Friday, November 12, 2010

Bookshare part 3

There are many different ways that books and newspapers are uploaded to the Bookshare library.  The first way that they accomplish this goal is by volunteer work.  Volunteers upload books that they have already scanned independently.  I think that this is a noble quest by educators who really care about students with disabilities.   Publishers and authors can also take the initiative and allow access to digital copies of their materials through Bookshare.  They also have staff that works diligently to get books and the like into the database.  The next way that Bookshare gets access to materials is by universities and schools contributing books that they already have scanned.  I am currently taking a class on Special Education, so I asked my teacher about this practice.  She informed me that most larger universities have a department where students with disabilities can take their textbooks and have them converted into different types of media that are appropriate for the students.  I was astounded.  The final way that Bookshare gains access to materials is by educators assigning books to Bookshare from the NIMAC repository.  NIMAC stands for National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard.  NIMAC was created under IDEA 2004, which is the Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2004.  The law is in place for “ensuring services to children with disabilities throughout the nation. IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education and related services to more than 6.5 million eligible infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities.”  NIMAC states that they, “ receives source files in NIMAS format from textbook publishers, and makes these files available for download to Authorized Users in the United States and its territories through an online database. Once downloaded, files can be used to create a variety of specialized formats, such as Braille, audio, or digital text, on behalf of qualifying blind, visually-impaired or print-disabled students in elementary or secondary school.”

Bookshare part 2


I was amazed to learn that Bookshare.org operates under an exception to copyright law.  I thought this was unbelievably amazing.  I think there is a place for copyright law, and there are definitely some ongoing issues that remain unresolved in regards to copyright protection and the internet.  This time the people in charge got something right.  To allow unfettered access for people with disabilities that restrict their access to literature and reading materials is an awesome step in the right direction.    Subscribers to bookshare.org are able to download books, textbooks, and newspapers in a format that greatly benefits them.  I am in awe of this organization.

Bookshare!

The topic I chose to research was the website bookshare.org.   The following is their history from their “Mission” page: 
“Bookshare is an initiative of Benetech®, a nonprofit organization that combines the power of the human mind with a deep passion for social improvement. It addresses the needs of underserved communities with innovative technology solutions.
Benetech grew out of Jim Fruchterman's early work with reading machines for the blind. Arkenstone became the world leader in reading machines. When Arkenstone’s business assets were later sold to Freedom Scientific, the resulting capital was used to start new projects under the new name of Benetech.
Bookshare, Benetech’s first project, focuses on the challenge of access to reading materials for people with print disabilities. For sighted people, technology makes access to information easier; for people who are blind, it makes access possible. With Bookshare, a person with print disabilities can read a newspaper the same day it hits the newsstand or a best-selling book online as soon as it is released.”
I could not imagine a worthier cause to have a light shined upon it (my little section of the blogosphere is akin to the light of a single match in comparison).  Please go check out this worthy cause.  They want to bring literature to everyone regardless of whatever disability they may have.  Bookshare states, “. . . fewer than five percent of the books needed by people with print disabilities are available in accessible formats such as digital text or digital Braille.”  That is an astonishingly low number.  It is not something I even considered before starting this.  I am blown away to say the least.

Click the link:

Picasa problems

UGGH is all I can say about using Picasa to create a picture movie.  I tried really hard to get it just right.  In my opinion I picked a great song that perfectly fit the theme, Let’s Work Together by Canned Heat (video below).  My goal was to sync the song and the pictures . . . and for awhile it was working, only to quickly go south.  If I could have had the ability to choose the length of time that each slide appeared I would have been extremely happy.  Alas, this wasn’t an option, and I think that is the major drawback.  On the plus side it is free, and that is hard to beat.  For the lack of functionality, this was my most difficult assignment to date.



My Own Webpage!


I absolutely loved creating my own classroom website using Google sites.  It was so easy to just insert pictures and text.  At first, I was extremely nervous about this project, but as I got into the nuts and bolts of it, I was relieved.  I would recommend this tool to anyone and everyone.  I honestly think with a little help my 7 year old daughter could have her own website!  It is that easy.  If anyone out there has even the slightest desire to tinker with creating your own web page . . . this is it.  All it takes a little time and your imagination. 

Here's a link to my web page:

Thursday, October 7, 2010

The Future of Books

All of this talk about technology and its application in the classroom got me to thinking about the future of books. Not that long ago, a good friend and I were discussing how the price of books has been steadily increasing over time (mostly comics to be honest . . . but when I started buying comics as a kid they cost fifty cents each, now they cost $3.99 each . . . they are flimsy and only about 24 pages long!). We started talking about how in the future, paper products are going to be a luxury item. At the beginning of this semester, my wife was going "ga ga" over the Amazon Kindle (click to read about the Kindle). She was all fired up about getting it to use for school and her own entertainment. I was completely against it. I am a book lover (a bibliophile if you will). I love everything about books. Heck, I love the smell of old books! She had her heart set on the Kindle, but I argued that it would be death of literature as we know it. I thought reading a book on the Kindle took the "soul" out of reading. She, of course, paid no attention to my ranting and bought the Kindle. I must say . . . after playing around with hers, I am a convert. It is downright amazing. My wife was able to get almost all of the texts she needed this semester in the Kindle format . . . at a fraction of the price. I think that the Kindle would be an excellent resource in the classroom. You would no longer have 5 or 6 large books in your desk or backpack. Everything you need would be on a small, thin (less than 10 ounces) piece of technological magic. I think this could be the wave of the future for books in the classroom, and (much to my surprise) I'm digging it! Check out the video below to see a complete rundown on the Amazon Kindle.