Supporting Reading skills

A mismatch? Something I’ve wondered about for many years is the mismatch between the diversity of learners  and the uniformity of assistive technology provision.  For example we know that there is no such thing as a “typical” dyslexic learner and yet there is very definitely “typical” dyslexia provision. The same products come up time and […]

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Alternative formats Policy & strategy

Alternative formats; where to begin.

How can you improve the offer of textbooks in alternative format for disabled learners, particularly for those hit by changes to the DSA? The best solution is, ideally, to already have an accessible e-book on an accessible e-book platform. Even if the book or platform lacks accessibility they may often be more than adequate for […]

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Alternative formats

Accessible textbooks – jigsaw piece 3/3

Crowd-sourced accessibility If you have scanned an entire book under the provisions of the Copyright and Rights in Performances (Disability) Regulations 2014 the best thing you can do with any intermediate copy is upload it to Load2Learn so that others can benefit and even build on its accessibility. However, sometimes you only need to scan […]

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Alternative formats Policy & strategy

Accessible textbooks – jigsaw piece 2/3

It’s good to share, it’s easy to share, it’s legal to share For many years libraries and disability support teams have had the frustration of wasted time and effort in scanning books that others had already scanned… but that licences prevented them from sharing. Now that copyright laws have changed (see previous blog post) it […]

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Alternative formats Policy & strategy

Accessible textbooks: jigsaw piece 1/3

The Law got better for disabled learners The Copyright and Rights in Performances (Disability) Regulations 2014 legislation enshrined a right for HEI’s to share accessible “intermediate copies” of textbooks with one another. However, the lack of definition of “intermediate copy” meant that, in practice, hardly any sharing was taking place for fear of falling foul […]