Kent ISD
Assistive Technology
Audio Text/E-text/Supported Reading
For students with a reading disability
1. Publishers: CD’s or online access is available for some textbooks, as access
is purchased by districts. Check the quality and accessibility of these supplements.
Pearson Publishing
https://order.superlibrary.com/Comergent/en/US/adirect/pearson?cmd=DisabilityRequestForm
Cengage Learning, (Delmar, Thompson)
http://permission.cengage.com/permissions/action/step1
For Holt Products:
800-323-9239
For McDougal Littell Products:
800-727-3009
2. Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic: www.rfbd.org – FREE individual subscriptions for students with a “reading disability”. Access to “human voice” recorded textbooks and fiction. Books are downloaded in a
3. Bookshare.org: FREE database of copyrighted fiction and textbooks. Growing library of materials -- DISTICT SIGNS UP FOR A FREE INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP
4. Scanning: Use the Kent ISD scanning equipment to scan a book into PDF.
5. APH (American Printing House for the Blind): some titles are free, some have a fee.
http://www.aph.org/louis/index.html
For all students
6. Kent District Library/MEL: www.kdl.org or http://mel.org – with a library card, some novels are available free for download to computer or to an MP3.
7. Free online: if text is OUT OF COPYRIGHT (generally anything published before 1923, or a book that the publisher has let the copyright lapse.)
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ebooks/
www.books.google.com
www.gutenberg.org
8. Library of Congress: www.loc.gov -- has many free books/documents available digitally.
9. Audible: www.audible.com – audio books available for purchase and download to an MP3 player. Each book purchased may be placed on 3 devices.
10. PlayAways: http://www.playaway.com/ - audio books in mp3 format. Each book purchased separately.
How to Read the Books You Find?
1. Audio books that are in an mp3 format:
These can play on a commercial mp3 players, either an IPod or other brand for portable
use. Student would/could follow along in the book.
--downloaded from RFB&D as a WMA file
--downloaded from Audible.com
--PlayAway mp3
--converted from digital text with Text-to-Audio software
--volunteers record books upon request
2. Digital text on the computer screen: (use one of these text readers)
- Universal Reader, DSpeech, Natural Reader, Read Please, etc.
--Word files, other text files(rtf, txt), web pages, some EBooks
b. Adobe Acrobat Reader or PDF Equalizer from Premier Accessiblity
--PDF files
c. Universal Reader from Premier Accessiblity
--Flash files such as some textbooks on CD or online curriculum content/textbooks
3. Portable digital text solutions:
--EBook readers such as
a. Itouch/iPad with eReader, ISpeak, or Read To Me “apps”
b. Kindle, Nook, Sony Ebook Reader, etc.
Finally….Which students can use which materials??
Copyrighted materials from RFB&D , BookShare, Publisher files: students must have an identified reading disability. Professional staff member “certifies” that the student has a reading disability, visual impairment, physical impairment, etc. (These students should have an IEP or 504).
Other content can be made accessible to any student: non-copyrighted text, commercially purchased audio books (www.audible.com, PlayAway, etc.).
Kent ISD, Assistive Technology
June 2010