Bookshare is an invaluable resource that provides access to printed materials for people with print disabilities, including visual impairments, physical disabilities or severe learning disabilities.
Bookshare offers the world’s largest collection of accessible titles. As a result, people of all ages, as well as schools and many organizations around the globe can access the books they need for school, work, career advancement, skill development and the simple love of reading in formats that work for them.
Click the link to read my post on Overcoming Print Disabilities with eBooks to learn more about Bookshare and other free resources available to those with print disabilities.
Join the folks at Bookshare for an upcoming Back to School with Booksharewebinar on September 14, at 2pm PST. The webinar will last approximately one hour. During this hour you will learn how easy it is to implement Bookshare in your classroom and get your students reading in just a few easy steps. If you're unable to attend, be sure to still register and Bookshare will send you a link to the recording.
Those who experience a print disability, may also experience frustration or even embarrassment when interacting with traditional print materials. Simply stated, a print disability is a physical or cognitive condition that hinders a person from reading printed text. Thankfully in a day and age of technology, there are many options for e-readers for those classified with a print disability. This post, compiled by PCCSA, shares 5 different e-book options available for students to use for both academic and pleasure reading.
Bookshare
If
you cannot read traditional print books because of a visual impairment,
physical disability or severe learning disability, Bookshare can help! Our books are “accessible,” which means you can read our books many different ways. Bookshare offers the world’s largest collection of accessible titles. *As a district, we suggest that you sign-up for an Individual Bookshare account. This allows the parent/guardian to access all books for their student, it is not tied to a teacher's account and/or book list. Who qualifies? Click here to get started with Bookshare
OverDrive
With OverDrive, you can borrow and enjoy free eBooks, audiobooks, and more from your public library's digital collection.OverDrive is available across a wide range of devices and platforms. All you need to get started is an internet connection, and a public library card.
Open eBooks is an app containing thousands of popular and award-winning titles that are free for children from in-need households. These eBooks can be read without checkouts or holds.
The goal of Open eBooks is to encourage a love of reading and serve as a gateway to children reading even more often, whether in school, at libraries, or through other eBook reading apps.
*The PCCS A&IT Department has offered training to staff and parents of students with IEP's. If your student has an IEP, please contact their case manager for access code/PINs.
hoopla is a groundbreaking digital media service offered by your
local public library that allows you to borrow movies, music,
audiobooks, ebooks, comics and TV shows to enjoy on your computer,
tablet, or phone – and even your TV! With no waiting, titles can be
streamed immediately, or downloaded to phones or tablets for offline
enjoyment later. We have hundreds of thousands of titles to choose from,
with more being added daily. hoopla is like having your public library
at your fingertips. Anytime. Anywhere.
Project Gutenberg offers over 50,000 free ebooks. Choose among free epub books and free kindle books, which you can download or read them online.
No fee or registration is required, but if you find Project Gutenberg useful, they kindly ask you to donate a small amount so they can buy and digitize more books.
Bookshare is an invaluable resource that provides access to printed materials for people with print disabilities, including visual impairments, physical disabilities or severe learning disabilities.
