This article, from The Daily Princtonian (April 6, 2010), is about a student with Dyslexia and ADD, at Princeton University, being denied extra time to take her exams. The laws passed since 1973 give those students with disabilities a chance to reach their highest potential. Unfortunately, ignorance and prejudice still stigmatize this population. The writer of the article shows how critics still believe that giving students with learning disabilities extra time to complete their exams due to the affects of their disability, will give them “an unfair advantage over non-disabled students.”
Click here to read the article in full
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Zahavit Paz interview on Disabilitynewsradio.com
Zahavit Paz, LD Resources Foundation, Inc.
LISTEN to find out more about programs, grants, and services and the woman who co-founded it. www.ldrfa.org
LD Resources Foundation is committed to overcoming barriers, and providing access to knowledge, for adults with learning disabilities. It is one of the few non-profit organizations focusing solely on the needs of adults with learning disabilities and in post secondary educational programs and in the workplace. They collaborate with, and inspire colleges, libraries, museums, correctional facilities and employers to provide, and make accessible, assistive technologies to all who need them. LD Resources is seen as the premier training and communications leader in educating the post secondary college community and students with learning disabilities in the use of new and innovative technology.
LISTEN to find out more about programs, grants, and services and the woman who co-founded it. www.ldrfa.org
Click to hear the interview.
LISTEN to find out more about programs, grants, and services and the woman who co-founded it. www.ldrfa.org
LD Resources Foundation is committed to overcoming barriers, and providing access to knowledge, for adults with learning disabilities. It is one of the few non-profit organizations focusing solely on the needs of adults with learning disabilities and in post secondary educational programs and in the workplace. They collaborate with, and inspire colleges, libraries, museums, correctional facilities and employers to provide, and make accessible, assistive technologies to all who need them. LD Resources is seen as the premier training and communications leader in educating the post secondary college community and students with learning disabilities in the use of new and innovative technology.
LISTEN to find out more about programs, grants, and services and the woman who co-founded it. www.ldrfa.org
Click to hear the interview.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
E-text books and digital libraries for college students with learning disabilities (post-secondary)
By Zahavit Paz
Co-founder LD Resources foundation (LDRF) www.ldrfa.org
January 2010
Today we have lots of assistive technology choices—digital readers, e-books, and audio books, to name a few. However as a student, I was constantly trying to solve the problem of accessing my e-text books through converting files and trying different types of assistive technology. My personal journey, which so heavily depended on technological aids, made it obvious that postsecondary educational standards for e-text accessibility were not available.
This realization intrigued and motivated me to support other students with similar challenges. I helped them locate their textbooks and research books in e-text format. We often had to resolve issues when the necessary books were received in files that needed to be formatted, or the size of the book was too large. Due to my struggles, it became clear that educating students and staff on assistive technology should be part of LDRF’s mission.
In spite of many positive changes, students with disabilities still face many difficulties and challenges. For example, most colleges do not have any special policy about e-text syllabi for people with disabilities. It's left for the classroom professors, who often are not familiar with the process of applying for digital textbooks. This is part of the reason college students with disabilities drop out at a rate that is nearly twice the rate of students without disabilities. Providing access to a book list and class syllabus 3-4 weeks before a semester starts could partially counteract this problem. This is particularly relevant for new textbooks or out of print books. If this were college policy, it would give students ample time to locate and order their books in digital format. Establishing this requirement is a needed college accommodation. That’s why LDRF’s mission is to facilitate and support students in their endeavor to achieve academic success.
Where can I find textbooks in E-text format as well as digital libraries?
Today’s students have several options:
*Students with learning disabilities can register directly with libraries and get free membership. These library memberships require proof of disability.
Free libraries:
1. Bookshare: A resource for college/university students (postsecondary students) http://www.bookshare.org/
• Bookshare is the world’s largest online digital library for people with print disabilities. Bookshare seeks to increase accessibility by making books available for free!
• A downloadable reader is available for PC and MAC (the licensing is limited to the use of bookshare.org digital books);
• Bookshare’s University Partnership Program works to significantly expand the collection of books and textbooks for postsecondary students;
• This organization is easily approached and will make books available upon request for its members. Cherie L. Miller Is the University Program Manager at Bookshare (The Benetech Initiative). She is very accommodating with special requests. Her email is: cheriem@benetech.org;
• You must register and follow the procedure on their website http://www.bookshare.org.
