#LDchat Archive
Understood holds this weekly Twitter chat that aims to keep the momentum going and raise awareness of learning and attention issues. Follow along with hashtag #LDCHAT and follow users @understoodchats & @understoodorg. Experts will be available to answer your questions and concerns and share resources from Understood.org.
Wednesday September 21, 2016
Welcome to today’s LD Chat! This is Dan with the Understood team.
We’ll be chatting about accessible books for kids with learning and attention issues.
Hi, this is BJ Wishinsky of Benetech, tweeting as .
Hi Paget! So great to have you again. How's the weather in Atlanta today?
Hi this is Dr. Lisa Wadors Verne of Benetech, tweeting as
Hi, Paget, thanks for joining our Twitter chat on !
Hi Lisa! Glad to have you.
Hi . Kerri from Winnipeg, adult with ADHD and learning issues.
Hi . Kerri from Winnipeg, adult with ADHD and learning issues.
Also double hashtagging ;)
Hi, Kerri! LOL we've done that many times.
Hi Kerri! You know we always love having you. How's Winnipeg these days?
I’ve been in California for 5 of the last 7 days, so Palo Alto's weather was nicer ;)
BJ and are here at HQ in Palo Alto, CA.
We’re excited to have Understood founding partner Benetech () cohosting today.
As always, we’ll use a Q1, Q2… format for questions. Please use the A1, A2… format for answers.
Hey, hope you can stop by while you're here in Palo Alto!
First question coming up...
Q1. Struggling readers can benefit from accessible audiobooks. What formats or accommodations do you find most helpful and why?
Good morning from sunny Oklahoma. I am a big fan. So excited for the
Hi! Susannah from Calgary here. Parent to elementary child w/ .
Co-cohosting with me today is Dr. Lisa Wadors Verne of Benetech, tweeting as .
Hello! Daphne from tweeting from Toronto.
I did not know you guys were there, but I am back home now! Darn! I did see the Survey Monkey building ;).
here I have a Child with a learning disorder
So glad to be joining in!!!
Hi, Tiffany! So glad you can join us!
A1. I found eText most helpful, because I could read along with what was being read to me with VoiceOver/Text-to-Speech.
Hi . Marvin here from lovely Turlock, CA. I work in higher ed w/ students w/ disabilities. Great to make it.
A1. Reading along helps me focus but having highlights helps me when I get lost/lose focus!
A1 I am a visual person, so usually like a hard book. But when walking or at gym, audiobook perfect
Many kids w/ dyslexia or other reading issues find audio with word highlighting helpful. It's a popular Bookshare feature.
A1 So my DH & I tried Audible and it wasn't the best he
Hi . Rural Minnesota K-8 principal here.
Hi, Marvin, thanks for joining!
I am happy to be joining. I am an independent educational consultant who works exclusively with college-bound students with LDs.
This is another reason why our students enjoy etext. https://t.co/DBUc0CYBTd
A1. Reading along helps me focus but having highlights helps me when I get lost/lose focus!
Welcome to everyone who just joined! I'll repost the first question...
A1 just plain old audiobooks from the library worked wonders though
A1 I like the apps like Read2Go or VoiceDream that allow you to access the text audio and visually at the same time.
Struggling readers can benefit from accessible audiobooks. What formats or accommodations do you find most helpful and why?
A1. My older kids ❤️ any format that is accessible on a smartphone. Easy and just looks like they are listening to music
running a little late Hi from VA
Do you know what it was about the library audio books that worked & maybe what it was about audible that didn't?
Q1. A lot of our younger patrons really love Voice Dream Reader
A1. I love how readers are given an option to change the font color and background color as well as font size on Bookshare
I’m not eligible for Bookshare currently, which is unfortunate, since eText was so helpful in university.
I have CELA (Centre for Equitable Library Access) in Canada, which is good but very buggy at times.
A1. Prof read audiobooks have beeb a hit but very $. Recent joiner (tx !); hoping txt highlighting will help.
- which features do Bookshare users like the most?
