accessible educational materials …in the era of mobile, ebooks, cloud, and common core standards
TRANSCRIPT
Accessible Educational Materials …in the Era of Mobile, Ebooks, Cloud, and Common Core Standards
Page 2
A Moment of Opportunity
Mobile: access anywhere, reduced stigma
+
Ebooks: now born digital, new EPUB3 standard
+
Cloud: online learning, easily updated
+
Common Core Standards: new curriculum & assessments, increased similarity across states
Mobile: screen sizes, touch screens +
Ebooks: multi-media, everyone a publisher
+Cloud: new platforms, “built-in”
accessibility+
Common Core: Everything is now
…Or a Perfect Storm for Accessibility?
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It’s Both! So What Should We Do?
● Embrace change as an opportunity● Attack successively harder problems● Actively leverage new technology to make
accessibility cheaper, faster, and easier than ever before
● Engage in scalable outreach● Form strategic partnerships across education,
commercial technology, publishing, parent groups, disability services, and student groups …to achieve all of these objectives
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B4E• Accessible online library• Scale, efficiency• Getting books into
students’ hands
DIAGRAM• Tools for accessible
image creation• Technical standards• Research, training
and best practice guidelines
LIT• Professional
development workshops for teachers
• Cloud-based bookshelf• MP3 download• Web-based reader• Android reader
OSEP-Funded Initiatives
BI4E October 2012Bookshare and Innovation for Education
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Emerging Opportunity: Mobile Access
• World is [going] mobile• Access anywhere
anytime
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What We’re Doing about Mobile Access
● Android Reader (Go Read)● iPhone/iPad Reader (Read2Go)● MP3 & DAISY Audio Downloads
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Emerging Opportunity: eBooks
● Born digital● Opportunity for new tools and processes● New platforms and formats● New players: OER, small publishers● Uncertainty, Experimentation, Diversification● Content beyond books: learning objects● Challenge: images and graphics
– Image-rich content is increasingly pervasive
– Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) content conveys core information in images
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What We’re Doing about eBooks
● >150,000 eBooks (Bookshare)● >200 publisher partners (Bookshare)● Working with digital distributors (Bookshare)● Images and Graphics:
– Standards: DIAGRAM Content Model
– Tools for creating accessible content (DIAGRAM)
– Best practices and guidelines (DIAGRAM)
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POET Image Description Tool
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Emerging Opportunity: Cloud
● Online learning and assessment● Multiplying platforms● Personalization opportunities● Cloud content storage and management
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What We’re Doing about the Cloud
● Leveraging it to the hilt!● Scalable storage (Bookshare)● Cloud-based bookshelf (LIT)● Future access to image descriptions (DIAGRAM)● Forming strategic partnerships with platform
providers for built-in accessibility….
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Emerging Opportunity: Common Core
● Common Core = Change = Opportunity● Digital from the Start● More commonality across states● Leveraged Impact from Accessible Images● Well-defined Math standards● English Language Arts Standards:
– Emphasize research, analysis, vocabulary
● New digital assessments
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What We’re Doing about Common Core
● Image descriptions (LIT)● Volunteer corps (LIT)● Math tools - descriptions and tactile output (LIT)● Common Core content (Bookshare)
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Scalable Outreach
● Parents● Educators● K-12 and Higher Ed Institutions● Publishers● AEM providers● Students
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• Allows Bookshare to Scale• Training
• Customer Support
• Pilot Programs
• Beta Testers
• Advisors
• Special Projects
Created a network: 400 current mentor teachers100% growth in 2 years
Mentor Teacher Program
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Strategic Partnerships
A sampling of our hundreds of partners:● AIR, USFDAISY, NCAM● NIMAC, Don Johnston, Humanware, Learning Ally,
NLS● MeTRC, VDRDC● CAST, PACER, Internet Archive● Google, Barnes & Noble, Moodle Rooms● 200 publishers● DIAGRAM Advisory Board: 27 members, 20+
working group members● Bookshare Advisory Board: 17 members
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40 Excited DIAGRAM’ers, 3 Bewildered Dogs, 1 Flying Cane
Photo credit: Jim Fruchterman
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Nagging Challenges
● Interactive content● Accessibility in assessments● Research on effectiveness of new approaches● Full federated search implementation across all
image repositories● Universal identifiers for images…
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WE CAN’T DO IT ALONE: YOU
How can we work together to better serve students in this Moment of Opportunity?