Friday, November 20, 2009
The development of Technology and Assistive devices
By Zahavit Paz, Co-founder and Chairperson of LD Resources Foundation.
Presented at the 12th Annual Accessing Higher Ground: Accessible Media,Web and Technology Conference.
November 13th 2009 panel, “From Clay Tablets to the Kindle – implications of the new e-book technology (in particular, it's implications for accessibility)”
http://www.colorado.edu/ATconference/confsched2009.html
Accessing Higher Ground focuses on the implementation and benefits of Assistive Technology and Accessible Media in the university and college setting. Other topic areas cover legal and policy issues, including ADA and Section 508 compliance. The creation of accessible media and information resources, including Web pages and library resources are a particular focus of the event.
The development of Technology and Assistive devices
In the last 20 years, the advancement of the personal computer and other technologies has changed the way most people live, work, shop and communicate. The Internet has changed the world. We have more access to millions of documents, which, before, were inaccessible. The Internet has connected Americans to sources of information throughout the world in a matter of nanoseconds.
It has also helped in U.S. politics. In 2008, all the American Presidential candidates have used the Internet to raise over a billion US dollars to fund their campaigns and to get their message across. The Internet, and cell phones, smart phones such as the I-phone and Blackberry can now communicate and market campaign information in the United States and around the world.
In colleges, many students are required to upload their assignments from their college website, and email the completed questions and assignments to their professors. They also work on assignments with distant peers. Some universities started to use E-readers such as Kindle DX to upload their textbooks.
With this increasing reliance on technological developments, no adult with a reading disability “should be left in the technological dark.” Assistive technology is affordable and should be accessible to everyone.
Thanks to assistive technology and the rapid development of Assistive devices, the literacy needs of people with learning disabilities can be met, because everyone can and should have access to the information they need!
For comments, email: zpaz@ldrfa.org
Presented at the 12th Annual Accessing Higher Ground: Accessible Media,Web and Technology Conference.
November 13th 2009 panel, “From Clay Tablets to the Kindle – implications of the new e-book technology (in particular, it's implications for accessibility)”
http://www.colorado.edu/ATconference/confsched2009.html
Accessing Higher Ground focuses on the implementation and benefits of Assistive Technology and Accessible Media in the university and college setting. Other topic areas cover legal and policy issues, including ADA and Section 508 compliance. The creation of accessible media and information resources, including Web pages and library resources are a particular focus of the event.
The development of Technology and Assistive devices
In the last 20 years, the advancement of the personal computer and other technologies has changed the way most people live, work, shop and communicate. The Internet has changed the world. We have more access to millions of documents, which, before, were inaccessible. The Internet has connected Americans to sources of information throughout the world in a matter of nanoseconds.
It has also helped in U.S. politics. In 2008, all the American Presidential candidates have used the Internet to raise over a billion US dollars to fund their campaigns and to get their message across. The Internet, and cell phones, smart phones such as the I-phone and Blackberry can now communicate and market campaign information in the United States and around the world.
In colleges, many students are required to upload their assignments from their college website, and email the completed questions and assignments to their professors. They also work on assignments with distant peers. Some universities started to use E-readers such as Kindle DX to upload their textbooks.
With this increasing reliance on technological developments, no adult with a reading disability “should be left in the technological dark.” Assistive technology is affordable and should be accessible to everyone.
Thanks to assistive technology and the rapid development of Assistive devices, the literacy needs of people with learning disabilities can be met, because everyone can and should have access to the information they need!
For comments, email: zpaz@ldrfa.org
E text readers and E text books
Ms. Zahavit Paz, Executive Director of the LD Resources Foundation at the 12th Annual Access to Higher Ground : Accessible Media, Web and Technology, Conference.
November 13, 2009 Panel: “From Clay Tablets to the Kindle – implications of the new e-book technology (in particular, it's implications for accessibility)”
(http://www.colorado.edu/ATconference/confsched2009.html).
My overview today is not only speaking as an organization that assists college students with LD & ADD, but also as an individual with LD who is dependent on assistive technology.
E- readers & E-text books have potential promise closing the gaps for Students with learning disabilities.
E-reader devices have been around for at least a decade. Today's E-reader devices are in the news almost daily, because they are more mainstream. Its exciting news for post-secondary students with learning disabilities the manufacturers promise easy download solution within seconds for textbooks with text to speech option.