2. The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped http://www.loc.gov/nls/
• Free membership to all qualified registered members.
3. The Andrew Heiskell Library (in New York City) http://talkingbooks.nypl.org/
4. BARD: Braille and Audio Reading Download https://nlsbard.loc.gov/cgi-bin/nlsbardprod/index.cgi
• Downloadable Books and Magazines.
5. Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic® http://www.rfbd.org/
• RFB&D®, a national nonprofit, volunteer organization, is the leading accessible audiobook library for students with disabilities, such as visual impairment or dyslexia;
• Titles available in every subject area and grade level;
• RFB&D's digitally recorded audio textbooks help students who are challenged by the printed page.
• Please note that the books are audio books only.
6. Blio eReader www.blioreader.com (soon to be available from Kurzweil)
• All types of books available (free and for purchase) with free eReader software;
• A library of more than one million titles.
7. Project Gutenberg http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
• More than 30,000 titles available;
• Many formats to choose from;
• Contains books with expired copyrights.
*The E-reader consumer market is another option where you can purchase and download digital books online. The trend in the publishing industry is to give students options to regular printed books by offering the cheaper alternative of downloading books. This is good news for students with learning disabilities.
Ordering online digital books
E-text digital books are available for download for various e-readers, such as Amazon.com’s Kindle. Whatever e-text device you use, or plan to use, make sure you check if text to speech is available for the book you are ordering.
www.audible.com allows you to purchase books for your mp3 player or i Pod.
Today there are many other sources for digital books. One could just Google the book title and check/research if it’s available in digital format.
Written by Zahavit Paz Co-founder of LD Resources Foundation
and Jason Luchs, Director, Student Disability Services at The New School
Co-founder LD Resources foundation (LDRF) www.ldrfa.org
January 2010
Today we have lots of assistive technology choices—digital readers, e-books, and audio books, to name a few. However as a student, I was constantly trying to solve the problem of accessing my e-text books through converting files and trying different types of assistive technology. My personal journey, which so heavily depended on technological aids, made it obvious that postsecondary educational standards for e-text accessibility were not available.
This realization intrigued and motivated me to support other students with similar challenges. I helped them locate their textbooks and research books in e-text format. We often had to resolve issues when the necessary books were received in files that needed to be formatted, or the size of the book was too large. Due to my struggles, it became clear that educating students and staff on assistive technology should be part of LDRF’s mission.
In spite of many positive changes, students with disabilities still face many difficulties and challenges. For example, most colleges do not have any special policy about e-text syllabi for people with disabilities. It's left for the classroom professors, who often are not familiar with the process of applying for digital textbooks. This is part of the reason college students with disabilities drop out at a rate that is nearly twice the rate of students without disabilities. Providing access to a book list and class syllabus 3-4 weeks before a semester starts could partially counteract this problem. This is particularly relevant for new textbooks or out of print books. If this were college policy, it would give students ample time to locate and order their books in digital format. Establishing this requirement is a needed college accommodation. That’s why LDRF’s mission is to facilitate and support students in their endeavor to achieve academic success.
Where can I find textbooks in E-text format as well as digital libraries?
Today’s students have several options:
*Students with learning disabilities can register directly with libraries and get free membership. These library memberships require proof of disability.
Free libraries:
1. Bookshare: A resource for college/university students (postsecondary students) http://www.bookshare.org/
• Bookshare is the world’s largest online digital library for people with print disabilities. Bookshare seeks to increase accessibility by making books available for free!
• A downloadable reader is available for PC and MAC (the licensing is limited to the use of bookshare.org digital books);
• Bookshare’s University Partnership Program works to significantly expand the collection of books and textbooks for postsecondary students;
• This organization is easily approached and will make books available upon request for its members. Cherie L. Miller Is the University Program Manager at Bookshare (The Benetech Initiative). She is very accommodating with special requests. Her email is: cheriem@benetech.org;
• You must register and follow the procedure on their website http://www.bookshare.org.
2. The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped http://www.loc.gov/nls/
• Free membership to all qualified registered members.
