the applications used to view available e-books that are often enhanced with music,
external links, simulations and sound effects. Many offer additional features such
as the ability to highlight text, bookmark a page, search a book for for a word
or a name or look up an unfamiliar work in a dictionary.
Students who are
blind or have learning disabilities use computers for reading text in an accessible
format through a screen reading device and/or software that speaks words produced
on the computer screen. E-Reader features include text-to-speech so that
any e-book can be read aloud.
E-books are able to provide information in
alternate formats to diverse learners, effectively reducing the "Digital
Divide" that exists for students with disabilities. They are going to change
how education is delivered and may reduce the cost of textbooks and print materials.
Although e-books have great educational potential, publishers have been reluctant
(due to intellectual property and industry standards) to move to this format.
Recent legislation requiring instructional materials to be provided in alternate
formats may encourage publishers to move quickly to resolve these issues.
In using the e-book version of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, as
a student clicks on a word on a page several options become available: hearing
the word, adding a highlight, copying the text or looking up its meaning.
need to actually turn a page or look through an index. Finding other occurrences
of a word is immediately available!
There are several popular free
eReaders that can be downloaded to your computer to read any text file or e-book.
Some include graphics, offer a 2-page view and provide ways to draw and take notes.
Microsoft Reader (2.0) is a free e-book reader that will read any available
e-book on your Windows computer and Pocket PC. After the Reader
is installed, add the Text-to-Speech
option to hear any eBook read aloud. In addition, you can create eBooks from
any MS Word file by installing the Add-in
feature; an icon on the Word toolbar will provide the means to do this. Using
this feature, you can locate any e-text file (e.g. from Project
Gutenberg website), copy/paste/save it as a MS Word file. Click the new toolbar
button and the file is converted into the eBook format for Microsoft Reader; it
is added to its library.
Acrobat eBook Reader
This free eReader allows you to read with 1 or 2
page format and brings in clear graphics. eBook publishers determine if a book
can be printed or read aloud. Has both PC and Mac versions.
eBook Readers (Barnes & Noble)