General overview of the E-readers market and price trend
Forrester Research Inc, an independent research company suggests most consumers will buy digital devices when the price drops to $100. However, I read another report that predicts holiday sales for e readers will be up by fifty percent. (http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/Excerpt/0,7211,53825,00.html).
According to The International Digital Publishing Forum’s (IDPF) Mike Smith, “The sweet spot maybe $100, but the educational market will support a higher price, since students, who will typically be in undergraduate programs, will need to use it for 4 years saving the cost of purchasing actual books and eliminating the burden of physically caring for books. The access to a search capability rather than having to look up information in an index, as well as readers that offer copy and paste capabilities, will save lots of time for students working on their assignments.”
IDPF Trade and Standards Association for the digital publishing industry, just announced that eBook industry wide sales statistics for the first quarter were up by 228.3%, and calendar year to date revenue increased by 154.8% (http://www.idpf.org/)
E-Readers:
There are so many e-readers on the market today. Rumors are, according to Mitch Ratcliffe’s blog on ZDnet, by the end of 2010, that 52 e-reader devices will be on the market in the next 12 months. (http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ratcliffe)
Listed are some e-readers below:
The E-reader industry, realizing postsecondary schools are potentially a lucrative market, are trying to lure colleges to purchase their e-readers.
Amazon Kindle (http://www.amazon.com) has the largest market share today of a little more than 60 percent (http://www.epapercentral.com/forums).
Amazon is trying to market the Kindle e-reader to post-secondary institutions with note-taker capability. As with any other new technology, the technical glitches need to be worked out.
This fall, students at seven universities were given a large screen (9.7”) Kindle DX weighing about one pound and at a cost of $489. These students (at the following seven universities (Darden Graduate School of Business, the University of Virginia, Arizona State University, Case Western Reserve University, Princeton University, Reed College, Pace University and University of Washington) are currently testing the product. So far, the results have revealed some problems with reading PDF files, no Page numbers, folder organization, web accessibilities, etc.
Overall, some students liked it. There is room for adjustment as a functional navigation as textbook when you need to search by page number.
The Author’s Guild (http://www.authorsguild.org/)
Interestingly, I asked the director of the Author”s Guild about their position on speech to text for text books. He said they do not have an objection since it would not be offered to students as audio books. That is exciting news for college students with LD.
iPhone as e-reader (http://www.apple.com/iphone/)
Greg Krause of LecShare (http://www.lecshare.com/) gave me a demonstration of their new application of text to speech, with easy navigation by page numbers and highlighting, for the iPhone. It will be on the app store by the end of November at a cost of ten dollars.
An advantage to the iPhone, or PC screen, is that it refreshes very quickly and could be useful for augmented reading, rather than the slower E-Ink screen technology.
NOOK & Kindle
The comparison between the Amazon Kindle & the Barnes & Nobel Nook is that the Kindle is facing stiff competition from the Nook. The Nook offers a color touch screen, an easy-to-read and use display, bookmark capability, text highlighting, notes and a memory card, which can be upgraded to store 17,500 books. Nook owners can lend their eBooks to another Nook friend for 14 days free. The Nook will on sale on November 30th. On November 2, Spring Design sued Barnes and Noble to protect the intellectual properties of the Alex E-book.
What does all this mean to people with disabilities?
Almost all books will be available for download for people with disabilities. However, the design of these devices does not meet the accessibility needs of people who are legally blind or have print disabilities or motor skills problems. If they need to use assistive technology these books may not be available to them. We have to remember that a student with print disabilities, who needs to get using a new device, requires a learning curve, and costs associated with acquiring the device.
Advantages of E-Reader
For comments, email: zpaz@ldrfa.org
November 13, 2009 Panel: “From Clay Tablets to the Kindle – implications of the new e-book technology (in particular, it's implications for accessibility)”
(http://www.colorado.edu/ATconference/confsched2009.html).
My overview today is not only speaking as an organization that assists college students with LD & ADD, but also as an individual with LD who is dependent on assistive technology.
E- readers & E-text books have potential promise closing the gaps for Students with learning disabilities.
E-reader devices have been around for at least a decade. Today's E-reader devices are in the news almost daily, because they are more mainstream. Its exciting news for post-secondary students with learning disabilities the manufacturers promise easy download solution within seconds for textbooks with text to speech option.
General overview of the E-readers market and price trend
Forrester Research Inc, an independent research company suggests most consumers will buy digital devices when the price drops to $100. However, I read another report that predicts holiday sales for e readers will be up by fifty percent. (http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/Excerpt/0,7211,53825,00.html).
