[NJTechDiv] Alexa Smart Speaker (Beta 2021) | Bookshare

Sat Jan 29 15:01:53 UTC 2022

Alexa Smart Speaker (Beta 2021) | Booksharethanks for this post Lori

From: Lori Falk via NJTechDiv
Sent: Friday, January 28, 2022 6:11 PM
To: NFBNJ Tech
Cc: Lori Falk
Subject: [NJTechDiv] Alexa Smart Speaker (Beta 2021) | Bookshare

Hi all,

FYI, in case you were not aware that Book Share has an Alexa skill.
I checked it out and it does work.
You do have to link your account and log into your Book Share account to 
approve access to Alexa. See instructions below.
Lori

Begin forwarded message:

  From: Lori Falk <falkl at optonline.net>
  Date: January 28, 2022 at 2:11:01 PM EST
  To: Lori <falkl at optonline.net>
  Subject: Alexa Smart Speaker (Beta 2021) | Bookshare

  https://www.bookshare.org/cms/help-center/alexa-smart-speaker-beta-2021

  Alexa Smart Speaker (Beta 2021)
  Welcome to the Bookshare Reader for Amazon Alexa beta!
  We ask that you make note of your experience: what worked well and what 
didn't, what you enjoyed and what we could improve. You will receive a 
regular survey soliciting feedback throughout the beta period. Thank you in 
advance for your participation!

    1.. Set up the Bookshare skill
    2.. Prepare the book on Bookshare.org
    3.. Read with Alexa
  1. Setting up the Beta Bookshare Skill
  Installing the Beta skill on the Alexa app
    1.. If you are new to using an Alexa enabled device, download and 
install the Alexa app onto your mobile device or computer and sign in with 
your Amazon account.
    2.. Find the Bookshare Skill by searching for Bookshare Reader within 
the Skills and Games section from the More tab of the Alexa App, on the 
Alexa Skills page on the Amazon website, or by voice command to your 
Alexa-enabled device.
    3.. In the Alexa App, open the Bookshare Reader skill and select the 
Launch button.

  Linking the skill to your Bookshare account
    1.. Once the skill is enabled, click the Settings button, then Link 
Account to link the skill to your Bookshare account.
    2.. On the Bookshare.org page, enter your email address and password 
associated with your Bookshare account, then click the Sign In button.
    3.. When your credentials are verified, you will be directed to a 
confirmation page announcing that your account has been successfully linked. 
Select the Done button. This will return you to the Bookshare skill in the 
Alexa app.
    4.. You're now ready to start using the Bookshare skill on your smart 
speaker! Try saying, "Alexa, open Bookshare"

  2. Getting Audiobooks for Alexa to Read
  The Bookshare Reader skill creates and uses a Reading List called "Amazon 
Alexa". By adding books to this reading list, you make them available for 
the Bookshare skill to find and read aloud.

  There are 2 ways to put audiobooks on the Amazon Alexa Reading List:

    a.. Ask the skill to add a book that you've recently accessed on another 
device to the Amazon Alexa Reading List
    b.. Go to Bookshare.org and add books to the reading list
  Get books from your history
  1. Launch the Bookshare skill by saying "Alexa launch Bookshare".

  The first time you use this skill, Alexa will respond with "Welcome to 
Bookshare Reader. It looks like you don't have any audio books available to 
read. Go to the Bookshare website and add books to your Amazon Alexa Reading 
List or say Get My History to read from your recent

  downloads."

  2. Say "Get My History"

  Alexa will read you a list of books from your recent downloads and ask 
which one you would like to add to the Alexa Reading List.

  Note: If you do not have any books in your history, go to Bookshare.org on 
a web browser to add books to your list (see next section.)

  3. Say the name of the book and she will respond “Okay, I’ve added [book 
title] to your reading list. Would you like to read it now?”

