Education

DAISY Offers a Literacy Revolution

"Unlike analogue talking books, an important feature of DAISY books is easy and rapid navigation. A book can be navigated by such elements as sentence, paragraph, page (including specific page numbers) and various heading levels. It is also possible to fast forward or rewind and to jump back and forth by time increments when using the audio component. Depending on the playback equipment being used, a book can be searched for specific words. The user can also place Bookmarks at relevant points and jump to them easily." Read full article

Case Studies, Presentations, Webinars and Pilots

• DAISY Good Practices in the Netherlands (2009). Contact for inquiries: Kathleen Asjes, Manager - Research and Development, DAISY Member Dedicon
• Consortium Develops New Accessible Multimedia Tool for the Print Disabled: Microsoft Case Study 2009
• DAISY Textbook Pilot 2009: Accessible multimedia for school students (New Zealand).
• HumanWare Case Study 2007-2008: How can one year with the use of HumanWare's portable digital talking book player the ClassMate Reader, change reading outcomes for college bound students with Learning Disabilities?
• Enhancing Digital Access to Learning Materials for Canadians with Perceptual Disabilities: A Pilot Study 2006. Research Report
• EasyReader Case Study 2004-2005: RNIB Scotland and the DAISY project.
• DAISY Member HumanWare offers a comprehensive schedule of free webinars, provided by product managers and frequent guest presenters who are leaders in the assistive technology field.
• DAISY Member Dolphin hands-on free webinars.

People Learn and Understand Information in Many Different Ways

Studies by and for educators identify three basic styles of learning: auditory, tactile/kinetic, and visual. Auditory learners prefer lectures and discussions to textbooks. They interpret meaning by paying close attention to tone of voice, pitch, and speed. Tactile/kinetic learners prefer a hands-on approach. They may be easily distracted by their need for exploration and activity. Visual learners often think in pictures and prefer graphical representations of concepts through charts, diagrams, or tables.

Some individuals can't be categorized into these three simple learning styles; they may require a combination of two styles to understand and comprehend new material. Others may have to adapt to new learning styles as their lifestyles change. For example, a visual learner who is experiencing the effects of aging on their eyesight, may need to shift toward a more auditory learning style.

Conversely, a youngster who has successfully learned through hands-on, tactile methods may need to adapt to more visual and auditory learning as they enter higher education.

By synchronizing audio, text, and soon, video, DAISY multimedia can address the needs of each type of learner. DAISY hardware players, much like CD players or MP3 players, can be of great assistance to auditory learners who benefit from audio playback, whether presented through a text-to-speech feature or through human narration.

Full-text, full-audio DAISY books synchronize the audio playback with written text displayed on a computer screen to the benefit of visual learners. Easy navigation of information produced in DAISY offers tactile/kinetic learners the opportunity to explore documents and interact with information in a way that holds their attention and improves their learning.

People with print disabilities such as blindness or dyslexia have benefited from DAISY's synchronized multimedia for more than a decade. Thanks to the recent development of new software tools for the production of DAISY multimedia, today everyone can have access to information in a way that best suits their personal learning style.

• Read more about DAISY readers and production tools.
• Samples of DAISY books
• Try free publications in DAISY format and get a free trial of a DAISY Player on the Dolphin Computer Access website.
• DAISY Articles, Publications and Presentations