Benetech future work on accessible books

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society: President's Update: Summer 2008
Jim Fruchterman, from Benetech of Bookshare.org, hints at future work with Bookshare.org to make it more accessible to students with existing laptops, mp3 players or phones. Back in September, Bookshare.org received a $32 million award from Department of Education, to provide free accessible books to all students with qualifying disabilities. It will be interesting to see what develops for reading from this work and how it will benefit people with disabilities such as dyslexia, blindness/low vision, and fine/gross motor disabilities.

KNFB Reader Mobile

KNFB Reader - Home

This was one of the items that got my attention at the CSUN Assistive Technology Conference in March. It is a cell phone with the ability to take a picture of a book, magazine, or other printed text, run the picture through the Kurzweil software and speak the words aloud. It is targeted for people who have difficulty reading due to learning disabilities or people that are blind or with low vision.

One thing I especially like about this device is that it is unobtrusive. People do not have to carry an awkward or additional piece of equipment with them.

This was developed as a joint venture between Kurzweil Technologies and the National Federation of the Blind.