Happy New Year!
As a gift for the new year, I want to share a resource for finding free-to-download audio versions of some classics required by many lit classes.
The
Open Culture: Audiobook Podcast Collection
is a blog edited by Dan Colman, the Associate Dean of Continuing Studies Program at Stanford University.
The mission statement of Open Culture reads as follows:
• To explore the best of contemporary intellectual life.
• To connect users with free, high-quality online media -- podcasts, videos, online courses, etc. -- that makes learning dynamic, convenient and fun.
• To keep users apprised of new cultural developments and resources worth their limited time.
The site offers links to other sites where users may download the audio versions of many undergrad-required literary classics including Robinson Crusoe, Plato’s The Republic, Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, as well as many others. Additionally, the site also has a good foundation of university podcast resources. While it is a fairly new site, this blog offers a lot of future potential for becoming an additional tool in the tool box of DSS coordinators needing alternative versions of texts.
The site is one where a student can go and download their own alternative text, store it on their computer or audio player, and read it when they are ready.
Granted, the audio version of these classics are just as easily obtained by ordering from some of the conventional sources at your DSS office’s disposal. However, isn’t the goal to empower the students by showing them the resource and to teach them to manage these as their own? It is in this light that I offer the freshly launched blog Open Culture.
So, take a few minutes and click the above link. Peruse the Open Culture web site. Look over the different resources and bookmark the site to come back to later. The site also offers an email update to keep up on the latest information the editor posts.
(Thanks to
The Ranger Station
For this useful resource.)
I hope 2007 brings many good wishes your way. Here’s to an accessible new year!
Showing posts with label Textbooks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Textbooks. Show all posts
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Monday, November 13, 2006
Post-conference thoughts; RFB&D going digital...soon!
I have just returned from the AHEAD in Texas annual fall conference, held last week in San Marcos. It was good to spend time with some old friends and co-workers to discuss current issues facing the DSS field.
Overall, I enjoyed myself and networked with some sharp professionals in the field. I am still sorting through the notes and information I gathered on the trip. When I have made progress towards this end, I will post some of this information here.
There is one thing in particular that I learned about and want to make sure you are aware of. If you or your institution are subscribers to
Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic
Or RFB&D, as they are commonly called, make sure that you note the date when they are going digital.
As of July, 2007, the books provided by RFB&D will only be available in the DAISY digital audio format. This means that the 4-track cassette players you or your students have will no longer play books from RFB&D after that date.
The discontinuation of cassette tapes is a move that has been in progress for a couple of years, but is quickly approaching full fruition. The advent of digital technology has brought the service provided by this organization to the modern age.
If you still have 4-track cassette players sitting around your office, , don’t despair. There may still be a need for them, because the Texas State Library, which also provides talking books for those with print disabilities is not converting its library to a digital file format. They will still continue using 4-track cassette tapes, so those highly specialized players you have may still be of some use.
However, if you continue using RFB&D as a provider of books in an accessible format, you will need a DAISY reader, if you don’t already have one. These players are available in both software and hardware versions.
I’ll be back here soon to post information and thoughts from the AHEAD in Texas conference.
Overall, I enjoyed myself and networked with some sharp professionals in the field. I am still sorting through the notes and information I gathered on the trip. When I have made progress towards this end, I will post some of this information here.
There is one thing in particular that I learned about and want to make sure you are aware of. If you or your institution are subscribers to
Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic
Or RFB&D, as they are commonly called, make sure that you note the date when they are going digital.
As of July, 2007, the books provided by RFB&D will only be available in the DAISY digital audio format. This means that the 4-track cassette players you or your students have will no longer play books from RFB&D after that date.
The discontinuation of cassette tapes is a move that has been in progress for a couple of years, but is quickly approaching full fruition. The advent of digital technology has brought the service provided by this organization to the modern age.
If you still have 4-track cassette players sitting around your office, , don’t despair. There may still be a need for them, because the Texas State Library, which also provides talking books for those with print disabilities is not converting its library to a digital file format. They will still continue using 4-track cassette tapes, so those highly specialized players you have may still be of some use.
However, if you continue using RFB&D as a provider of books in an accessible format, you will need a DAISY reader, if you don’t already have one. These players are available in both software and hardware versions.
I’ll be back here soon to post information and thoughts from the AHEAD in Texas conference.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Publishers Launch Look-Up Service to Speed Delivery of Course Materials
If you’re looking to expand your catalog of access tools, (and who isn’t?) then the Association of American Publishers (AAP) has just ramped up a service that should prove a valuable resource for you.
According to the official press release,
“Higher education publisher members of the Association of American Publishers (AAP) today launched a beta version of a Publisher Look-Up Service. The online search tool, found at
publisherslookup.org
will enable Disabled Student Services (DSS) professionals who are seeking text materials in alternate formats for print-disabled students to more easily contact publishers.”
“The Publisher Look-Up Service is a first step in AAP’s Alternative Formats Solutions Initiative (AFSI), a national effort to identify ways to provide print-disabled post-secondary students with specially formatted course materials on a timely basis. AFSI research showed that publishers could make an immediate difference by launching the Publisher Look-Up Service, while still exploring longer-term solutions.”
The entire text of the press release can be viewed at:
The APP web site
If you want to see what else the APP has to offer, their homepage is:
publishers.org
There is a link on the page specifically for Higher Education.
This new service is a good supplement to the publisher contacts that
AHEAD
already offers to its members. Between the two of these resources, access to accessible materials by DSS professionals, and the students they serve, continues to improve.
According to the official press release,
“Higher education publisher members of the Association of American Publishers (AAP) today launched a beta version of a Publisher Look-Up Service. The online search tool, found at
publisherslookup.org
will enable Disabled Student Services (DSS) professionals who are seeking text materials in alternate formats for print-disabled students to more easily contact publishers.”
“The Publisher Look-Up Service is a first step in AAP’s Alternative Formats Solutions Initiative (AFSI), a national effort to identify ways to provide print-disabled post-secondary students with specially formatted course materials on a timely basis. AFSI research showed that publishers could make an immediate difference by launching the Publisher Look-Up Service, while still exploring longer-term solutions.”
The entire text of the press release can be viewed at:
The APP web site
If you want to see what else the APP has to offer, their homepage is:
publishers.org
There is a link on the page specifically for Higher Education.
This new service is a good supplement to the publisher contacts that
AHEAD
already offers to its members. Between the two of these resources, access to accessible materials by DSS professionals, and the students they serve, continues to improve.
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