3. The Andrew Heiskell Library (in New York City) http://talkingbooks.nypl.org/
4. BARD: Braille and Audio Reading Download https://nlsbard.loc.gov/cgi-bin/nlsbardprod/index.cgi
• Downloadable Books and Magazines.
5. Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic® http://www.rfbd.org/
• RFB&D®, a national nonprofit, volunteer organization, is the leading accessible audiobook library for students with disabilities, such as visual impairment or dyslexia;
• Titles available in every subject area and grade level;
• RFB&D's digitally recorded audio textbooks help students who are challenged by the printed page.
• Please note that the books are audio books only.
6. Blio eReader www.blioreader.com (soon to be available from Kurzweil)
• All types of books available (free and for purchase) with free eReader software;
• A library of more than one million titles.
7. Project Gutenberg http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
• More than 30,000 titles available;
• Many formats to choose from;
• Contains books with expired copyrights.
*The E-reader consumer market is another option where you can purchase and download digital books online. The trend in the publishing industry is to give students options to regular printed books by offering the cheaper alternative of downloading books. This is good news for students with learning disabilities.
Ordering online digital books
E-text digital books are available for download for various e-readers, such as Amazon.com’s Kindle. Whatever e-text device you use, or plan to use, make sure you check if text to speech is available for the book you are ordering.
www.audible.com allows you to purchase books for your mp3 player or i Pod.
Today there are many other sources for digital books. One could just Google the book title and check/research if it’s available in digital format.
Written by Zahavit Paz Co-founder of LD Resources Foundation
and Jason Luchs, Director, Student Disability Services at The New School
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Frankfurt Book Fair: Ray Kurzweil Teams with Baker & Taylor on New eReader Software
By Calvin Reid -- Publishers Weekly, 10/15/2009 2:37:00 PM
Baker & Taylor announced a partnership with acclaimed scientist, inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil, CEO of Kurzweil Technologies, to supply digital content for K-NFB Reading Technology, a newly developed e-book reading software created by Kurzweil in collaboration with the National Federation of the Blind. The software will be offered to consumers for free. B&T unveiled the software at the Frankfurt Book Fair with plans to launch the new reader in the U.S. at the end of November.
Although Kurzweil is a pioneer in creating technologies to assist the blind with reading, his new and as yet unnamed software product is aimed at both the general e-book reading market as well as the blind. In a phone interview with Kurzweil from his company’s headquarters in Massachusetts, he said not only can consumers use the software to read e-books, but the technology will allow the device its installed on to read the text aloud, in synch with a display of the text that highlights each word as it is spoken. On top of all that, he intends to offer the software for free via both downloads and CDs and told PW he expects to make money through the sale of books using the K-NFB e-reader. The software also offers high quality graphics and fonts and will even read plays aloud using different voices for different roles.
The Text to Speech function has been controversial and Kurzweil acknowledged that, “there are a small number of publishers who feel that TTS will compete with their audio books. For blind and dyslexic users they have a right to use TTS to gain equal access to print information. We believe this issue will be resolved soon in favor of universal TTS.”
“Our partnership with K-NFB Reading Technology is an exciting development in our strategy to work with best-in-breed digital media innovators to deliver the content that our customers and their end-users want,” said Tom Morgan, chairman and CEO of Baker & Taylor. “K-NFB’s new e-reader will certainly make waves in the industry.”
Kurzweil said consumers can buy e-books directly through the application and he said that there will be “a full featured online store including metadata, advanced search features, inference engine and more.” He also said the co-venture will work with major retailers and allow the software to be branded with their corporate identity. Kurzweil said the venture will offer access to a “million” public domain titles and a “million” for-pay books. “A number of first tier publishers signed up today on the first day of the Frankfurt Book Fair,” he said. “We take in books from different publishers in a variety of formats and convert it to our own format,” said Kurzweil.
Kurzweil explained that the K-NFB e-reader software will run on laptops and desktop computers (PCs and Macs) as well as netbooks and mobile phones—Windows mobile and the iPhone right away with other mobile phone operating sytems added as quickly as possible. The software can read any format from straight text to PDF and ePub.
He also described the new e-reader as, “the ultimate expression of my work over the years. It will have wide distribution and will be available not only to the general reader and to the blind, but to the millions of people who suffer from Dyslexia.”
