FairProspects Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Help me think this through. Older ds is leveling up significantly in material that he will be working on next year and while we are still going to work interest-based (he has a couple of physics electives), he is also transitioning to reading textbooks in some subjects. Partly for study skills practice, partly for depth of information. One dilemma that we are running into lately is that as a dyslexic, reading the sidebars, scanning the chapter ending comprehension questions, viewing the diagrams, etc. are incredibly helpful for him to wrap his brain around the big picture before diving into the text. But if he uses any kind of immersion reading for the textbook, usually Bookshare or Learning Ally, all the visuals and sidebars are cut out and it is just the text read without any diagrams or graphs to reference. Or he listens to the Bookshare version, while trying to line it up with the physical textbook page, which he finds clunky and annoying. I guess I hadn't realized that when Bookshare goes to scan books, they often leave out all those "helps" from the textbook, which makes the process that much more difficult and boring for ds (even though he is interested in the topics discussed). It also leaves a lot to be desired as far as study skills practice since he can't work with the comprehension questions and immersion reading at the same time. How have you gotten around this? Any good suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 My head is spinning a little from all the names, but if you buy the book version from the publisher (something that is drm-protected that won't pull into VD but will have all the extras), can you then use the device's built-in tts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted June 21, 2015 Author Share Posted June 21, 2015 My head is spinning a little from all the names, but if you buy the book version from the publisher (something that is drm-protected that won't pull into VD but will have all the extras), can you then use the device's built-in tts? I've only been able to find this for one book we're using but it is a thought for newer textbooks. The others are too old to have digital versions available. I did get a used copy of the guided reading CD for one of the Holt textbooks and I'm still waiting for it to arrive, but I think it is just an audio version of the textbook and I don't know yet if it will include reading all the sidebars, ending comprehension questions, etc. The Human Odyssey textbooks by K12 are being phased out completely in favor of all web-based materials but I don't want to pay for or enroll in the K12 course, I just liked the original textbooks. They don't have any digital options at all, just Bookshare versions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
City Mouse Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 My DS uses online or PDF copies of textbooks with Snap and Read software. For a textbook that is not available in an electronic version, you could scan it in and make your own PDF copy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 My DS uses online or PDF copies of textbooks with Snap and Read software. For a textbook that is not available in an electronic version, you could scan it in and make your own PDF copy. Approx. what is the cost on this? What are the tech requirements? I'm looking at the DonJohnston website but still not understanding. Would it work on something like a chromebook? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 My DS reads; however, he slows down after a page or so. He is completely capable of reading and comprehending a sidebar and the notes of a textbook illustration. DS rarely uses immersion sw, so when DS reads a textbook, he wears his headphones and reads with the book. He stops the audio when he needs to read sidebars. DS also adjusts pitch and reading speed to make the process more comfortable. I taught DS textmapping because learning to read non-fiction text is a skill that needs to be taught explicitly. Publishers lay out their books in a very specific way so understanding the structure of the text is very helpful for looking up information and answering the comprehension questions. I taught DS to outline in 7th grade, and he uses the Inspiration app to help organize ideas and concepts. In the past, DS has read aloud to me. Periodically, he would stop to answer my questions, and then I would scribe the ideas in the mindmap. I just want DS to figure out for himself how he learns best. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
City Mouse Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 Approx. what is the cost on this? What are the tech requirements? I'm looking at the DonJohnston website but still not understanding. Would it work on something like a chromebook? The original Snap and Read software was $149 a couple of years ago. There is a newer version out know that can actually ghange the complexity of the text but he doesn't need that. It came on a CD. I installed it on out Mac and on a flash drive so that he can use it on most any machine. I don't know about using it on a chromebook, but we have used it on my HP Stream ($199 at Walmart). He has not had a need to use a chromebook yet, but when we get back home from our vacation, I could try it out on his sisters chromebook to check. I picked this particular software because it was what his school provides. It was the cheapest way to get something with OCR. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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