digital media and technology for teaching and learning. The variety of information resources available online is simply staggering. Watch How Google Saved a School from FRONTLINE’s Digital Nation and discuss the hype and the hopes for improving education through technology.