Support #3: Bookshare

For anyone that's counting down with me, we have 12 days left of school. Here's support #3!

I am a HUGE fan of Bookshare. In my experience, it is the best (and most age appropriate) way of providing access to text for students who have print based disabilities. I love using the Bookshare app called Read2Go. It's $20.00 and well worth the price but you can also download the program on a computer for free. The hardest part about Bookshare is signing up. Give yourself a week to sign up and familiarize yourself with the download process. Below are some great videos from Bookshare that show you how to become a member. Enjoy!

Here's a website tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0RUvNRZl8w

How to use Read2Go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcQOmPDjw9g

How to download Bookshare on your computer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFDt34DhVPo

From their website:
Bookshare® opens up the world of reading for people with print disabilities. 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 result, students, seniors, veterans, schools and many organizations around the globe use Bookshare to access the books they need for school, work, and the simple love of reading.

How can you read Bookshare books?
  • Listen to books with high quality text-to-speech voices
  • Hear and see highlighted words on screen
  • Read with digital braille or enlarged fonts
  • Create physical braille or large print
  • Read directly from your Internet browser
  • And more!

Check out Jenn and Nina's amazing sixth grade class. Students are reading The Westing Game. Bookshare's Read2Go app makes it possible for all students to access the text.
Students that have the Read2Go app can change the color, voice, and font size among other things. This is a screenshot from a Chicago Bulls fan. He personalized his Bookshare Read2Go app to show off his Bulls pride. Go sports!

This student is using Read2Go to respond to read and respond to the text. Check out my Support #2 post to read more about sketch annotation.
 


 

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