[BlindTlk] Seeking Information on Learning Ally Use by Blind Students

[dandrews920 at comcast.net]

I and Curtis Chong are taking up an issue regarding Learning Ally not
supporting the Victor Reader Stream third generation and DAISY. Not ready
yet to go into all the details with the lists, but Learning Ally claims few
blind people even use their "services" with Victor Reader Streams and DAISY.
So, we want to find out what is really going on.

 

Thanks for any help you can give to get this out.

 

 

Mike Hingson

 

 

"Hi all,

 

Many of you know me as a long-time member and leader in the Federation. I am
writing to you to ask a question and then to possibly raise an issue
regarding Learning Ally and its current stance regarding the new Victor
Reader Stream's ability to play books in the DAISY format.

 

Question: Do you find Learning Ally to be a useful source for textbooks and
other kinds of books, and do you use the original or the second generation
of the Victor Reader Stream to read your Learning Ally books?

 

I recently purchased the new Victor Reader Stream 3. I am a lifetime member
of Learning Ally and a past RFB scholarship winner. I went to Learning
Ally's Authorize a DAISY Player
<https://portal.learningally.org/Authorize-DAISY-Player>  page,
(https://portal.learningally.org/Authorize-DAISY-Player) to request a user
authorization key (UAK) for my new Stream. I kept receiving a message saying
that my serial number was not valid. When I contact Learning Ally Customer
Service, I was told that Learning Ally would not be supporting the latest
model of the Victor Reader Stream because of the relatively small number of
its members who read books in the DAISY format.

 

Now, if blind readers no longer rely upon Learning Ally to get textbooks
and/or other books in an accessible format for various reasons, I can be
irritated with Learning Ally because of its disservice to existing members.
However, if there are few or no blind readers who care, then this becomes a
moot point. If, on the other hand, blind readers continue to rely on
Learning Ally as one source of accessible books, then this becomes an issue
which we all must deal with.

 

I would like to hear your thoughts. If you want to communicate with me
privately, I can be reached by email at mike at michaelhingson.com
<mailto:mike at michaelhingson.com>  and by phone at (415) 827-4084.

 

Thanks in advance for your interest in this and for your answers.

 

 

Best Regards,

 

 

Michael Hingson"

Curtis Chong:  chong.curtis at gmail.com <mailto:chong.curtis at gmail.com>