According to The International Digital Publishing Forum’s (IDPF) Mike Smith, “The sweet spot maybe $100, but the educational market will support a higher price, since students, who will typically be in undergraduate programs, will need to use it for 4 years saving the cost of purchasing actual books and eliminating the burden of physically caring for books. The access to a search capability rather than having to look up information in an index, as well as readers that offer copy and paste capabilities, will save lots of time for students working on their assignments.”
IDPF Trade and Standards Association for the digital publishing industry, just announced that eBook industry wide sales statistics for the first quarter were up by 228.3%, and calendar year to date revenue increased by 154.8% (http://www.idpf.org/)
E-Readers:
There are so many e-readers on the market today. Rumors are, according to Mitch Ratcliffe’s blog on ZDnet, by the end of 2010, that 52 e-reader devices will be on the market in the next 12 months. (http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ratcliffe)
Listed are some e-readers below:
- Amazon Kindle - http://www.amazon.com/kindlestore/
- Barrens & Noble Nook - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook
- Sony eBook Reader - http://ebookstore.sony.com/reader/
- Franklin eBookman eReader - http://www.franklin.com/
- Elonex eBook - http://www.elonex.com/
- Irex Digital Reader Series - http://www.irextechnologies.com/irexdr1000
- Interead Cool-er - http://www.coolreaders.com/
- Fujitsu FLEPia - http://www.frontech.fujitsu.com/en/release/20090318.html
- Bookeen Cybook - http://www.bookeen.com/ebook/ebook-reading-device.aspx
- Plastic Logic Que - http://www.plasticlogic.com/ereader/index.phpPremier
- Key to Access VPod - http://www.readingmadeez.com/products/ktavpod.html
- Apple Tablet - http://store.apple.com
The E-reader industry, realizing postsecondary schools are potentially a lucrative market, are trying to lure colleges to purchase their e-readers.
Amazon Kindle (http://www.amazon.com) has the largest market share today of a little more than 60 percent (http://www.epapercentral.com/forums).
Amazon is trying to market the Kindle e-reader to post-secondary institutions with note-taker capability. As with any other new technology, the technical glitches need to be worked out.
This fall, students at seven universities were given a large screen (9.7”) Kindle DX weighing about one pound and at a cost of $489. These students (at the following seven universities (Darden Graduate School of Business, the University of Virginia, Arizona State University, Case Western Reserve University, Princeton University, Reed College, Pace University and University of Washington) are currently testing the product. So far, the results have revealed some problems with reading PDF files, no Page numbers, folder organization, web accessibilities, etc.
Overall, some students liked it. There is room for adjustment as a functional navigation as textbook when you need to search by page number.
The Author’s Guild (http://www.authorsguild.org/)
Interestingly, I asked the director of the Author”s Guild about their position on speech to text for text books. He said they do not have an objection since it would not be offered to students as audio books. That is exciting news for college students with LD.
iPhone as e-reader (http://www.apple.com/iphone/)
Greg Krause of LecShare (http://www.lecshare.com/) gave me a demonstration of their new application of text to speech, with easy navigation by page numbers and highlighting, for the iPhone. It will be on the app store by the end of November at a cost of ten dollars.
An advantage to the iPhone, or PC screen, is that it refreshes very quickly and could be useful for augmented reading, rather than the slower E-Ink screen technology.
NOOK & Kindle
The comparison between the Amazon Kindle & the Barnes & Nobel Nook is that the Kindle is facing stiff competition from the Nook. The Nook offers a color touch screen, an easy-to-read and use display, bookmark capability, text highlighting, notes and a memory card, which can be upgraded to store 17,500 books. Nook owners can lend their eBooks to another Nook friend for 14 days free. The Nook will on sale on November 30th. On November 2, Spring Design sued Barnes and Noble to protect the intellectual properties of the Alex E-book.
What does all this mean to people with disabilities?
Almost all books will be available for download for people with disabilities. However, the design of these devices does not meet the accessibility needs of people who are legally blind or have print disabilities or motor skills problems. If they need to use assistive technology these books may not be available to them. We have to remember that a student with print disabilities, who needs to get using a new device, requires a learning curve, and costs associated with acquiring the device.
Assistive Technology is not one tool that fits all!
Advantages of E-Reader
- Green environmentally-friendly
- Students have access, 24/7, to the books.
- Less eyestrain from overuse of computer LCD screens.
- Zoom capacity.
- No glare, since most readers use E-Ink displays
- E-Readers have a long battery life.