Baker & Taylor announced a partnership with acclaimed scientist, inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil, CEO of Kurzweil Technologies, to supply digital content for K-NFB Reading Technology, a newly developed e-book reading software created by Kurzweil in collaboration with the National Federation of the Blind. The software will be offered to consumers for free. B&T unveiled the software at the Frankfurt Book Fair with plans to launch the new reader in the U.S. at the end of November.
Although Kurzweil is a pioneer in creating technologies to assist the blind with reading, his new and as yet unnamed software product is aimed at both the general e-book reading market as well as the blind. In a phone interview with Kurzweil from his company’s headquarters in Massachusetts, he said not only can consumers use the software to read e-books, but the technology will allow the device its installed on to read the text aloud, in synch with a display of the text that highlights each word as it is spoken. On top of all that, he intends to offer the software for free via both downloads and CDs and told PW he expects to make money through the sale of books using the K-NFB e-reader. The software also offers high quality graphics and fonts and will even read plays aloud using different voices for different roles.
The Text to Speech function has been controversial and Kurzweil acknowledged that, “there are a small number of publishers who feel that TTS will compete with their audio books. For blind and dyslexic users they have a right to use TTS to gain equal access to print information. We believe this issue will be resolved soon in favor of universal TTS.”
“Our partnership with K-NFB Reading Technology is an exciting development in our strategy to work with best-in-breed digital media innovators to deliver the content that our customers and their end-users want,” said Tom Morgan, chairman and CEO of Baker & Taylor. “K-NFB’s new e-reader will certainly make waves in the industry.”
Kurzweil said consumers can buy e-books directly through the application and he said that there will be “a full featured online store including metadata, advanced search features, inference engine and more.” He also said the co-venture will work with major retailers and allow the software to be branded with their corporate identity. Kurzweil said the venture will offer access to a “million” public domain titles and a “million” for-pay books. “A number of first tier publishers signed up today on the first day of the Frankfurt Book Fair,” he said. “We take in books from different publishers in a variety of formats and convert it to our own format,” said Kurzweil.
Kurzweil explained that the K-NFB e-reader software will run on laptops and desktop computers (PCs and Macs) as well as netbooks and mobile phones—Windows mobile and the iPhone right away with other mobile phone operating sytems added as quickly as possible. The software can read any format from straight text to PDF and ePub.
He also described the new e-reader as, “the ultimate expression of my work over the years. It will have wide distribution and will be available not only to the general reader and to the blind, but to the millions of people who suffer from Dyslexia.”
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Dragon app for iPhone By Christopher Lee, PhD. Director AMAC, Georgia University and AccessText Network
Dec 18, 2009
Here is a quick reference for Dragon on the IPhone: http://justanotheriphoneblog.com/wordpress/iphone-software/some-tips-for-dragon-dictation
There are limitations on the app.
- Record time: 30 seconds
- You cannot save your work
- Session is lost if you receive a call or leave the app
- Cannot have app running in the back ground
In order to send SMS or emails, you have to use the dragon app and tell the app to send to email, messages, or copy to clip board.
There is also another app called Voxie Pro Recorder that will record any length of audio (1MB per minute for audio) and sent to transcribers to convert into text.
The app costs $1.99
$5 for 250 words
2.5 cents per additional word
Here is a quick reference for Dragon on the IPhone: http://justanotheriphoneblog.com/wordpress/iphone-software/some-tips-for-dragon-dictation
There are limitations on the app.
- Record time: 30 seconds
- You cannot save your work
- Session is lost if you receive a call or leave the app
- Cannot have app running in the back ground
In order to send SMS or emails, you have to use the dragon app and tell the app to send to email, messages, or copy to clip board.
There is also another app called Voxie Pro Recorder that will record any length of audio (1MB per minute for audio) and sent to transcribers to convert into text.
The app costs $1.99
$5 for 250 words
2.5 cents per additional word
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Assistive Technology and the LD Resources Foundation provide students with LD a better chance to succeed
Assistive Technology and the LD Resources Foundation provide students with LD a better chance to succeed
By Jason Luchs, Director
Student Disability Services at The New School
December, 2009
Assistive Technology has become synonymous with success for students with disabilities in higher education. Without many of the programs that are familiar to those in the disability services field, a multitude of students with documented learning disabilities would be unable to appropriately access their course work. Some of the most notable software programs that are designed to assist this population are:
• Kurzweil 3000 (K3000)
• Premier Assistive Technology’s Key to Access
• Texthelp’s Read and Write Gold
• Dragon Naturally Speaking and MacSpeech Dictate by Nuance
There are more programs available than these, but for the purposes of this article, I am going to focus on these to narrow the discussion, and also because I have working knowledge and experience with them. I don’t specifically endorse or recommend any program over another.
