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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>From a general usability perspective it is a good tool for those who benefit from audio reinforcement, perhaps even some disabilities. For the majority of folks who have sensory disabilities and more serious processing disabilities it really does not do a lot. With the campuses I work with, several who have implemented this tech or similar tech like Browse-Aloud the most significant problem is the lack of understanding that tools like this do very little to insure the accessibility of your webspace. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>They are not a replacement for actually insuring that your site is fully accessible with commonly used assistive technologies, and in fact can be detrimental to the process since they give a false sense of security about the sites accessibility.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Ron Stewart<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> athen-list [mailto:athen-list-bounces@mailman13.u.washington.edu] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Chaves, Derek<br><b>Sent:</b> Friday, September 12, 2014 8:57 AM<br><b>To:</b> 'Access Technology Higher Education Network'<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [Athen] ReadSpeaker Building Block for Blackboard<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>We have implemented readspeaker on moodle and wordpress. It is great tool to increase the cognitive accessibility of an LMS. I think a better implementation would be with hardcode instead of using the block. We feel the best place for the plugin is as the last element in the header so the location is standardized through the entire LMS. Our moodle implementation has ben taken down for the time being but you can see our wordpress version on our site <a href="http://neindex.org">http://neindex.org</a>. Let me know if I can be of any further assistance.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#1F497D'>Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#1F497D'>Derek Chaves<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#1F497D'>Director of Technology<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#1F497D'>UMass Medical School<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#1F497D'>E. K. Shriver Center<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#1F497D'>INDEX<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#1F497D'>55 Lake Avenue North, S3-WS9<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#1F497D'>Worcester, MA 01655<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#1F497D'>Ph: 774-455-4003<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#1F497D'><a href="mailto:Derek.Chaves@umassmed.edu"><span style='color:blue'>Derek.Chaves@umassmed.edu</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> athen-list <a href="mailto:[mailto:athen-list-bounces@mailman13.u.washington.edu]">[mailto:athen-list-bounces@mailman13.u.washington.edu]</a> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Prickett, Elizabeth<br><b>Sent:</b> Thursday, September 11, 2014 5:15 PM<br><b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:athen-list@u.washington.edu">athen-list@u.washington.edu</a>; <a href="mailto:altmedia@htclistserv.htctu.fhda.edu">altmedia@htclistserv.htctu.fhda.edu</a><br><b>Subject:</b> [Athen] ReadSpeaker Building Block for Blackboard<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Good afternoon!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>A representative from ReadSpeaker (<a href="http://www.readspeaker.com/">http://www.readspeaker.com/</a>) contacted our Distance Education Director about offering a building block for Blackboard. I’ve seen ReadSpeaker used with Cengage’s MindTap application. Our students who are in developmental and student success courses are able to access their ebooks this way when they would like to hear them read out loud.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>We’re wondering if this building block is worth investigating. Has anyone implemented this with your LMS already?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Thanks for your feedback!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Handwriting"'>Liz Prickett<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Alternative Media Specialist<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Center for Academic & Professional Excellence (CAPE)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Victoria College<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>2200 E. Red River Street<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Victoria, TX 77901<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="mailto:Elizabeth.Prickett@VictoriaCollege.edu">Elizabeth.Prickett@VictoriaCollege.edu</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>(361) 573-3291, ext. 3243<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>