  4. Say “yes” to begin reading.

  When the audiobook is ready, Alexa will say “Okay, let’s read” and the 
book will begin.

  Note: The first time you access this book, it may take several seconds for 
it to convert to audio. If the conversion will take longer, Alexa will say 
“Sorry it looks like that book is being converted to audio and is not yet 
available. Please try again in a little bit. Would you like to read a 
different book or list your books?” You can choose another book or try back 
in 5 or 10 minutes.

  You can also remove books from your reading list by saying "Remove [book 
title]"

  Get books from Bookshare.org
  At this time, searching for new books is not yet available through the 
Bookshare skill, but you can add any book to the Amazon Alexa Reading List 
on Bookshare.org. These books will then be accessible from the Bookshare 
skill by saying “Alexa, list my books”.

  1. Login to your Bookshare account at www.bookshare.org.

  2. Use the search bar or the Browse button in the header region to find a 
book you want to read. (To find books you've recently accessed, go to the My 
History link in the left navigation region.)

  3. In the Status column, click the Add to Reading List link and choose the 
Amazon Alexa Reading List.

  Note: Not all books in the Bookshare collection are available in audio 
format, either because they are not well-formatted, are too large, or have 
too many images. It is a good idea to check in the Download drop-down menu 
to make sure the book is available in audio format before putting it on the 
Alexa list. If there are multiple copies of a book provided by different 
publishers, you might try a different version.

  3. Using the Bookshare skill with Alexa
  Opening a book
  1. Ask Alexa to launch the Bookshare skill by saying

    a.. "Alexa, launch Bookshare", or
    b.. "Alexa, open Bookshare"
  Alexa will respond with "Welcome to the Bookshare Reader skill for smart 
speakers. If she doesn't find any books on your Amazon Alexa Reading List, 
she will tell you to go download them at Bookshare.org. See Step 2 for 
instructions.

  Note: Alexa doesn't always recognize "Bookshare" immediately as a skill. 
If she directs you to Audible, try invoking the skill again, perhaps 
speaking more slowly, or use the term "launch" instead of "open". Also, you 
may want to make sure the language on the device is set to "US-English". 
Once she recognizes the skill, this should no longer be an issue. Please 
note your experience in the feedback survey so we can characterize it.

  2. You can ask Alexa to read a book or list your books with the following 
commands. When she asks what you want to do, say:

    a.. "Read a book"
    b.. "Read [book title]"
    c.. "List my books"
  3. You can also ask Alexa how fast she will read and to change the speed. 
(Note: you will need to change the speed before starting the audio player. 
Once the audio player begins, you will need to stop reading to change the 
speed.) When she asks what you want to do, say:

    a.. "What's the reading speed?" or "How fast are you reading?"
    b.. "Read faster"
    c.. "Read slower"
    d.. "Read at 125%" (Reading speeds range from 50% to 300%.)
  Enjoy listening to your book!

  Navigating a book
  There are only a handful of commands to remember for navigating a book.

    a.. "Alexa pause" - stop reading
    b.. "Alexa resume" - continue reading where you left off
    c.. "Alexa skip" or "Alexa next" - skip to the next section
    d.. "Alexa back" or "Alexa previous" - go back to the previous section
    e.. "Alexa stop" - exit the Bookshare skill. To reinvoke the skill, you 
will need to say "Alexa open Bookshare"
  Note: a "section" is currently defined by the html formatting of the book. 
It might be a chapter or subchapter and could be different depending on the 
book.

  Forgot a command? No problem - just ask Alexa!
    a.. "Alexa help" - Alexa will offer you a tutorial or shortcuts
    b.. "Alexa tutorial" - how to use the Bookshare skill
    c.. "Alexa shortcuts" - list the reading commands
  We hope you enjoy your Bookshare skill experience!
  Please remember to fill out the surveys we will send you periodically. If 
you have any questions or experience more urgent issues, please email us at: 
smartspeaker at benetech.org.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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