Learning Disability Assistive technology Software
The first three programs listed have very similar goals and capabilities. They are designed to assist individuals with reading or writing problems due to a learning disability or other condition that affects reading and writing, such as attention based disorders (ADD or ADHD). Each program has a robust feature set that includes options to highlight words while reading them aloud to the user. Predictive text and talking word processing capability are also shared by each of the programs. K3000 differs from Premier’s and Texthelp’s software in that the program opens in a new window and does not use a floating toolbar design like the Key to Access or Read and Write Gold.
Each of the programs can assist students with learning disabilities, but I have seen some preferences among students. There are students who prefer using a word processing program they are comfortable with like Microsoft Word, while being able to have the floating toolbar of either Read and Write Gold or Key to Access available when they need it. With K3000, the user must type directly into the program interface to use its features. However, it is worth noting that with new updates to each program, more user-friendly methods of interaction become available which in the future may include a floating toolbar and opening the program in a new window.
Given the choice, I’d guess more students in higher education would choose either Read and Write Gold or Premier AT over K3000 because it seems to be geared more towards younger students. Read and Write Gold and Premier AT suite can be used discretely in open labs via a floating toolbar and the student can pick and choose which portion of the technology they need whereas K3000 must be fully open.
I have recently demonstrated Premier AT for students and they have been most interested in its ability to read PDF documents and e-text aloud. College students are increasingly required to access electronic articles via the web or interfaces like Blackboard and a hard copy may not be available. These students also have an interest in being able to convert text to audio, but this is better in theory than in practice. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) still has some work to do before it can accurately recognize all words and properly pronounce them, especially homonyms or words that may have different pronunciation depending on context, such as “I like to read (reed) often” or “I read (red) the book yesterday.” Additionally, some of the voices sound much too monotone, synthetic, or distracting to be useful. Developers are continuing to improve the voices associated with their respective programs, but none of them are totally human-sounding at this point. Currently, I think that artificial voices by Cepstral, a leader in synthetic voice development are some of the better ones available as they do a relatively good job of approximating human speech. While I am not discussing Mac accessibility in depth here, it is worth noting that the Mac OSX accessibility features are quite robust and the included voice-over feature dubbed “Alex” is excellent.
Cost and Alternatives to Purchasing – LD Resources Foundation Awards Program
The cost of assistive technology can be daunting for the individual as well as a disability services office with a modest budget. Many times it can be the determining factor as to what technology is available for student use. K3000 is the most expensive out of the three program suites discussed here, followed by Read and Write Gold and Premier AT Key to Access or Accessibility Suite. Since the cost of these products can be problematic for some students, trying to acquire a demo version via the product website is a good first step. Some university disability services offices have demo versions or lending programs available as well. I highly recommend checking vendor websites to see if trial versions of their products are available. Each of us have different preferences and levels of computer savvy, especially students who may have not used assistive technology before so it’s a good idea to give software a test run.
Students who may not be able to acquire software on their own should also look into the awards program offered by LD Resources Foundation (LDRF). Based on economic need and disability status, the LDRF awards program seeks to assist students who are most likely to need assistance acquiring software that can help them succeed in college. During my tenure at The New School, LDRF has awarded the Key to Access program to approximately ten students, with more applying for awards each semester. Students who aren’t sure if they will qualify for an award are encouraged to still apply because LDRF works on a sliding scale. The goal of the organization is to try to provide awards and assistance to as many students as possible, so they have flexible guidelines that allow them to work with individuals with all kinds of backgrounds, and will even provide assistance in completing an application.
In the past three years, LDRF has made 35 presentations and awarded portable assistive technology and tools to over 100 students in multiple universities. Over 60 permanent assistive technology systems were provided to libraries as well. Most recently, LDRF added speech recognition software to their list of AT products available. Students can apply for the Speech Recognition award and request Dragon Naturally Speaking for PC or MacSpeech Dictate for Mac. Both are excellent products developed by Nuance and with minimal training, the user can dictate papers, emails and even control some navigation functions on their computer. Students interested in completing an application for an award can find it via http://www.ldrfa.org/awardprogram.php on the LDRF website. The application is available to print out and complete by hand, or in a fillable PDF that can be emailed or printed.
