Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I know most people are either on break or just getting back to work so, I thought I’d keep it somewhat brief and simple this week with something you should already be somewhat familiar with:
FREE Text-To-Speeech: Most, if not all, of you have at least heard by now that the recent agreement between the PATINS-Project and Don Johnston Incorporated has allowed for an unlimited, school-wide, including take-home rights, version of Don Johnston’s Read:OutLoud software, free for all Indiana school districts with a Digital Rights Manager.
I decided to address this opportunity this week for several reasons. First, Read:OutLoud on every computer in a school building (and at home) is a huge step toward a Universally Designed Instructional Environment. Second, I’ve gotten some questions/concerns from districts in my region over the past couple of weeks about what this Read:OutLoud program actually is, what it can do and what benefit there might be to offering it to all students in a school building.
First, I’d like to point out the financial importance of this opportunity. Simply put, Read:OutLoud is a commercial product that has been around for quite some time (long before NIMAS). Typical pricing for the product starts at $299 per license (for 1-4) computers. This opportunity through PATINS, allows districts to have the software FREE.
Once a DRM downloads the Free Read:OutLoud (ROL) software from the ICAM website (www.icam.k12.in.us/downloads.php) He/she is free to install ROL on any PC, Mac or Linux computer in the district AND keep it installed, free of charge, forever! Additionally, the DRM can burn CD’s with the ROL software on it and send them home with the students who need the program installed in their home environment in order to complete their homework. This is an important consideration as we begin to understand that if a student needs alternative formats at school, he/she will very likely also need them at home to complete assignments. AND, if that wasn’t enough incentive to get this free download, Don Johnston Incorporated has also agreed to provide Indiana with free upgrades to ROL during the first year. Please don’t confuse this with your ability to keep ROL installed for as long as you’d like. You just won’t receive free upgrades past the initial year. However, the program will likely still be very effective for a large number of students for many years to come with or without upgrades!
So, Quickly, here are some Questions I’ve received recently and the answers to them:
Q: Is this only free for a limited time? A: NO, the ROL application is free and unlimited forever (for Indiana Schools with a DRM). Upgrades are free for the first year.
Q: Is ROL only for NIMAS Qualified Students? A: NO, ROL has been around since long before NIMAS and ANY student in your building may access the software. Keep the UDL concept in mind.
Q: Should I wait to install ROL until my district has students needing NIMAS books? A: NO, ROL is a powerful tool intended to help students with all sorts of reading and print needs. In fact, offering a tool such as ROL as a choice to all students at all times is really what Universal Design for Learning is all about.
Q: What does ROL really do? A: Read:OutLoud can provide text-to-speech from many formats including html, xml, Daisy, rtf, pdf, NIMAS and also includes text to speech web browsing to improve the accessibility of online research. Other supports, include text highlighting, text notes, supported reading guides, speaking dictionary and bibliographer wizard!
Q: How does Indiana’s ROL Universal Access version differ from the Bookshare.org ROL version? A: Please reference this chart from Don Johnston to view the differences: www.donjohnston.com/resources/rol_cm_table.pdf. Of course, the Universal Access Version is FREE for Indiana DRMs with regard to this chart.
Hopefully, this helps clear up some of the misconceptions I’ve been hearing about this wonderful opportunity from Indiana, PATINS and Don Johnston Incorporated. Please contact the ICAM or your PATINS Site Coordinator with further questions. We’re all very happy to help!
Additionally, you can reference the Read:OutLoud Announcement Letter that was sent out to Indiana Digital Right’s Managers (DRMs) from the ICAM on September 15, 2008, here: www.icam.k12.in.us/LEADRMannouncment.pdf
If you are a registered DRM and you’re ready to download your free Read:OutLoud, you can do that here:
www.icam.k12.in.us/DJ/DJLogin.aspx
One more resource for finding accessible books online:
- Lit2Go: http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/ (Thanks Jim)
And a free Head-Tracking resource to try if you have a student needing to use head-tracking to access his/her computer. I know I’ve talked a lot about this free program in the past and have recommended it to many people in person, but it seems like I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately from LEA’s looking for just this sort of thing. eFMer Track! is a free download that simply uses just about any old webcam you can find and tracks your student’s head movement as an alternative to a standard mouse, scanning, trackballs, etc. Check it out: www.efmer.eu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=30
By: Marilou Vander Griend on December 1, 2008 
