Digital or E-text are electronic files containing the content of textbooks and instructional materials in a format than can be viewed and accessed by a number of digital devices. When used with certain assistive technologies (AT) the digital text can be highlighted (selected with a mouse or a keystroke combination) and read aloud by synthetic speech (text-to-speech). While the tonal quality of synthetic speech is not as good as recorded human voice (i.e., Audio format), it is far more flexible. When used with certain AT, digital text can be increased in size, preferential color schemes applied, and letters, words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, and sections can be sequentially highlighted as the text is read aloud. While there are many versions/formats of digital text, the most common ones are DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System), HTML (HyperText Markup Language), and PDF (Portable Document Format).

For high quality Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) digital text should be appropriately "tagged" to identify the parts of the document including titles, headings, and alternative descriptions for images.

Sources of Digital Text

Bookshare

Bookshare is an online resource that includes a library of many digital textbooks for people with print disabilities. A grant from the US Department of Education allows Bookshare to offer FREE organizational memberships for U.S. institutions serving qualifying students, and FREE individual memberships for qualifying U.S. students of any age. When your school signs up for a free membership, you can easily acquire these books in accessible formats for your students who need AIM. Bookshare also provides a service to its members where they can submit a book to be scanned and converted into an accessible digitized format (includes DAISY, ASCII, HTML, and Braille Digital Format). For member schools and individuals, there is no cost to request and download the books in Digital Format. Bookshare has also been designated as a NIMAC Authorized User.

Steps in acquiring AIM from Bookshare: Digital Text

1. Sign up for a free institutional membership at Bookshare. Here are directions for creating your free institutional membership at Bookshare.
2. Read the Bookshare "Getting Started Overview" to learn about how to find, download and use their materials.
3. Here are specific directions for acquiring NIMAC-sourced materials from Bookshare.
4. Bookshare provides free e-reader software to members which allow them to read the Digital Text materials. Schools may also choose to purchase specialized software to use Digital Text materials. Bookshare maintains a list of current e-reader and enhanced e-reader software applications for both the Windows and Apple-Macintosh operating systems.

If you have questions about Bookshare or need technical assistance, please contact Bookshare’s Education Program Manager, Kristina King Cohen, by e-mail at KristinaK@Benetech.org by phone: 650-644-3452, or contact Jack Podell at JackP@Benetech.org

Book Publishers:

Some publishers of instructional materials are now making their materials available in specialized formats. There is no central clearinghouse listing who these publishers are. Schools are encouraged to ask sales staff from these companies for lists of AIM that they can purchase.

If a publisher has a specialized format of a copyrighted material, such as a textbook or contemporary novel, available for sale, it can be purchased and used by any student. That is, it doesn't have to be reserved for the sole use of a student with a print disability.

Here is a list of some resources:

• Publisher contacts for information for Braille-related materials
• Commercial repositories of instructional materials in specialized format
• Mainstream sources of instructional materials

Free Online Collections Available for Use by All Students

• Alex Catalog of Electronic Texts
• Authorama
• Bartleby.com
• Berkeley Digital Library SunSITE
• bibliomania
• CK-12 FlexBooks
• Curriki
• Digital Book Index
• Flat World Knowledge
• Free eBooks at Fictionwise
• Internet Public Library
• MARVEL – Maine's Virtual Library of Databases
• MIT OpenCourseWare
• News for You
• OER Commons
• The Online Books Page
• Open Library
• Project Gutenberg
• Read Print
• UDL Editions by CAST
• Wikibooks

Commercially Available eBooks

• Amazon Kindle
• Barnes & Noble NOOK
• iBooks for iPad
• Sony Reader

Other Options - Scanning:

Schools may choose, or may need, to produce their own Digital Text materials. Standard print material can be converted to digital text by scanning with a flatbed scanner using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. Under federal law, copyrighted materials can be scanned and used by students with qualifying print disabilities. Materials in the Public Domain, licensed under Creative Commons, or teacher-created can be scanned and used by all students. We have provided a link to more information about OCR software for your use.

While scanning materials may appear to be a good and less expensive option, the quality of these instructional materials needs to be at least as good as the original. To produce high-quality AIM can take a considerable amount of time and require special resources. For high quality AIM, Digital Text should be appropriately "tagged" to identify the parts of the document including titles, headings, and alternative descriptions for images.

Still need help?

There are currently several organizations in Maine that can provide technical assistance, consultation and assessment services to schools regarding students with print disabilities who need AIM. Some of these services may be free and some may charge a fee.

Here is a link to a list of some of the providers of technical assistance. Please contact these organizations directly to discuss their services and any fees that may be charged.

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Photo credit - licensed through Creative Commons by Bona1983