[blindkid] Books (Not) On Time

[Richard Holloway]

We find a large number of errors in braille textbooks here as well as frequent missing graphics, or graphics so poorly adapted as to render them virtually useless.

A number of texts seem to be provided to most (sighted) students only by a web site, and while they have gotten us a Braille copy of these (such as the Braille is) they have yet (now past mid-semester) to locate a print copy of one text book for us to have at home. They have promised to send home xerox copies of pages each for each day until they find us a book, but some days (like today) they forget.

The web site with the book is so poorly coded that JAWS can't properly access the contents, and even web browsers for sighted users sometimes cannot see the lower portion of pages. The book will self-read on the web, but it stops in odd places and there is no way for Kendra to control the playback. A 4th grade student should have control of the book they are reading (or being read by their computer) and having a book read to you is not the same thing as reading yourself (in Braille, in her case).

Printing is disabled through the web login, so it really becomes a mess to access the web page on a compatible computer and have a BrailleNote working (to write answers in) and the braille (paper) books out to use. It shouldn't be this hard to do homework!

At least one book was provided electronically for us this year on the Apex. That sounded good (though obviously it negates all graphics access) but it turns out that the book is over 500 pages and has no page breaks or accessible page numbers, so obviously that's not too useful either.

I'm not blaming the school for lack of trying, but the claim that newer textbooks will be more and more accessible seems to be less than accurate so far.

I know that's no help for you, Eric, but I wonder what the trend is around the country. I feel like textbook access is getting worse. Are we just having a run of bad luck, or is this a general trend?

Sent from my iPad

On Oct 29, 2012, at 9:57 AM, DrV <icdx at earthlink.net> wrote:

> Hi All,
> Up until this year, our kids have received their textbooks overall just
> before or shortly after the beginning of the school year - hasn't been
> perfect, there have been some late ones, but it was workable.
> We are now 2 months into the school year & still don't have an embossed copy
> of my 5th grade son's math textbook with the needed graphics ­ we have a
> "temporary makeshift text" that is mostly text, & of the few graphics that
> are there, many are so poorly done that we have to look at the hardcopy
> print textbook & explain the graphic.
> 
> What is the current standing of "Textbooks on Time?"
> €  Is it an actual law? If so, anyone have a link to that or to recent
> insightful articles?
> €  Who is responsible? The district? The State?
> €  There have been a few presentations on Textbooks on time at National
> Convention  over the years ­ including one by I believe Tuck Tinsley III,
> President of APH at one a few years that if I recall correctly stated that
> APH was going to set up a monitoring/tracking system ­ did the ever happen?
> €  What are our options?
> €  At our prompting, the TVI has emailed the state ­ it doesn't sound the
> book will be arriving in the near future.
> €  Any advice on how to proceed?
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Eric 
> 
> 
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