- Less back and carpal tunnel injuries caused by overuse of the computer.
- For students with learning disabilities it has the potential to level the playing field by using a mainstream fashionable gadget.
- Students will not be able to sell their textbooks after the term ends.
- Would Colleges and Universities support the e reader devices? Would they give a loaner to a student when his/her kindle is down? If yes, what would be the turnaround time of service for the kindle?
- Navigation using I-ink E-Ink displays can take a second or more to refresh.
For comments, email: zpaz@ldrfa.org
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Zahavit Paz, Executive Director of LD Resources Foundation, will be making a panel presentation at the Access to Higher Ground Conference
Zahavit Paz, Executive Director and Co-Founder of LD Resources Foundation, will be making a panel presenting regarding e-book technology at the “Access to Higher Ground” Conference in Westminister, Colorado, on Friday, November 13, 2009.
The title of Ms. Paz’s presentation will be, “From Clay Tablets to the Kindle – implications of the new e-book technology”. The Access to Higher Ground Conference is sponsored by the University of Colorado in collaboration with AHEAD, EASI, ATHEN, and WebAIM. This Nationwide Conference is for individuals who design or provide accessible Web media, web based information resources and web access technology in the academic environment.
As a panel participant, Ms. Paz will speak on how current E-book technology affects students with print disabilities on postsecondary universities.
Highlights of what Ms. Paz will focus on:
Access to textbooks, via e-book technology, which can be accessed everywhere students may be located, such as in trains, buses, transportation depots, libraries, and other public or private spaces.
What the downsides are of this breakthrough technology when it comes to students with a print disability.
The need for developing e-book standards to institute compatible “across the board” e-reader technology, so that students have access to any book they need regardless of the publishing source or the bookseller.
Why are the costs of this technology prohibitive for those in the lower socio-economic sphere?
The full text of Zahavit Paz’s speech will be in an upcoming blog at blog@ldrfa.org.
For more information regarding the Access to Higher Ground Conference go to: www. Colorado.edu/ATconference/html.
For more information on e-book technology, go to:http://www.ebookweek.com/ebook_gallery.html#2
The title of Ms. Paz’s presentation will be, “From Clay Tablets to the Kindle – implications of the new e-book technology”. The Access to Higher Ground Conference is sponsored by the University of Colorado in collaboration with AHEAD, EASI, ATHEN, and WebAIM. This Nationwide Conference is for individuals who design or provide accessible Web media, web based information resources and web access technology in the academic environment.
As a panel participant, Ms. Paz will speak on how current E-book technology affects students with print disabilities on postsecondary universities.
Highlights of what Ms. Paz will focus on:
Access to textbooks, via e-book technology, which can be accessed everywhere students may be located, such as in trains, buses, transportation depots, libraries, and other public or private spaces.
What the downsides are of this breakthrough technology when it comes to students with a print disability.
The need for developing e-book standards to institute compatible “across the board” e-reader technology, so that students have access to any book they need regardless of the publishing source or the bookseller.
Why are the costs of this technology prohibitive for those in the lower socio-economic sphere?
The full text of Zahavit Paz’s speech will be in an upcoming blog at blog@ldrfa.org.
For more information regarding the Access to Higher Ground Conference go to: www. Colorado.edu/ATconference/html.
For more information on e-book technology, go to:http://www.ebookweek.com/ebook_gallery.html#2
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Zahavit Paz, Executive Director of LDRF, invited to speak on the use of Assistive Technology for people with LD at the College of Emek Yezreel
Zahavit Paz, Executive Director and Co-founder on LD Resources Foundation Inc. (LDRF), will be speaking on Sunday, September 13, 2009 at the Israeli Assistive Technology Forum. The forum, held at the Max Stern Academic College of Emek Yezreel, (http://www.yvc.ac.il/template/default.asp?maincat=24) will look at assistive technology and its role in assisting postsecondary students with learning disabilities. Ms. Paz will speak on Digital Literacy and Technology in the 21st Century. Her talk will focus on how assistive technology in the United States is utilized for students with Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder (LD/ADHD). She will give a live demonstration of the Key to Go USB drive, an extraordinary cutting edge assistive reading tool used by our technology award student recipients (for more about our award programs go to: http://www.ldrfa.org/awardprogram.php). In this fast-paced world, having the right tools to learn is essential. For students with learning disabilities, it is all the more important that these tools be portable and accessible. Premier Assistive Technologies Inc., a partner with LD Resources Foundation Inc, (LDRF), developed the Key to Go USB drive. Ms Paz’s presentation will include an overview about how people with a reading disability can access their textbooks at college and access the Internet.
