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Information Access in Education:
Textbooks, Technology, and the Future
by Jim Allan, Presented at Texas Focus,
June 1999
Textbooks (5 types)
- Paper
- Audio Tape
- MultiMedia CD-ROM
- Internet/Web delivered
- Hybrid Textbooks & Future Developments
Paper Based Textbooks
- must be converted into braille or large print
- disks from textbook publishers
- clean up and format for braille production
- delivery to student
- science, math, and other non-literary subjects have trouble with timely delivery
- mostly transcribed by hand
- shortage of specialty braille code transcribers
- Very bulky, cumbersome, etc., etc....
Solutions/Future
- Publishers slowly changing production software that allows easier (more useful) export
for braille files
- clean up and format takes less time
- Publishers beginning to use special tools for developing non-literary subjects
- less transcribing by hand (more automation)
- faster delivery of books to students
- Publishers beginning to publish in 2 or 3 media types (paper, CD, and Web)
- cheap and more efficient to develop book once and publish in many media types
- standardize tools and tagging
- easier more efficient export for braille in literary and non-literary subjects
Audio Tape Textbooks
- delivered on 4-track cassette
- need a special player
- difficult to search for section
- difficult to jump between sections
- others...
Solutions/Future
- Digital Talking Books (http://www.daisy.org/)
- Standards Based: NLS, NISO - http://www.niso.org/commitaq.html
- special players available
- desktop/laptop software players available
- easy searching
- easy navigation
- may contain full text and graphics
- Other Digital books (talking??)
MultiMedia/CD-ROM Textbooks
- Lots of graphics and sound
- Generally, INACCESSIBLE via keyboard commands, speech or braille output
- Usually work with Screen Enlargement software
- Becoming more prevalent in Texas (40% of recent math adoptions were software/multimedia
titles)
Solutions/Future
- Publishers beginning to publish in 2 or 3 media types (paper, CD, and Web)
- cheap and more efficient to develop book once and publish in many media types
- standardize tools and tagging
- generally more accessible
- Recommendations have been established by Texas
- Other recommendations and evaluations
Internet/Web Delivered Textbooks
- Usually work on all computers
- Easy to update and keep current
- Students can access from home
- Varying degrees of accessibility
- Becoming more prevalent in Texas
Solutions/Future
- Publishers beginning to publish in 2 or 3 media types (paper, CD, and Web)
- cheap and more efficient to develop book once and publish in many media types
- standardize tools and tagging
- generally more accessible
- Recommendations have been established by Texas
- Other recommendations and evaluations
Hybrid Textbooks & Future Developments
- Combination of paper, CD-ROM, Internet
- Distance Education
- See above accessibility considerations for different media
Solutions/Future
- Publishers beginning to publish in 2 or 3 media types (paper, CD, and Web)
- cheap and more efficient to develop book once and publish in many media types
- standardize tools and tagging
- generally more accessible
- Work in progress to make student tools (browsers) and authoring tools more accessible
- Existing work in accessible Distance Education
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Last Revision: July 30, 2002
Education/infoaccess.htm