SonshineMama Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Does anyone prefer one over the other? What are pros and cons to both? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 I've only used Learning Ally. It uses real people to read...sometimes they are good to excellent readers, but not always.. Sometimes it will change readers midstream, which can be disconcerting. The other has computer voice, for better or worse, all the time. I don't use the latter because it does not come in a form that I can use via rural dial-up--the needed downloading doesn't work. Learning Ally can send out disks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Bookshare is free, and Learning Ally has a $100 per year fee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokyomarie Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Bookshare is free, and Learning Ally has a $100 per year fee. Have you used Bookshare? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Have you used Bookshare? No, we just qualified with ds's neuropsych eval. and are looking into the paperwork right now. I think Ramona Q uses it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamonaQ Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 ds uses both due to the non-overlapping content. However, ds prefers bookshare because he can increase the reading speed (he likes to hear things crazy fast) and also because he finds the human readers somewhat variable in quality from LearningAlly. After we got bookshare, he read 72 books for pleasure in 10 months using both text-to-speech when he got tired of reading alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Wait, I am trying to figure this out. Is Bookshare computerized voice only then? Our psychologist recommended Learning Ally and we are signing up, but she didn't mention Bookshare and I am wondering if we qualify. If you qualify for LA do you automatically qualify for BS? I looked at the BS website and his disability is non-identified, so I am not sure if he is specific enough. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamonaQ Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Bookshare is text that you can have a computer synthesized voice read to you. Yes, if you qualify for LearningAlly, you would qualify for Bookshare. At least, this was the case when we registered 3 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 So bookshare question again here, sorry. Does bookshare give you the written text also, or only the voice? Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamonaQ Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 The text is electronic text. You can use different applications to view and have the computer read it to you. You can use the bookshare app on the iPad, ReadOut on your computer (software that is a freely variable with your account), or on a Kindle, which is what ds does (and requires some tech know-how) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 Wanted to add that if you qualify for Learning Ally, you probably also qualify for National Library Service if you are in United States. NLS has wonderful real human readers (I think they may be actors or something? They are often as good as on purchased books on CD.) It doesn't have much in the way of textbooks, but is great for literature, and it has some magazines like Spider, Cricket, and Nat Geo. (both kids and adults) available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Wanted to add that if you qualify for Learning Ally, you probably also qualify for National Library Service if you are in United States. NLS has wonderful real human readers (I think they may be actors or something? They are often as good as on purchased books on CD.) It doesn't have much in the way of textbooks, but is great for literature, and it has some magazines like Spider, Cricket, and Nat Geo. (both kids and adults) available. I'm perusing old threads in search for stuff. I saw this post and wanted to bump it. I didn't know about this. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 I looked into the services at the National Library Service, and DS doesn't qualify because he is neither blind or low vision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Has anybody gotten Book Share to approve a pre-K student? I looked on their website and they said that if the preschool is part of a special ed SELPA then students can qualify. Youngest DD obviously isn't old enough to read yet, but she is definitely quite delayed in her pre-literacy compared to typical kids of the same chronological age. The school psychologist at her school is super-nice and I was planning to ask her if she would sign off on the paperwork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 I haven't, but I would definitely consider whether the digitized voice would be best for her anyway. Ds doesn't like it at all because it is so robotic, and he much prefers a human audiobook. I know they are all working on improving this technology, but right now, I don't know any young kids that like listening to the computerized voices. Siri is the best so far, and that one is not available on Bookshare (although there might be some way to rig it on my phone). Especially with autism spectrum diagnoses, I wonder if audiobooks from Learning Ally or the library wouldn't be a better choice with regards to hearing and learning the proper inflection and punctuation for literacy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beans27 Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Thank you for bumping this thread! I had signed my kids up for Learning Ally when it was Reading for the Blind and Dyslexic and FREE. I thought I had to have a CSE and have Bookshare put on dd's IEP in order to get the school to download it on her laptop. But now I know I can get it without involving the school! :hurray: I faxed the disability verification form to the neuropsych to fill out and we should have Bookshare shortly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Currently Bookshare is free and Learning Ally is $99/year. I think I read somewhere that which one is free flip-flops depending on which gets a government grant. I signed my daughter up for Bookshare this spirng since it was free. She doesn't like the digital voice very much. This summer we got a year membership for Learning Ally and she loves it. She listens to school books as well as fun books on it daily. Bookshare now has an app so the books can be downloaded directly to my ipad and then carried around easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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