[nabs-l] College Course Material: Accessible eTextBooks, Braille, and Tactile Graphics

[Kevin Chao]

Yes, I've used CourseSmart and AMAC and find them to be absolutely
invaluable resources.

The various aspects that I really enjoy about CourseSmart and AMAC
will be detailed below.

CourseSmart
* Mainstream access to eTextBooks
* Affordable, timely, and true access
* in-book, chapter, or section searches.
*Very effectively and easily  navigate table of contents (chapters,
sections, etc)
* Jump to specific page
* Highly tagged/marked-up: headings 1-5 for structured navigation,
alttext for description of graphics, table for formatted
representation of data, and lists for nicely formatted bullet points.
* Accessibility at CourseSmart.com is extremely committed, fast, and
great about resolving  everything.
* Works with Windows (NVDA and JAWS); Mac OS X and iOS (VoiceOver);
Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari.


Alternative Media Access Center (AMAC)
* DSS, institutions, organizations, and companies have no excuse to
provide braille, tactile graphics, or other alternative media.
* Affordable, timely, and extremely high-quality
* Fantastic and wonderful support



Kevin

On 4/1/11, Arielle Silverman <nabs.president at gmail.com> wrote:
> Has anyone used either of these two products discussed below?
> If so, did you find them accessible and easy to use?
> Arielle
>
> On 4/1/11, Kevin Chao <kevinchao89 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I would like to share two fantastic resources for any college student
>> or instructor, which I think should be advocated for, encouraged, and
>> utilized by all.
>>
>> Like most, I've used human readers, scanned books, used RFB&D, and
>> worked with disabled students services to get eTextBooks from
>> publisher. All these things served their purposes and time, and it's
>> time to move on.
>>
>> In fall of 2010, I broke away from the status quo, which includes: not
>> using RFB&D, not scanning textbooks,  and not having to be so reliant
>> on disabled student services. Two companies have made this possible:
>> CourseSmart and AMAC.  This has allowed equal access, independence,
>> and a true forward studying experience.  It's never been possible for
>> us as blind students, instructors, or even providers to use an
>> innovative eTextBook service.
>>
>> * CourseSmart for mainstream, accessible, and highly marked-up 60% off
>> eTextBooks
>> * Alternative Media Access Center (AMAC) for affordable, high-quality,
>> and efficient braille and tactile graphics for textbooks, exams,
>> handouts, assignments, etc
>>
>> http://www.CourseSmart.com is a mainstream accessible eTextBook rental
>> service, which all students can take advantage of. This includes
>> students with or without print-related disabilities (blind, low
>> vision, learning disabled).
>>
>> http://www.amac.uga.edu Alternative Media Access Center (AMAC) will
>> work with institutions to provide braille, tactile graphics, and
>> remediated eText. AMAC has very high-quality and standards and will lift
>> stress off DSS, allowing DSS to focus on providing service, not
>> content.
>>
>> This is the now and future of how students, instructors, and all in
>> post-secondary education will obtain, work with, and enjoy accessible
>> course material.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Kevin
>>
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>
>
> --
> Arielle Silverman
> President, National Association of Blind Students
> Phone:  602-502-2255
> Email:
> nabs.president at gmail.com
> Website:
> www.nabslink.org
>
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