[Athen] IPads and Nooks

[Shelley Haven]

Hi, Carol!

I'm more familiar with the iPad than with Android tablets like the Nook or the new Kindle Fire, so...

Your best bets for the iPad are probably the Learning Ally Audio app (which you mentioned) for listening to narrated audiobooks:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/learning-ally-audio/id418888450?mt=8
...and the Read2Go app from Bookshare for e-text (mainly because of the tie-in to Bookshare):
http://read2go.org/
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/read2go/id425585903?mt=8
You can download e-text textbooks from Bookshare as well, including NIMAC textbooks for the K-12 set who have IEPs.

Apple's free iBooks app can use the iPad's built-in VoiceOver function:
http://www.apple.com/accessibility/ipad/vision.html
VoiceOver works with text in other apps, too, but will not read aloud books in the Kindle app, and the Kindle app does not currently have text-to-speech.  Also, VoiceOver does not visually highlight words or sentences while reading.

Check Chapters 22 and 24 in the iPad iOS5 User Guide for instructions on iBooks and VoiceOver:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/ipad_user_guide.pdf
...or Chapters 19 and 21 in the iOS 4.3 User Guide:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/ipad_2_user_guide.pdf
There's also a new "Speak Selection" feature in iOS5 which may work within other apps (see Chapter 24 in the iOS5 manual).

As for what students prefer, this varies by student and by the task.  Some prefer the human voices of DAISY audiobooks from Learning Ally for the intonation, inflection, etc.; other prefer to hear the text while seeing it visually highlighted and prefer apps like Read2Go.  Some do fine with the audio-only for novels, but prefer to both see and hear the text when reading for comprehension (e.g., a social studies book).  Therefore, I usually have to evaluate this on a student-by-student basis to equip them with the tools which are right for their needs, preferences, and tasks.

Hope this helps,
 Shelley

_____________________________
Shelley Haven  ATP, RET
Assistive Technology Consultant
www.TechPotential.net



On Jan 13, 2012, at 1:59 PM, Carol Brown wrote:


> Several LD students who have used text to speech programs in the past have recently received IPads, Nooks or Kindles.  Help!! 

>  

> For the IPad, I know there are apps (GoodReader, Speakit! and LearningAlly), but what so your students prefer and why.  One student with an IPad said the books were available as e books for the Kindle from Amazon, but they aren’t text book enabled (??).  Any help (experiences,  contacts, instruction sheets, etc.) would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.   

>  

> Carol Brown

> Assistive Technology Specialist

> Student Accessibility Services

> Rm. 244, Corbett Center

> MSC 4149

> New Mexico State University

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> Las Cruces, New Mexico 88003-8001

>  

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