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

Fri Apr 1 23:30:41 UTC 2011

Greg and All,

I've been a very excited and happy user of CourseSmart eTextBookssfor
past 6 months.

We'll work off possible problems you've encountered off-list.

Kevin

On 4/1/11, Greg Wocher <gwblindman1 at gwblindman.org> wrote:
> Hello Kevin,
> That is strange.  I tried using an online book from there a few months ago
> and I could not get it to work at all.  How did you get it to work?  I could
> not find any of the text for the book I tried.
> Thanks,
> Greg W.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kevin Chao" <kevinchao89 at gmail.com>
> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, April 01, 2011 3:00 PM
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] College Course Material: Accessible eTextBooks,
> Braille,and Tactile Graphics
>
>
>> Online is most accessible and actively developed
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On Apr 1, 2011, at 7:55 PM, "Greg Wocher" <gwblindman1 at gwblindman.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hello Kevin,
>>> I have been looking at course smart for a little bit now.  Do you use
>>> their online books or do you use their downloadable reader?
>>> Thanks,
>>> Greg W.
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kevin Chao" <kevinchao89 at gmail.com>
>>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Friday, April 01, 2011 2:36 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] College Course Material: Accessible eTextBooks,
>>> Braille, and Tactile Graphics
>>>
>>>
>>>> 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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>>>>
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