[Athen] Pearson

[chagnon at pubcom.com]

My 2 cents.

 

You are the customer so request what you need to accommodate your students.
Tails don't wag dogs.

 

If the publisher is creating an InDesign layout for a textbook that will go
to press, then it's minimal work to export that same layout to an accessible
PDF, in addition to the press-quality PDF. But those who use InDesign need
training in how to do this; not difficult, but not intuitive, either.

 

Publishers who are smart provide printed textbooks as well as matching
accessible PDFs and EPUB files to their customers.

 

I love PDF. I love EPUB. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. Colleges
and universities need both digital formats to accommodate their students.
Technology should not be a one-size-fits-all solution.

 

HTML and EPUB still cannot accommodate the visual richness of traditional
layout design and sometimes that richness is needed to communicate ideas to
those who are sighted. As a professional designer and accessibility
consultant, we can have rich design and full accessibility at the same time.

 

Shameless self-promotion: I have a 508 + InDesign + PDF class scheduled for
February and we have online seats available. Contact me off list for more
info and a discount code for higher ed.

 

- - -

Bevi Chagnon, founder  |   <mailto:Bevi.Chagnon at PubCom.com>
Bevi.Chagnon at PubCom.com  |  

- - -

PubCom: Technologists for Accessible Design + Publishing

print  |  digital  |  web  |  documents  |  pdfs  |  epubs

- - -

 

 

From: athen-list [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman13.u.washington.edu] On
Behalf Of Leyna Bencomo
Sent: Friday, January 12, 2018 3:49 PM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: [Athen] Pearson

 

Lol!  I was also in that babbling presentation.  :)  

 

Leyna Bencomo

Assistive Technology Specialist

Office of Information Technology

University of Colorado Colorado Springs

1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, EPC 215

Colorado Springs, CO 80918

(719) 255-4202 / lbencomo at uccs.edu <mailto:lbencomo at uccs.edu> 

http://www.uccs.edu/~it/



 

From: athen-list [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman13.u.washington.edu] On
Behalf Of Susan Kelmer
Sent: Friday, January 12, 2018 10:55 AM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu
<mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu> >
Subject: Re: [Athen] Pearson

 

I have gotten this with one book already this semester.  At Accessing Higher
Ground this past fall, I attended a session put on by Pearson in which two
very young and ridiculously unprofessional presents babbled and bubbled on
and on about how Pearson was going to ePub and would no longer be providing
PDFs after a certain point.

 

Don't you just love it when a publisher decides what our students need and
want?

 

I am having big push-back from students about ePub.  Their BIGGEST
frustration is a lack of page numbering or being able to go directly to page
___.  Often they are in class, and all they have is this ePub they can
access, and they can't go to the page being discussed by everyone else in
the class.  

 

You can still ask for the PDF, there should be a link in that email they
sent back.  But at some point, it sounds like Pearson is going to stop
providing them, which is going to be a big problem for our campus.

 

Susan Kelmer

Alternate Format Production Program Manager

Disability Services

University of Colorado Boulder

303-735-4836

 

 

 

From: athen-list [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman13.u.washington.edu] On
Behalf Of Kluesner, Bryon
Sent: Friday, January 12, 2018 10:45 AM
To: athen-list at u.washington.edu <mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu> 
Subject: [Athen] Pearson

 

Athen friends

 

Interesting scenario with Pearson. They sent me an email stating a text I
requested was available as ePub through Vital Source. This has occurred at
least a half dozen times. I replied back with the following:

The students I work with use Kurzweil for their reading. While I appreciate
the fact that the ePub files are compliant and accessible, I do not think my
students would even want to learn another process to access their books
other than the PDF format I have been providing. This style of alternate
texts does not meet the need of my students. I would like to know if there
are PDF files available instead?

I am going to reply back to let them know we are a Kurzweil campus and
re-request the title in PDF format.

Has anyone else had an issue with this and push back from Pearson?

Thanks,

Bryon

 


Bryon Kluesner, RhD

Adaptive Technology Coordinator

Disability Resource Center

Adjunct Professor

College of Health, Education & Professional Studies





The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga 
108 University Center 
615 McCallie Avenue, Dept. 2953

Chattanooga, TN 37403

 

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