Book Port - A Tool For Success

1. Book Port - A Tool For Success

2. Why Audio Materials? • Secondary learning medium—auditory: • Ninety percent of students with visual impairments have auditory as their secondary learning medium, but how many of our students are really using auditory materials effectively? • Auditory listening must be taught in addition to just marking it as part of the census each year • If taught, auditory listening can be a more efficient and effective way to access all kinds of materials and information.

3. Why Audio Materials? • Average reading speed for students using braille, large print or device-magnified print is 50 percent less than sighted peers • This could mean that everything—tests, classwork and homework—could take students with visual impairments twice as long: • Which often interferes with extra curricular activities because instead of three hours of homework, they have six hours (including classwork that was not finished)

4. Why Audio Materials? • The need for extended time to finish tests can interfere with instructional time in the Expanded Core Competencies (ECC) by a Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) • As classes get more difficult and reading assignments get longer, the students are going to struggle more and more to keep up, possibly leading them to fail or give up

5. Why Audio Materials? • Using auditory material to compensate for slow reading speeds could: • Reduce the amount of time needed to complete tests, classwork and homework so students with visual impairments are on a more level “playing-field” with their sighted peers • Increase comprehension since higher fluency is directly linked to higher comprehension levels • Make reading more enjoyable without struggling with eye fatigue

6. Why Audio Materials? • Allows visually impaired students to read more books (including for pleasure) which could increase social interaction: Did you read The Hunger Games? Yes!!! • Turns something they struggled with into something they enjoy • Prepares them for colleges and universities where the main accommodation is reading materials aloud or adapting materials for use with screen readers to access electronic text and/or media • Prepares them with strategies for using auditory devices to access print and other information quickly and efficiently, which is vital to being competitive in searching for, finding and maintaining employment

7. Why the Book Port? • It may cost your district NOTHING IF: • Your student is eligible to be registered with Florida Instructional Materials Center for the Visually Impaired (FIMC-VI). • If you reside outside of Florida, contact your state instructional materials center for more information. • How to obtain a Book Port in Florida? • Make sure your student is registered with FIMC-VI • Fill out an APH order form (see resources for document download) and send it to Kathee Cagle, Materials Specialist, at kcagle@fimcvi.org • Device will be shipped to the person and address you provide

8. Two to Choose From on Quota Pocket Desktop Regular Desktop-with all keys Adapted Desktop-with a mask for reduced keys

9. Why the Book Port? • It is portable, as you can see by the previous pictures. • It is easy to use • Even for students with physical or cognitive impairments, there are ways to adapt and the other models to choose from that help make it accessible • It has a large storage capacity and accepts many different types of files • It accesses adapted electronic book and textbook formats, including DAISY audio and DAISY text documents (which will be discussed in Unit 3)

10. Who can use the Book Port? Any student that is able to learn and remember the basic functions can use a Book Port. This can be as simple as knowing only a few of the keys: on/off, play/stop, and the arrow keys. Also remember that there is a more simplified version for students who are younger, have difficulty remembering or have physical and other impairments.

11. Examples in action—how students are using the Book Port (Continued on the Next slide): A kindergarten student began using a Book Port in the latter part of the school year working on a research project. Students had to pick a topic with a friend, use books in class to do research about the topic and then write a report. He chose dinosaurs with his friend. Their questions were: where do dinosaurs live and why do they wag their tails.

12. Kindergarten student example continued All the kindergarten books are very visual, so the TVI downloaded Bookshare.org books about dinosaurs onto the Book Port. The TVI tried to get books that matched with books in the school library. While listening to these books, the student needed guidance and prompting, with the TVI stopping each page and asking what he found out about dinosaurs. He was able to learn that dinosaurs do not wag their tails. Instead they use them for defense, balance and walking, which he added into their written report.

13. Examples in action—how students are using the Book Port (Continued on the Next slide): The next example is a second grade student who is a reluctant reader with very low vision (20/400 in one eye and no light perception in the other eye). English is the third language she is fluent in. She finished the year with a visual reading ability at the beginning second grade level (almost one year behind grade level). Reading visually exhausts and strains her eyes.

14. Second grade student example continued Her listening level is extremely high, compared to her visual reading abilities. In the fall, her teacher of the visually impaired (TVI) started guided listening with her using small animal books like the Franklin The Turtle series. The TVI would stop every page and question her page by page. Slowly this progressed into the Junie B. Jones books and stopping each chapter instead of each page, but still with the TVI listening with her.

15. Second grade student example continued Soon, this student started listening on her own and taking the Book Port home. She did not use all the functions, but enough to start and stop the book (on/off and up/down arrows). All the books were loaded into one folder so she would not get confused. By the end of the year she was listening to Accelerated Reader (AR) 3.9 grade level books with 90-100 percent comprehension. This is above her actual grade level and almost two levels above her print reading level.

16. Second grade student example continued She is able to listen to about one page per minute (around 150-170 words per minute). Now she loves listening to books, though they still have to be high interest books. She can now use the “Go to page” function, listen for a title and enter into a book. Her Individual Education Plan (IEP) now includes using DAISY text documents (types of digital/electronic book formats that will be discussed in Unit 3 of this module) and commands to move and navigate within this type of format.

17. Examples in action—how students are using the Book Port (Continued on the Next slide): A fourth grade student with low vision was very sheltered regarding experiences. He is dual media, using enlarged print and braille depending on the task. He had to do free reading with a reading log. He was not fast enough at reading braille(about 40 wpm), but he could listen at a much faster rate and therefore his comprehension was better. His TVI started with high interest materials at lower levels and then built up from there.

18. Fourth grade student example continued In preparation for his transition to sixth grade his TVI downloaded the Harry Potter Series and Percy Jackson books. Now he likes to listen whenever traveling on the bus or in a car. Since part of his difficulty was lack of experiences, the exposure to many books through listening has helped. He uses the up/down keys to maneuver, but he has not yet used any DAISY documents or the enhanced navigation within them.

19. Examples in action—how students are using the Book Port: A seventh grade middle school functionally blind student needed research material to help him complete that night’s homework. His teacher of the visually impaired (TVI) found the information on the internet, highlighted it, copied it and pasted it into a Microsoft Word Document (97-2003) and then loaded it onto his Book Port Plus. This student was able to complete his homework.

20. Examples in action—how students are using the Book Port: A tenth grade high school braille student taking an English class finds out at the last minute she needs a particular novel tomorrow for class. The student, who has her own log-in for Bookshare.org (an organization that provides digital/electronic book files for qualified people with print disabilities), goes home, finds the book and loads it onto her Book Port. She is ready for class tomorrow.