[Athen] [EXT] ePub file

[George Kerscher]

Hello,
 
Last CSUN some of us advocating EPUB met with Kurzweil and TextHelp folks.
TextHelp said their EPUB reader was outdated and needs a refresh. The
Kurzweil folks said they really needed to take a closer look at the EPUB
Standard, because so much of new publications have no PDF version.
 
IMO we should be encouraging these companies to get on with providing EPUB
support.  When they upgrade their systems, the landscape will completely
change. The reason the blindness community is happy with EPUB is because
screen readers work with mainstream software and do not try to replace it.
 
Perhaps the universities that are Kurzweil shops could be our loudest voice
asking  for support for EPUB. Wow, imagine students just being able to read
the Born Accessible EPUB; we could get on with providing other supports like
tactile graphics. 
 
Best
George
 
From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu> On Behalf
Of Susan Kelmer
Sent: Wednesday, September 18, 2019 8:32 AM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: [Athen] [EXT] ePub file
 
I think the point I was making pre-coffee is that ePubs don't have a
standard reader that can be used, and not all of the technology we provide
know what to do with an ePub.
 
I would love to see us somehow, some way bridge that gap of being able to
give a student an ePub and they are able to read it and listen to it with
the technology they are already comfortable with, rather than insisting that
the student download and install yet another piece of software in order to
hear their ePub read out loud. There are a million ePub readers out there,
but which one do we recommend for a student who needs TTS? Which one will
work with standard technology that is on most campuses - Kurzweil and Read &
Write - without a fuss or having to convert something or change something?
 
One of the reasons we go to PDF so often with these things is because
Kurzweil and Read & Write know exactly what to do with a PDF, and the
student already knows how to use those programs, so it's the shortest,
fastest route to getting them their reading materials.  ePubs are still like
the wild wild west.there is no one streamlined way to use them effectively
across the different technologies we may encounter.  It's messy and it takes
away time from what students need to be doing - reading and studying.
 
Susan Kelmer
Alternate Format Production Program Manager
Disability Services
University of Colorado Boulder
303-735-4836
 
 
 
 
From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu
<mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu> > On Behalf Of Robert
Beach
Sent: Wednesday, September 18, 2019 8:16 AM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu
<mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu> >
Subject: Re: [Athen] [EXT] ePub file
 
I understand this. I was simply addressing the point that epubs do not
"need" to be broken for navigation if that is the only purpose. Navigation
is built in. However, there may be other reasons for converting.
 
 
Robert Lee Beach
Assistive Technology Specialist
Kansas City Kansas Community College
7250 State Avenue
Kansas City, KS  66112
Phone: 913-288-7671
Email: rbeach at kckcc.edu <mailto:rbeach at kckcc.edu> 
 
From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu
<mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu> > On Behalf Of Susan
Kelmer
Sent: Wednesday, September 18, 2019 8:55 AM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu
<mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu> >
Subject: Re: [Athen] [EXT] ePub file
 
Hi Robert.  It does depend on what the student's preferences are, too.  Most
of my students don't want an ePub, they want something different. I find
blind students are happy with ePubs, while sighted students do not like them
at all. They prefer something that comes to them separated by chapters that
they can use with their technology, so that's mainly what we provide for
them.
 
Susan Kelmer
Alternate Format Production Program Manager
Disability Services
University of Colorado Boulder
303-735-4836
 
 
 
From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu
<mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu> > On Behalf Of Robert
Beach
Sent: Wednesday, September 18, 2019 6:44 AM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu
<mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu> >
Subject: Re: [Athen] [EXT] ePub file
 
There really is no reason to break the epub out since it will have
navigation capabilities already in place.
 
 
Robert Lee Beach
Assistive Technology Specialist
Kansas City Kansas Community College
7250 State Avenue
Kansas City, KS  66112
Phone: 913-288-7671
Email: rbeach at kckcc.edu <mailto:rbeach at kckcc.edu> 
 
From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu
<mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu> > On Behalf Of
Kluesner, Bryon
Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2019 4:52 PM
To: 'athen-list at u.washington.edu' <athen-list at u.washington.edu
<mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu> >
Subject: [EXT][Athen] ePub file
 
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Hi all,
 
I received an ePub file from Macmillan this afternoon. Can it be broken into
chapters for easier navigability or saved into a PDF file? I did message the
publisher on Access Text to see if they had a PDF file available.
 
Thanks,
 
Bryon
 
Bryon Kluesner RhD, ATACP
Adaptive Technology Coordinator
Disability Resource Center
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
615 McCallie Ave., Dept. 2953
Chattanooga, TN 37403
423-425-5251
 
Member of Division of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs
<https://www.utc.edu/enrollment-management-student-affairs/> 
 
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