Books In Digital Formats
AUDIO BOOKS
Bookshare®
Bookshare provides the world’s largest online library of accessible reading materials for people with print disabilities. Parents can sign up their students for an individual membership and access the library on their own. A Bookshare membership for students K-12 will allow 100 books to be downloaded a month. The individual membership will provide access to accessible books, textbooks, newspapers and magazines. Additionally, free access technology makes it easy to read books with a computer. Through an award from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), Bookshare offers free membership to U.S. schools and qualifying U.S. students. Parents will need to get a signature from a competent authority and in the case of blindess and visual impairments, an appropriate authority may be a physician, ophthalmologist, or optometrist. Audio books can be downloaded to all computers and devices, except the Kindle. If you have an apple computer or device you will need to purchase an app which will cost between $9.99-$19.99. Bookshare will accept requests and if they fill the request it will take them about 1 week to 4 weeks to produce the book into an audio format.
https://www.bookshare.org
*Tip for Low Vision Students : You can download the book onto a computer or iPad and view the audio book as well as see the words highlighted as the book is being read.
Downloading Books on Bookshare
Your student will be able to download books from bookshare if they have a qualifying disability. If so, I will create an individual membership for the student which will allow you to sign in and download books onto a computer or device. After I add the student you will need to fill out a form which will be sent to you via email directly from Bookshare. You will fill out the form, print it, sign the form, take a picture of the form with your device, and email it to [email protected] or you can fax it to (650) 475-1066. Bookshare will not allow us to download the books until they receive a signature from the parents. After bookshare gets the picture of the form they will allow you to use the email and password you provided on your individual membership form. The user name is your email and you provided them with a password.
The easiest way to download books is to use a computer or an iPad. You will need to download one of the following apps onto your iPad in order to download books from Bookshare. Read2Go $19.99 and Voice Dream Reader $9.99. Voice Dream Reader has different voices for an additional $2.99. My favorite voice is Will or Julie.
Utah State Library for the Blind and Disabled
Provides the kinds of materials found in public libraries in formats accessible to the blind and disabled. Books and magazines are available in braille, in large print, on audio cassettes, and on audio digital books. The library will provide an NLS digital talking book machine player in which patrons will use to listen to their digital books.Services are provided by the Utah State Library Division in cooperation with the Library of Congress, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. Services are provided free of charge to eligible readers. Parents are able to fill out an application for their student and they will need a signature from the school or from a teacher for the visually impaired. Digital cartridges can be mailed to you or you can download books onto the cartrige or thumb drive to be used on a digital player that the library will provide to each patron. If you are interested in downloading digital books you will need to apply for a login and password to use BARD, which is a division of Utah State Library for the Blind and Disabled.
http://blindlibrary.utah.gov
Librivox
Librivox's mission: “To make all the books in the public domain available, for free, in audio format on the internet.”
You can listen on a computer, iPod or other mobile device.
https://librivox.org/
AUDIO and eBOOKS
Washington County Library
The local library has two programs in which you can register to download audio books. You will need to download an app for each program onto your device or computer. You can go to their website and click on eResources. Under eResources you will find Oneclick Digital which has 5,000 audio books and Overdrive which has 3,951 audio books.Once you have clicked on Oneclick or Overdrive you will see “help” at the top of the page. Click on “help” to learn how to download to your computer or device. There are very few texts books but both resources offer books in all genres.
http://library.washco.utah.gov/st-george/
OverDrive Instructions From Washington County Library
*Tip for Low Vision Students : You can view digital books in the Kindle app. The Kindle app allows you to enlarge the print and create spacing between the lines which is perfect for students who have a difficult time with staying on the line because the words are too close together.
Textbooks:
Most publishers are producing textbooks in an electronic format. They may provide an audio or eBook format of the book, please check with the publisher. Bookshare also has some textbooks in an audio format.
