Accessible Educational Material (AEM)
Common Terms:
Audio Book: a print book that is read out loud by a human. Audible and Apple Books have many titles though generally no textbooks
Digital Text: any text that can be retrieved and read by a computer or other electronic device
E-Book: a digital version of a print publication
Text-To-Speech (TTS): a type of assistive technology utilizing artificial intelligence to create a human sounding voice (think siri) that reads digital text aloud. It’s sometimes called “read aloud” technology
Many students with print disabilities read print materials with Text To Speech (TTS). TTS interprets renderable text and uses an AI voice to read the text aloud. Word documents (doc, docx) are accessible. PDF documents may, or not be, accessible. A scan of a document, though saved as a PDF, is a picture of text rather than renderable text, and cannot be read using TTS. A PDF is generally accessible if text can be highlighted using a cursor (cut/copy to paste). A PDF is not accessible if a crosshair is visible and text cannot be cut/copied. If the PDF is searchable, using the find option; it is accessible.
Sources to rent/purchase Ebooks are VitalSource, RedShelf and in some cases, the LC bookstore. Books from VitalSource and Redshelf include TTS. Check the digital rights link at the LC bookstore to ensure read aloud is included . Kindle may have E-books but individual titles may not include TTS capability. Check Kindle product details to determine if TTS is included.
Contact osadigital@lclark.edu with questions.
A great place to start to learn about how to make your course materials accessible is with National Center on Accessible Educational Materials
Office of Student Accessibility is located in room 206 of Albany Quadrangle.
MSC: 112
email access@lclark.edu (access at lclark dot EE D You)
voice 503-768-7192
fax 503-768-7197
Office Hours:
Monday through Friday
8:30 am to 4:30 pm
CAS Exam Proctoring Hours:
Monday through Friday
8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Office of Student Accessibility
Lewis & Clark
615 S. Palatine Hill Road MSC 112
Portland OR 97219