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Audiobooks (Sora, Libby, Hoopla, Epic, TumbleBooks, Storyline Online,Project Gutenberg)
What are accessible E-books?
Many students experience difficulty with reading a paper copy of a book that is assigned in class or one that they want to read on their own. They might have a visual impairment, attention issue, print disorder, or a physical challenge (inability to hold a book.) Technology can help these students by offering a read-aloud or text-to-speech option of a digitized book or eBook. This is different from an audio book, which is just an audio file of a book that is read in a human voice, instead a computer-generated voice, and does not include the visible text.
Thousands of these books have been created over the years- some for free and others for purchase. Below, you will see both options: standard eBooks and accessible eBooks and also audio books.
Bookshare
Bookshare Instructional Slideshow –link
http://www.bookshare.org This is a free resource for qualified students who have print, visual or physical disabilities. Who qualifies? LINK This is how a book looks to a student – text is highlighted as it is read aloud so that the student can follow along. The voices in most books are computer-generated and there are many voice options and visual settings. NOTE: There are now over 10,000 human-narrated titles. You can browse titles with no sign-in.
Books can be downloaded from the Bookshare website on either a tablet, smart phone or laptop. Designated staff will be responsible for downloading books, or if a parent wants to do this, they can create an account and download books for their child throughout the year, including the summer. Ask your teacher how to set this up.
How can I sign my students up for Bookshare?
Contact Jordan Gentzkow or Kelley Moriarty for help with this process. They manage the district account and help teachers set up the systems in their schools. They can designate teachers and other qualified staff as Bookshare “sponsors” which will allow them to assign books to students.
Adding students and assigning books PDF
If you are unsure if your student qualifies, or want support with the process, email us.
moriarty_k@4j.lane.edu
Bookshare: computer access
- Bookshare Web Reader is the simplest way to read books and works very well. This video is a good introduction: video Make sure that you bookmark the site for future access. NOTE: The default voice may not work on our Macs-go into settings and find a different voice.
iPad/smart phone access (school and personal devices)
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- Bookshare Reader App: Free app (simplest method)This new app will allow students to download/read any book that has been assigned to them. –Video Instructions
- Bookshare Reader App: Free app (simplest method)This new app will allow students to download/read any book that has been assigned to them. –Video Instructions
Bookshare instructions-Home use -setting up an individual membership. PDF
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Free resources for students-eBooks and audio books
Public Library sources. Sora, Libby, Hoopla
Audibooks are found in numerous ways. The public library offers many titles that can be downloaded through apps such as Libby and Hoopla. These are human-read and are audio-only. If parents want to do this on their own, these two apps will work well. The district uses a different app for school devices: Sora. No library card is needed for Sora.
Important: If a student does not have a library card, their parent can call (541)682-5450 and gain access to all digitized materials, all over the phone. To check out physical books and also have the digitized library, a student and parent must come into the library with a student ID and will be given a free library card.
Sora: https://soraapp.com/home
Sora PDF with Videos
Some schools have purchased a subscription to Epic! for younger students, which offers some titles in audio format and some with audio and highlighting of the text that a child can read along with. These are human voices. For the free version, go to getepic.com/students
Class code is ntx5425
Note: not available weekends or before/after normal school hours for free version
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Tumblebooks: LINK
This is a great resource for eBooks and audio books for younger students. Many of them show students the visible text while the words are being read aloud in human voices. It is available through some schools which have purchased it, or free from the Eugene Public Library. There are books in Spanish and French as well! There is also an app for iPads.
Storyline Online: Collection of YouTube videos of celebrities reading books for younger children. There is an app for the books.
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Newsela:
This is an amazing resource for students of varying ages/reading/comprehension levels. Articles can be read aloud by iPads and MacBooks. 4J has a district license for grades 3-12. The reading and spelling/writing tools work here as well.
See link to our UDL page below:
Creating Accessible Educational Materials (AEM) for UDL