Voice Recognition and Dictation Software
Dragon Naturally Speaking has undergone many improvements with recent versions, most notably with version 10. The training time is now minimal and voice recognition is very accurate, even for students with accents or limited computer experience. I demonstrated this software for a number of students who cited difficulty with typing or handwriting assignments but who had a much easier time verbally expressing themselves. One student recently told me that he thinks the use of a program like Dragon Naturally Speaking could significantly change his life. He was unaware of the existence of voice dictation software and when I demonstrated the program for him, he said it would definitely be helpful. The student has difficulty writing or typing as a result of dyslexia, but he can express himself quite well verbally. This is exactly the type of student who can excel using voice recognition software. Using a good quality noise canceling microphone like an Andrea or Plantronics headset, a user who types around 40 words per minute can possibly double or triple that speed with dictation.
What the Future Holds for Assistive Technology
This is a very exciting time for those of us interested in new developments in assistive technology. Not only are existing programs regularly updated, but new and previously unseen technology is on-route to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. With the advent of e-book readers like the Kindle, Sony E-reader, and most recently the Nook released by Barnes and Noble, there could be another wave of new methods for people with learning disabilities and other conditions to access books. While not all of the devices have text-to-speech capability, some of them do, and if it proves useful, other producers of e-book readers will probably follow suit and adopt that utility.
Resources for acquiring electronic textbooks
The usefulness of Assistive Technology programs for students is directly tethered to the availability of appropriate electronic text resources. In a forthcoming article, the Co-Founder of www.ldrfa.org, Zahavit Paz and I will be exploring the many directions that students can take to acquire electronic texts that are compatible with their AT program of choice.
By Jason Luchs, Director
Student Disability Services at The New School
December, 2009
Assistive Technology has become synonymous with success for students with disabilities in higher education. Without many of the programs that are familiar to those in the disability services field, a multitude of students with documented learning disabilities would be unable to appropriately access their course work. Some of the most notable software programs that are designed to assist this population are:
• Kurzweil 3000 (K3000)
• Premier Assistive Technology’s Key to Access
• Texthelp’s Read and Write Gold
• Dragon Naturally Speaking and MacSpeech Dictate by Nuance
There are more programs available than these, but for the purposes of this article, I am going to focus on these to narrow the discussion, and also because I have working knowledge and experience with them. I don’t specifically endorse or recommend any program over another.
Learning Disability Assistive technology Software
The first three programs listed have very similar goals and capabilities. They are designed to assist individuals with reading or writing problems due to a learning disability or other condition that affects reading and writing, such as attention based disorders (ADD or ADHD). Each program has a robust feature set that includes options to highlight words while reading them aloud to the user. Predictive text and talking word processing capability are also shared by each of the programs. K3000 differs from Premier’s and Texthelp’s software in that the program opens in a new window and does not use a floating toolbar design like the Key to Access or Read and Write Gold.
Each of the programs can assist students with learning disabilities, but I have seen some preferences among students. There are students who prefer using a word processing program they are comfortable with like Microsoft Word, while being able to have the floating toolbar of either Read and Write Gold or Key to Access available when they need it. With K3000, the user must type directly into the program interface to use its features. However, it is worth noting that with new updates to each program, more user-friendly methods of interaction become available which in the future may include a floating toolbar and opening the program in a new window.
Given the choice, I’d guess more students in higher education would choose either Read and Write Gold or Premier AT over K3000 because it seems to be geared more towards younger students. Read and Write Gold and Premier AT suite can be used discretely in open labs via a floating toolbar and the student can pick and choose which portion of the technology they need whereas K3000 must be fully open.
