Publishing a book made easy as ABC...but there's a hitch

Nick Billowes shared this via email today, and, while I have some reservations (see below), I can see why he's excited by the potential.

Nick posted: "I have seen the future... well a small glimpse of a small part anyway! Now I am risking, once again, being told that many of you have "been there, done that" already, and indeed blogged about it in the middle of 2011....Just take a quick look (link below) at something extraordinary that is a way into the future of "publishing" through the "cloud".

Imagine students (now) writing to this format or doing their reflective journals for you (and the world should they wish) to be reviewed at leisure on an i-device...
Image via Wikipedia
Might I suggest another quantum leap in "text" and language development as well as authorship and publishing to a global (or selected) audience... user generated content rulzzz.....

Accessibility issues may also be well covered with the capability of readers, multimodal content delivery that meets learner needs/capabilities and scaling that help to create a customised environment.

Very exciting, I think, if you can get past the issues of proprietary products and see into an e-empowered future.... The simplicity of this (free) application is simply breathtaking. Enjoy as you bubble with excitement at the possibilities...."

Reservations
I love the ideas, and it would be great for anyone to be able to develop such interactive resources to share online, and which can even be set for elements to update automatically. Wow!! However, one of my main reservations came at the end of the video (and Nick does mention getting around the use of proprietary kit), is that the fully functioning, multimodal of the eBook is only accessible on an iPad.  DK, after saying "It is a sexy bit of kit - really lowers the barriers to publishing", lists some other barriers below:
"- you're still restricted to their themes
- it only runs on 10.7 OS
- plus you have to be aware of the limitations of publishing through the Apple channel only:
- you have to be a recognised business / author to sell anything through there (you need an ISBN #)
- apple takes the 30% cut
- once on the store you can't sell it elsewhere
Not to be a naysayer as it's a great piece of kit - all moving in the right direction for others to enter the market and loosen the reins a little ;-)".
See for yourself in the video below. Would be great to read your thoughts too.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=G7IDAtKFx4I

Related articles

• Tablet Computing Reaching Autistic Kids? (mobilitycloud.wordpress.com)
• Meet Open-Source eBook Editing/Publishing App 'BookType' (omgubuntu.co.uk)
• Learn How to Create eBooks for the iPad with this O'Reilly eBook (labnol.org)

ICT resources and assistive technologies to help meet the needs of visually impaired learners

Image by psd via FlickrThe range of assistive technology for visually impaired learners has grown over the last few years, with interactive experiences becoming more sophisticated and applications becoming less clunky. Different media (visual, auditory and tactile) have been developed to help students to study independently, and to empower them to create their own resources and artefacts.

This resource aims to collate a few of those resources in one place for you to explore to see if they would suit your learners and their needs.

A good place to start is with this paper "ICT educational tools and visually impaired students: different answers to different accessibility needs", which discusses some of the obstacles faced by visually impaired learners, as well as providing an overview of some examples of Web based tools available to help meet the needs of visually impaired students. A complementary resource, this Unit offers a series of scenarios that give ideas about how to incorporate ICT into teaching and provide access for those students with visual disabilities. In addition, this document "ICT Tools for Visually Impaired Persons – Examples" provides in-depth descriptions of the types of assistive technology available. It also has links to some presentations and further information around building the capacity of visually impaired individuals to use technology tools.
Please let me know if you have any to add, or if you have opinions and comments about any of the resources.

Cover via Amazon

Digital Book Readers
Most people are now familiar with digital book or e-readers. There are a range to choose from, and most have an option for text to be 'read' aloud by the device.

• The Kindle - from Amazon (read a review with an in depth description, for this device)
• The Sony Reader
• eClipseReader - from Innovative Rehabilitation Technology
• Victor Reader Soft - from VisuAide

Screen Readers
An application installed onto a computer and that will identify, interpret and 'read' aloud any text on the screen. Although some screen readers have a rather robotic sounding narrator, many have reasonably well-modulated speech, with pauses in most of the right places.

• A collection of annotated links to free and commercial screen readers, with a brief description of the functionality of each piece of software
• This resource has a range of free text to speech readers with descriptions
• NaturalReader from NaturalSoft
• JAWS from Freedom Scientific

Image via Wikipedia

Screen Magnification
Screen magnification software can be installed onto a computer to enlarge the information on the monitor screen (ranging from 2x all the way to 20x). The applications listed below are all commercial software and have an associated cost:

• Freedom Scientific Video Magnifiers
• Ai Squared Zoom Text (who also have a zoom app for the iPhone)

Portable Notetakers
These are, as the title suggests gizmos that provide speech output without a visual display. You are able to connect them to devices such as computers, scanners and printers to upload text. Braille keyboards are also available for Braille users.

• Braille Lite Series; Braille n'Speak, Type n'Speak, PacMATE, and Type Lite - all from Freedom Scientific
• VoiceNote and BrailleNote - from Pulse Data in NZ

Related articles

• Snail concept rolls out Braille-to-speech translation (engadget.com)
• The Blind Teaching the Reader: An Interview (smartbitchestrashybooks.com)
• User Interface Design: Lessons from an Indianapolis elevator (marketingtechblog.com)