For her PowerPoint presentation and other links and resources, please visit: http://ldrfa.org/?pID=24
In 2008 LDRF started operating two programs in Israel at Open University- http://www-e.openu.ac.il/ and Tel Hai College http://www.telhai.ac.il/english/ Both are members of the Israeli Assistive Technology Forum.
One of the other speakers is a representative of LESHEM (http://leshem.telhai.ac.il), the Association for the Advancement of Learning Disabled Students in Higher Education.
For further information about LDRF’s award programs and advocacy work of LD Resources Foundation, go to http://www.ldrfa.org.
For further information about Premier Assistive Technology Inc., go to http://www.readingmadeez.com.
For her PowerPoint presentation and other links and resources, please visit: http://ldrfa.org/?pID=24
In 2008 LDRF started operating two programs in Israel at Open University- http://www-e.openu.ac.il/ and Tel Hai College http://www.telhai.ac.il/english/ Both are members of the Israeli Assistive Technology Forum.
One of the other speakers is a representative of LESHEM (http://leshem.telhai.ac.il), the Association for the Advancement of Learning Disabled Students in Higher Education.
For further information about LDRF’s award programs and advocacy work of LD Resources Foundation, go to http://www.ldrfa.org.
For further information about Premier Assistive Technology Inc., go to http://www.readingmadeez.com.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Post high school students with disabilities in postsecondary institutions
The National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) released a study on June 2nd. The study, “The Post-High School Outcomes of Youth with Disabilities up to 4 Years after High School,” surveyed high school students with disabilities, ages 17-21 on life after high school.
One aspect of the study focused on students with disabilities enrolled in postsecondary institutions. Some of the findings were:
Ø Forty-five percent of high school students went to college. Out of the forty-five percent, 32% were likely enrolled in a two year community college versus 14% enrolled in a four year college.
Ø Students with disabilities who attended a two year college were enrolled in an academic (57 %) than vocational (29 %) programs.
Ø Students who were identified as having a disability in high school, 55% of students did not consider themselves as having a disability while in college. Thirty-seven percent of students self-identified as having a disability in college or in a postsecondary certificate program.
Ø Eighty-nine percent of students with disabilities enrolled in college reported they were working towards a degree or certificate. Twenty-nine percent had graduated or completed their postsecondary certificate program.
To see the report in its entirety, go to http://ies.ed.gov/ncser/.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Activities and fundraing for the LD Resources Foundation
Dear supporters,
* This year: we served and awarded more than 20 college students and 38 college staff.
* We ran 16 programs in colleges ,libraries and organizations.
* Our advocacy, awareness programs and our support group workshops have attracted hundreds of participants .
* LD Resources Foundation has just moved to a new office.
All this we were able to achieve with the generosity of our volunteers and supporters .
This year, we need to hire paid staff in order to serve our students and run our programs .
Due to the economic downturn and higher demands for our services your support is needed more than ever.
Please help us help our students achieve a college education and ultimately improve their chances for a better career .
Your contribution is very important to us
You can make your donation online
at: https://www.ldrfa.org/~ldrfaorg/donate_paypal.php
or mail it to:
LD Resources Foundation
31 East 32 Street Suite 607
New York, NY 10016
Your contribution is tax deductible
The LD Resources Foundation Inc., is a not for profit organization under IRS section 501(c)(3)
Thank you your support is greatly appreciated"
* This year: we served and awarded more than 20 college students and 38 college staff.
* We ran 16 programs in colleges ,libraries and organizations.
* Our advocacy, awareness programs and our support group workshops have attracted hundreds of participants .
* LD Resources Foundation has just moved to a new office.
All this we were able to achieve with the generosity of our volunteers and supporters .
This year, we need to hire paid staff in order to serve our students and run our programs .
Due to the economic downturn and higher demands for our services your support is needed more than ever.
Please help us help our students achieve a college education and ultimately improve their chances for a better career .
Your contribution is very important to us
You can make your donation online
at: https://www.ldrfa.org/~ldrfaorg/donate_paypal.php
or mail it to:
LD Resources Foundation
31 East 32 Street Suite 607
New York, NY 10016
Your contribution is tax deductible
The LD Resources Foundation Inc., is a not for profit organization under IRS section 501(c)(3)
Thank you your support is greatly appreciated"
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