RFB&D

Angela,
There is a national repository for digitized text available called bookshare (www.bookshare.org) The vision behind this company is to reduce the need for people repeatedly scanning current books and textbooks - once they have been scanned in by someone, then others who belong to bookshare can have access. You can check to see if your son’s textbooks have been scanned in already by going to their website.

Another option is to check with the textbook publisher to see if they already have a CD available for the textbook.

A third option is to have someone at your son’s school (high school volunteer who needs community service hours, for example) scan the textbook onto a CD - it is then available as needed for another student in another year.
There are no cost and low cost text-to-speech programs as well as the Ferrarris of all programs - Kurzweil or WYNN. These last two programs are excellent scanning/screen reading/study skill software programs.
There are low cost options available.
I hope that this info helps.

Hi

Along my voyage of discovery, I came across this link for the Alternate Text Production Center (ATPC) of the California Community Colleges:

http://www.atpcnet.net/

I’m not sure if it is of any value as you don’t mention your son’s age, but probably is worth checking out.

(Being from Australia, I am presuming CA is California!)

Cheers

Bernadette

KTJ and Bernadette, Thank you for your replies. I just got my son’s American history textbook. I did not find it at Bookshare and could not get into the Alternate Text Production Center. I did find it at RFBD on both tape and CD. I want to go with the CD (the tapes drove us crazy and we did not use them). The CD players are very expensive, so I guess I want the software. eClipse Reader or Victorsoft. Have you had any experience with either? Will this produce text on screen that the computer can read to him? Can I download it to an MP3 player (like I have one or know how to use it)? Oh, technology offers me such hope for my son, but it is so hard for dopes like me to figure out what to use. PS. I am so bold, I emailed the professor that wrote the book to ask if it is available on e-text or audio.

Hi

I can’t really help hear with specific information. But here is some random thoughts.

Is your son going to need the book (CD) at school ??? If yes, then the portable player would do both school & home, while the software is only for home.

As for which product (software or hardware) print out the details of each one individually. Tick and cross the good, handy, bad, not needed etc. points. Or rate them 1-need, 2-handy, 3-not needed. Some sort of matrix. And decide from there. Get your son involved in the process.

As to covert to MP3, I would expect you should be able to do it. But not knowing the software, I wouldn’t be sure it would be an easy process.

I know it is hard when $$$ are involved but think about the time involved in converting the text to MP3. The money may be better spent on the portable player. Also, it is ready to go at any time vs waiting for someone to do the conversion to MP3 etc. Depends also how much of the text book he really needs eg. he only needs to read 4 chapters but you have spent the time converting the whole text book.

Also, take into consideration the look of the player. I had a quick look at them on the website and I noticed one looked “chunky” (good for a low vision person) but the others looked like a regular CD player - not so much of a stand out in crowd type - which is important as peer pressure will play a part here.

Finally, take everything into consideration, list your questions and then ring RFB&D and talk to them.

Hope this helps.

Bernadette

Thanks for your ideas, Bernadette. I did have a more productive day today - don’t feel as dopey at the moment. I found a book he will need for literature class at Project Gutenberg and I downloaded it to a CD. Then I downloaded a free screen reader that has larger text and a highlighter from premier-programming.com. I could get the computer to read the story. So, one solution at a time. Thanks for the encouragement!

Converting to MP3 format is incredibly easy using a low-cost program or using an iPod - if it is already digitized it automatically converts to MP3 when it downloads to the iPod.

We had the same experience with the tapes and changed to the CDs last year. We bought the Victor Reader software, and it has worked beautifully. They are not yet to the place where the text is on the screen, but it is easy to get to the needed page of the textbook and to move around. The one thing my son complains about is that textbooks today have so many inset boxes, and the reader just inserts those into the text. It can be really confusing, although my son (who’s now in hs) can usually figure it out. He likes the CDs a lot for other required reading such as novels.

Thanks again, I appreciate the help! So the CDs ARE easier to use. With the Victor Software, the book is read on the computer - in a computer voice or a person (like the tapes)? The text is not on the screen though (like a screen reader). I know I can call RFBD and ask these questions. I just wasn’t sure what to ask for before. I did get a response from the author of the book, but he did not know what was available and referred me to the textbook publisher.

I am just beginning to put all our textbooks on computer. We are using Kurzweil. This will enable my students to not only HEAR the textbook, but have words re-read or define all at the touch of a button. This also highlights the words as they are read. My students can also highight the text (on the computer), and pull off a sheet of notes. I am very excited. Although we have had a few unexpected technical difficulties, it is related to our district technological inadequacies and not the program. Suprisingly, it doesn’t take long to scan a chapter. I have a parent who have volunteered, but I have had high school students doing it also. Very easy to use.