Resource Lists of Free Audio Books for Kids
http://atclassroom.blogspot.com/2012/09/audio-book-resources.html
http://www.teachersfirst.com/spectopics/audiobooks.cfm
http://www.playingbythebook.net/audiobook-resources/
AUDIO BOOKS
Bookshare®
Bookshare provides the world’s largest online library of accessible reading materials for people with print disabilities. Parents can sign up their students for an individual membership and access the library on their own. A Bookshare membership for students K-12 will allow 100 books to be downloaded a month. The individual membership will provide access to accessible books, textbooks, newspapers and magazines. Additionally, free access technology makes it easy to read books with a computer. Through an award from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), Bookshare offers free membership to U.S. schools and qualifying U.S. students. Parents will need to get a signature from a competent authority and in the case of blindess and visual impairments, an appropriate authority may be a physician, ophthalmologist, or optometrist. Audio books can be downloaded to all computers and devices, except the Kindle. If you have an apple computer or device you will need to purchase an app which will cost between $9.99-$19.99. Bookshare will accept requests and if they fill the request it will take them about 1 week to 4 weeks to produce the book into an audio format.
https://www.bookshare.org
*Tip for Low Vision Students : You can download the book onto a computer or iPad and view the audio book as well as see the words highlighted as the book is being read.
Downloading Books on Bookshare
Your student will be able to download books from bookshare if they have a qualifying disability. If so, I will create an individual membership for the student which will allow you to sign in and download books onto a computer or device. After I add the student you will need to fill out a form which will be sent to you via email directly from Bookshare. You will fill out the form, print it, sign the form, take a picture of the form with your device, and email it to [email protected] or you can fax it to (650) 475-1066. Bookshare will not allow us to download the books until they receive a signature from the parents. After bookshare gets the picture of the form they will allow you to use the email and password you provided on your individual membership form. The user name is your email and you provided them with a password.
The easiest way to download books is to use a computer or an iPad. You will need to download one of the following apps onto your iPad in order to download books from Bookshare. Read2Go $19.99 and Voice Dream Reader $9.99. Voice Dream Reader has different voices for an additional $2.99. My favorite voice is Will or Julie.
Utah State Library for the Blind and Disabled
Provides the kinds of materials found in public libraries in formats accessible to the blind and disabled. Books and magazines are available in braille, in large print, on audio cassettes, and on audio digital books. The library will provide an NLS digital talking book machine player in which patrons will use to listen to their digital books.Services are provided by the Utah State Library Division in cooperation with the Library of Congress, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. Services are provided free of charge to eligible readers. Parents are able to fill out an application for their student and they will need a signature from the school or from a teacher for the visually impaired. Digital cartridges can be mailed to you or you can download books onto the cartrige or thumb drive to be used on a digital player that the library will provide to each patron. If you are interested in downloading digital books you will need to apply for a login and password to use BARD, which is a division of Utah State Library for the Blind and Disabled.
http://blindlibrary.utah.gov
Librivox
Librivox's mission: “To make all the books in the public domain available, for free, in audio format on the internet.”
You can listen on a computer, iPod or other mobile device.
https://librivox.org/
AUDIO and eBOOKS
Washington County Library
The local library has two programs in which you can register to download audio books. You will need to download an app for each program onto your device or computer. You can go to their website and click on eResources. Under eResources you will find Oneclick Digital which has 5,000 audio books and Overdrive which has 3,951 audio books.Once you have clicked on Oneclick or Overdrive you will see “help” at the top of the page. Click on “help” to learn how to download to your computer or device. There are very few texts books but both resources offer books in all genres.
http://library.washco.utah.gov/st-george/
OverDrive Instructions From Washington County Library
*Tip for Low Vision Students : You can view digital books in the Kindle app. The Kindle app allows you to enlarge the print and create spacing between the lines which is perfect for students who have a difficult time with staying on the line because the words are too close together.
Textbooks:
Most publishers are producing textbooks in an electronic format. They may provide an audio or eBook format of the book, please check with the publisher. Bookshare also has some textbooks in an audio format.
Resource Lists of Free Audio Books for Kids
http://atclassroom.blogspot.com/2012/09/audio-book-resources.html
http://www.teachersfirst.com/spectopics/audiobooks.cfm
http://www.playingbythebook.net/audiobook-resources/