I have recently demonstrated Premier AT for students and they have been most interested in its ability to read PDF documents and e-text aloud. College students are increasingly required to access electronic articles via the web or interfaces like Blackboard and a hard copy may not be available. These students also have an interest in being able to convert text to audio, but this is better in theory than in practice. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) still has some work to do before it can accurately recognize all words and properly pronounce them, especially homonyms or words that may have different pronunciation depending on context, such as “I like to read (reed) often” or “I read (red) the book yesterday.” Additionally, some of the voices sound much too monotone, synthetic, or distracting to be useful. Developers are continuing to improve the voices associated with their respective programs, but none of them are totally human-sounding at this point. Currently, I think that artificial voices by Cepstral, a leader in synthetic voice development are some of the better ones available as they do a relatively good job of approximating human speech. While I am not discussing Mac accessibility in depth here, it is worth noting that the Mac OSX accessibility features are quite robust and the included voice-over feature dubbed “Alex” is excellent.
Cost and Alternatives to Purchasing – LD Resources Foundation Awards Program
The cost of assistive technology can be daunting for the individual as well as a disability services office with a modest budget. Many times it can be the determining factor as to what technology is available for student use. K3000 is the most expensive out of the three program suites discussed here, followed by Read and Write Gold and Premier AT Key to Access or Accessibility Suite. Since the cost of these products can be problematic for some students, trying to acquire a demo version via the product website is a good first step. Some university disability services offices have demo versions or lending programs available as well. I highly recommend checking vendor websites to see if trial versions of their products are available. Each of us have different preferences and levels of computer savvy, especially students who may have not used assistive technology before so it’s a good idea to give software a test run.
Students who may not be able to acquire software on their own should also look into the awards program offered by LD Resources Foundation (LDRF). Based on economic need and disability status, the LDRF awards program seeks to assist students who are most likely to need assistance acquiring software that can help them succeed in college. During my tenure at The New School, LDRF has awarded the Key to Access program to approximately ten students, with more applying for awards each semester. Students who aren’t sure if they will qualify for an award are encouraged to still apply because LDRF works on a sliding scale. The goal of the organization is to try to provide awards and assistance to as many students as possible, so they have flexible guidelines that allow them to work with individuals with all kinds of backgrounds, and will even provide assistance in completing an application.
In the past three years, LDRF has made 35 presentations and awarded portable assistive technology and tools to over 100 students in multiple universities. Over 60 permanent assistive technology systems were provided to libraries as well. Most recently, LDRF added speech recognition software to their list of AT products available. Students can apply for the Speech Recognition award and request Dragon Naturally Speaking for PC or MacSpeech Dictate for Mac. Both are excellent products developed by Nuance and with minimal training, the user can dictate papers, emails and even control some navigation functions on their computer. Students interested in completing an application for an award can find it via http://www.ldrfa.org/awardprogram.php on the LDRF website. The application is available to print out and complete by hand, or in a fillable PDF that can be emailed or printed.
Voice Recognition and Dictation Software
Dragon Naturally Speaking has undergone many improvements with recent versions, most notably with version 10. The training time is now minimal and voice recognition is very accurate, even for students with accents or limited computer experience. I demonstrated this software for a number of students who cited difficulty with typing or handwriting assignments but who had a much easier time verbally expressing themselves. One student recently told me that he thinks the use of a program like Dragon Naturally Speaking could significantly change his life. He was unaware of the existence of voice dictation software and when I demonstrated the program for him, he said it would definitely be helpful. The student has difficulty writing or typing as a result of dyslexia, but he can express himself quite well verbally. This is exactly the type of student who can excel using voice recognition software. Using a good quality noise canceling microphone like an Andrea or Plantronics headset, a user who types around 40 words per minute can possibly double or triple that speed with dictation.
What the Future Holds for Assistive Technology
This is a very exciting time for those of us interested in new developments in assistive technology. Not only are existing programs regularly updated, but new and previously unseen technology is on-route to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. With the advent of e-book readers like the Kindle, Sony E-reader, and most recently the Nook released by Barnes and Noble, there could be another wave of new methods for people with learning disabilities and other conditions to access books. While not all of the devices have text-to-speech capability, some of them do, and if it proves useful, other producers of e-book readers will probably follow suit and adopt that utility.
Resources for acquiring electronic textbooks
The usefulness of Assistive Technology programs for students is directly tethered to the availability of appropriate electronic text resources. In a forthcoming article, the Co-Founder of www.ldrfa.org, Zahavit Paz and I will be exploring the many directions that students can take to acquire electronic texts that are compatible with their AT program of choice.
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