Showing posts with label rfbd. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rfbd. Show all posts

Learning Ally Adds Text To Select Audiobooks


Learning Ally has started to add text  to a handfull of audiobooks in its collection. Learning Ally is an audio book library for people with print disabilities. The audio books with intergrated text download and opparate just like any other Learning Ally audiobook. If you prefer to just listen to the book and not read along you can do so. The book is read aloud with human narration and each paragraph is highlighted as it is being read. The text and highlighting help users follow the words as the text is being read which can help with comprehension. Some people might find it easier to follow the text if it highlighted word by-word or line- by-line instead of  paragraph-by-paragraph, but including text is a great new feature.

The app on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch still does not allow for background download or reading which means that when you close the app the audiobook will stop. Even with these shortcomings it is exciting to see  human audio and text in one easy to use app.

One title I found with the new feature is "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." Learning Ally will begin offering more titles with text and audio in the future. To download the free Learing Ally app click here.

Click read more below to view screenshots of the app in action.







Learning Ally Audio App Now Free


Learning Ally, the audio book service for people with disabilities, has reduced the cost of their iOS app to free. The app previously cost $19.99. In order to use the app you must be a Learning Ally member. Click here to download the app which is compatible with both the iPad and iPhone. The app is the easiest way to listen to Learning Ally books on your iOS device. Now that the app is free it is a no brainer for members.

Unfortunately the app is still missing key features such as background audio play back, background downloads and the ability to browse the Learning Ally catalog directly from your iOS device. When listening to an audio book you cannot follow along with an ebook because the audio book will automatically pause. Also in order to download an audio book you first must add the book to your bookshelf via a web browser. These short comings weaken the user experience, but it is still great to listen to Learning Ally books on your iOS device.  Hopefully in time the app will be updated with these and other features. To learn more about Learning Ally click here. Click read more below to view screen shots of Learning Ally Audio in action.
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Learning Ally Audio App Updated But Still Missing Key Features


Today, the Learning Ally Audio app was updated to version 2.0.4. The Learning Ally Audio app costs $19.99 from the App Store. You must be a Learning Ally (formally RFB&D) member to use the app. The app allows members to listen to audio books downloaded from Learning Ally on the go. The update adds the ability to download books over the web without having to connect and sync with iTunes. It also has minor user interface improvements.

On the downside the app does not allow users to listen to their audio books in the background. In other words, you cannot listen to your books while you view the printed text in another application. This feature is very important for sighted users who want to read the printed text of an iBook with the audio support. You also can't check your email, browse the web or anything do anything else. Once you close the app, play back stops. iOS has had the ability to play background audio for over a year, but Learning Ally has yet to adopt the feature. 

If you are a Learning Ally member the Learning Ally Audio app is a great buy. If your not a member you cannot use this app. Read2Go, Bookshare's iOS app, is a more polished app. Click here and here to learn more about Learning Ally.

Learning Ally Audio App Updated


Today, Learning Ally (formally RFB&D) released a substantial upgrade to their iOS app. Learning Ally Audio is available for $19.99 on the iTunes app store. The app allows Learning Ally members to download audio books directly to their iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad. If you are unfamiliar with Learning Ally click here. To be eligible you must have a qualifying disability. To learn about becoming a member click here. Downloading an audio book is simple and involves transferring the audio file to the app via iTunes. Once you've downloaded a book you can listen to it on the go with your iOS device. The app allows users to navigate the audio book by section or page number, bookmark important sections and speed up the speaking rate. The new update includes new features that make listening easier. One of the new features is the ability to jump to any page in the book. Another handy new feature allows playback to continue even when the screen is locked. Yet another new feature remembers where in the book you left off and starts playing from that point the next time you open the app. The Learning Ally Audio app is a must have for reading Learning Ally audio books on the go.

Learning Ally also announced in a press release that this fall they will support text as well as human narration. Learning Ally’s President and CEO, Andrew Friedman said,
"Looking ahead, the Learning Ally Audio app will include text to speech functionality, enabling learners to enjoy the best of both worlds: human narration as well as text content of their books and reading materials." 
Click read more below to see screen shots of the updated app.






Learning Ally Recorded Books (Previously called RFB&D)



Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic changed its name to Learning Ally recently. Learning Ally still provides audio books for many titles. Learning Ally is also going to increase its advocating efforts for people who need print material in alternative formats. They will still provide audio books on CDs as well as downloadable. The books are digitally indexed which makes navigation very easy. The digitally indexed books allow you to skip pages and go to a specific chapter. Also you can speed up the speaking rate. The voice quality is great because the books are read by volunteers. Learning Ally also has an iOS app for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. The app allows you to download the audio books directly to your iPod Touch, iPad or iPhone. App Store Link The app has all of the navigation features as the CDs. The app costs $20 but is very great for Learning Ally members. To become a member you have to show documentation of a print disability. Membership is free for qualified individuals. In addition to individual memberships schools can become members in order to provide books to students with print disabilities.

RFB&D Releases App for the iPhone, iPad, & iPod Touch

I finally had a chance to download the RFBD app to my iPad last week and download some audiobooks to give the app a test run. There are two steps to the process: first you must download the DAISY Audio file from the RFB&D website to the RFBD Download Manager, and then once the audiobook is downloaded you need to open iTunes on your computer and add the audiobook zip file into the RFB&D app within your iTunes library. Now synch your iPad and voila your book comes across the device and your are ready to listen to it.

The audiobooks are all human narration and it is possible with the RFB&D App to have the reader slow down or speed up as well you can also bookmark the page for future reference. Because the audiobook is a DAISY file the book allows you the freedom to navigate by levels and pages numbers if you wish. The quality of the audio is excellent when listening to the audio  book on my iPad. This is a big step forward for RFB&D to have the app running on iOS devices and I hope that in the future we will be able to download books without the need to use the Download Manager- like we do when downloading from the Apple iBooks store or from the Kindle Bookstore.

The RFB&D app is a great step forward for the organization but more so, for all the students that rely on audiobooks and want the convenience to be able to play them on their favorite iOS device. The RFB&D App costs $19.99 and can be downloaded from the Apple Apps Store.

Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic - Individual Membership is now Free

Thanks to major funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Grant #H327D090001 and support of private donors, Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic ® (RFB&D®) Individual Membership is now free to individuals with proper certification*.

Member benefits include:

  • FREE access to the nation's largest audiobook library of textbooks and literature titles
  • Human-narrated audiobooks with descriptions of images, tables and graphs
  • Easy-to-use online catalog
  • 24/7 online member services and phone support
  • Various audiobook downloadable formats, including DAISY and WMA (Windows Media Audio)

Register Online for Immediate Access

Download an Application

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*Learn more about Certification