[Athen] Online eBook Accessibility

[KRISTA L. GREEAR]

I had a similar situation with a student this week. They wanted to be able to use TTS with the Kindle books they purchased. They have the Kindle to PC w/ Accessibility Plug in software on their Windows computer. I tested and was able to get Natural Reader, Balabolka and CAR (Central Access Reader) to read the Kindle book in the Kindle to PC software. The student doesn't want to have to learn how to use a screen reader (VoiceOver or NVDA) as they are sighted and find the additional navigation cues annoying. Thankfully, using Kindle books in this manner prevented the student from having to learn how to use another piece of software as the 3 TTS engines worked for me.

Krista Greear
Access Text & Technology Manager
Disability Resources for Students
(206) 543-8924
disability.wa.edu
________________________________
From: athen-list [athen-list-bounces at mailman13.u.washington.edu] on behalf of Wink Harner [foreigntype at gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2014 12:27 PM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network
Subject: [Athen] Online eBook Accessibility

Hi out there in ATHEN-Land,

Anyone have any first-hand experience with the use of screen readers or TTS readers with online textbook sources such as:
- Chegg
- CourseSmart
- GooglePlay-
- Kindle
- Kno
- Vital Source

Publisher denied a PDF file and suggested the student purchase one of the electronic versions of the requested book from the sources (above). Student’s preference is PDF, but if he can get the file to read aloud, he may be OK. I have asked him for his preference.

What experience do any of you have in the TTS capabilities on any of those e-book sources listed?

Let me know!

Thanks in advance for your collective knowledge.

Wink Harner
foreigntype at gmail.com<mailto:foreigntype at gmail.com>
480-984-0034


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