Bookshare

Who qualifies for Bookshare?

Students must have a qualifying print disability:

• A student with a learning disability such as dyslexia qualifies for Bookshare as long as a competent authority confirms that the learning disability significantly interferes with reading.

• A student who is blind or has low vision and who is unable to read standard print qualifies for Bookshare as long as a competent authority confirms that the person is legally blind or has a significant problem accessing text.

• A student with a physical disability who is unable to read standard print (i.e. unable to turn pages of a book independently) qualifies for Bookshare as long as a competent authority confirms that the physical disability significantly interferes with reading.

People with disabilities such as autism, intellectual disabilities, ADHD, hearing loss, dysgraphia, dyscalculia and people whose first language is not English do not qualify on these criteria alone under the laws and agreements that determine Bookshare eligibility.

How do I sign my child/student up for Bookshare?

Parents should contact their child's special education teacher (for students on IEPs) or guidance counselor (for students on 504s).

Special education teachers are considered a Competent Authority and are able to sign up and certify a student. Additional Competent Authorities include teachers of the visually impaired, physical therapists, and psychologists. All special education teachers in Newton should have their own account. If you do not please email the AT Specialist.

Teachers do not need permission from the Assistive Technology Specialist to register a student.

When to use Bookshare:

Use Bookshare to ensure that eligible students who use assistive technology to read have timely access to copyrighted materials in the format they need.

• Teachers use Bookshare to provide books to students who need a digital version of novels or text books for school.

• Parents can also help students access any book they like through an Individual Membership.

How do I access books?

Readers can experience Bookshare ebooks many different ways:

• Listen to books with high quality audio

• See text and follow along with word-level highlighting

• Enlarge font size

• Read in braille

Useful Tips for Teachers

Oftentimes you need to modify the original text to meet the needs of your students, or maybe you cannot find a large print version of the book for a student with a vision impairment. Titles may be downloaded from Bookshare in a variety of formats including Microsoft Word. Teachers can then edit the book and make changes to meet the needs of their students.