Accessible Educational Materials …in the Era of Mobile, Ebooks, Cloud, and Common Core Standards

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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?