Q2. Accessible digital can be delivered through computers, smartphones, tablets. What do you consider when choosing reading tools?
I am not eligible for Bookshare but am eligible for CELA. Unfortunate!
A1. I do advocate that my kids listen with the text in front of them for highlighting and margin notes
A2. I like being able to read on more than one device—specifically, iPhone + iPad.
A2. I like reading on my smartphone because my eyes don't need to scan across a page! My son feels the same way too.
A2. I think the digital format depends on the student. I prefer anything that is cross-platform
That's one great thing about ebooks is that you can take them with you.
I do that a lot too with my young Ss. Builds a multisensory approach w audiobooks
A2. iPad mini is what our child has and what is available at school for use. Portable. User-friendly.
A2 it is all about the users comfort. Tweets & Teenagers seem to like it one their smartphone. Younger kids computers and IPads.
It was great having my textbooks in eText—iPad weighs a lot less than text so I actually did more readings.
Yes, it's all about what works for each individual student.
A2 I really like books that are age appropriate or interest appropriate so I like to get audiobooks that have printed version
I think it depends on the assignment or preference. My Ss like tablets & they r mobile from class to class
Luckily La Princesa loves all media forms. https://t.co/p2O46Pm72n
Q2. Accessible digital can be delivered through computers, smartphones, tablets. What do you consider when choosing reading tools?
totally agree! I'm seeing a dearth of study skills with my big kids, so the multi-modal is great for retention
Q3. What kinds of accessible books do you or your kids/students need for school, and where do you get them?
There is a program called Tales2Go that has a great variety of audio books that are levelled.
That's really important info. Great you could figure that out. That will help in choosing later.
A3. Through apps and learning ally. History and science texts are much needed!
A3 (cont'd): Sometimes we get from publishers, sometimes from repositories, sometimes from . We still scan & convert too.
A3. In Manitoba, Department of Education has services for creation of Post-Secondary alt format texts (probably for K-12 too).
A3. Kurzweil is used in a pinch but I found the learning curve was too big for when I NEEDED an article converted.
It would be GREAT if the had such a beast for !
https://t.co/Ee1RcsQs8g
A3. In Manitoba, Department of Education has services for creation of Post-Secondary alt format texts (probably for K-12 too).
A3. My started w/Bookshare/Read2Go, then grew to follow the book itself with Bookshare/Read2Go audio in the background.
A3 They just started so we haven't really had any to get yet
A3 textbooks & most school need are on . allows for teacher supplied material to be easily imported & read.
A3: Bookshare has more than 460,000 titles! We get them from NIMAC, from publishers & authors, and scan from print when needed.
If i wanted audiobook, 2 books were required. Some req proof of purchase, others don’t. Still fair.
Shout out to the NIMAC. I think a lot of folks still don't know it exists. https://t.co/5ysSH1sWNT
A3: Bookshare has more than 460,000 titles! We get them from NIMAC, from publishers & authors, and scan from print when needed.
A3 if only we could get the federal law tweaked to allow 504students access to NIMAC we could shorten wait on textbooks.
Q4. What tips can you offer others who are just getting started with accessible books like Bookshare?
Any bilingual works out there ? Was surprised when La Princesa read my spanish texts out loud (over my shoulder) LOL
A3: Each state's accessible materials program under IDEA has multiple options to support readers for free. IEP teams make it happen.
Q3. Need age appropriate fiction&non-fic in English & Spanish. Trying to cobble together via Bookshare & library. Time consuming!
Yep, same process we do here, but again, campus 2 campus. https://t.co/Gc8GN2yYQk
They partly use publisher files, but I would buy book, submit, they would convert and return text to me + send files LDchat
A4 I actually could use some tips myself:)
we have some bilingual books. Spanish language is our 2nd largest collection after English.
A4 Start early listening to books. It may take practice.
we have some bilingual books. Spanish language is our 2nd largest collection after English.
Aren't you supposed to be on vacation? *grin*
Any final thoughts before we wrap for the day?
