Related Tools

Bruno is an application that generates ready-to-record DAISY filesets (a DAISY project) from valid source document input.

After the generation is complete, the DAISY project can be opened in a DAISY production tool and the audio can be recorded.

Bruno bypasses the "project setup wizard" features that exist in a number of DAISY production tools, and at the same time provides a number of benefits to producers:

• Project generation is fast. Less time is actually required to generate a DAISY project for recording.
• It is easy to use. Getting a valid and nicely synchronized DTB does not require mastering complex techniques or multiple process steps. For example, with Bruno, no MDF editing or customizing is required as can be the case in some project generation wizards.
• Fileset integrity and well-formedness are maintained. Both simple and complex markup are handled equally well.

Download Bruno Fileset Generator

The DAISY Regenerator is a software tool designed to enable organizations to repair and upgrade existing DAISY 2.0 and 2.02 DTBs.

The tool takes a DAISY 2.0 or 2.02 DTB as input, and performs a series of operations on it in order to output a valid DAISY 2.02 DTB.

Features include:

• Conversion of HTML and SMIL files to valid XML
• Fixes of reoccuring errors and inconsistencies that existed in the output of early versions of production tools
• Ability to rename files sequentially (so that they play in order in MP3 players)

Why use the Regenerator?

• Because the elimination of possible errors will yield a better experience for the end user reading the DAISY 2.02 DTB.
• Because a valid DAISY 2.02 DTB is future safe. Only valid DAISY 2.02 DTBs are guaranteed to be upgradeable to the DAISY 3 standard. In this respect, the Regenerator may be regarded as an organization's "Swiss Army knife" of longevity.

The Regenerator works together with the DAISY 2.02 Validator. After regeneration has been done, the DTB can be automatically validated, to ensure that no errors or inconsistencies remain.

Download DAISY 2.02 Regenerator

• DAISY Basic Training Manual

The DAISY Spy is available to Members of the DAISY Consortium. It will scan the file-system for DAISY-projects, collecting useful information about each project during this process. The software will maintain a record for each project and can display the "history" of a project. The Spy is a filter for the project display, so that only projects satisfying various criteria will be displayed. Such criteria can be project size, level of completeness, date of last recording, DAISY format, required meta-data, etc.

By using this software, you can get answers to questions such as:

• are there any projects not being narrated during the last week?
• is a specific narrator(s) involved in any projects at the moment?
• are there any projects that could need a clean-up?
• and more.

DAISY Spy also offers a statistics part, giving numbers for average playback time, production time, project size, number of pages, the ratio of production time to playback time etc, etc, for the current productions, or for the projects completed during the last week, month, or year, etc.

DAISY Spy gives you the answers to questions you did not even think to ask. A beta is available for download now, from the DAISY Spy Website. Contact Per Sennels: per.sennels (at) statped.no.

FNB has developed a web based scheduler to distribute all necessary DAISY projects to the different recording booths and back to the server in overnight batches. Now every morning all projects that are planned for that day are available in a specific booth to continue the recording of that book. At the end of the day all books are retrieved back to the server, without any human interference. All projects on the server are backed upp automatically using a LTO tape library.

The Production Scheduler is a Web-based application using the platform independent script language PHP and a MySQL database -- all freeware products. Although FNB currently runs a Windows 2000 server, this system could be used to run on a low cost Linux solution without changing the scripts.

The system is very flexible and supports an unlimited number of recording booths in the same network, with an unlimited number of recording sessions which even could be different per studio per day of the week.

It is possible to make ad hoc changes in the planning if a narrator cancels his or her recordingsession for that day, and you want to fill in the gap with another recording. It is even possible to plan multiple recording sessions for one book over different recording booths during the day. The system automatically moves the project from one studio to another when the previous session has ended. A locking mechanism makes sure the projects are not moved over the network while an other recording session is taking place.

If a PC is turned off at night a Wake-on-Lan signal is used to switch it on.

The Production Scheduler is freely available for Consortium members. For more information please contact Edmar Schut at FNB, the Netherlands.

The IVEO® Hands-on-Learning from viewplus Technologies enables learning through touch, sound, and sight. IVEO® lets you use any one, two, or all three of these learning modalities together to learn faster and retain longer. This tool makes learning structured concepts more engaging and inclusive. IVEO® includes sounds, speech or links, in objects to further stimulate learning. It is compatible with DAISY SVG plug-in.

Design Science MathType is a powerful interactive tool that will allow you to create MathML content. MathType is a mainstream equation editor that works with common word processors, presentation programs, page layout programs, HTML or XML-authoring tools and many other types of software. MathType is especially convenient for people who want to author math materials in Microsoft Word and then convert its equations into MathML for use in your favorite HTML or XML editor or exported to a web page with accessible math.

Structure Modifier is a tool for adding additional content to the source document for a DAISY 2.02 NCC Only Digital Talking Book. It is especially geared towards skippability, making it easy to add the producer notes, sidebars, and footnotes as described in the DAISY 2.02 specifications.

The output from the Structure Modifier is compliant with the methods and requirements specified in the DAISY 2.02 Skippable Structures Recommendation from the DAISY Consortium. With the Structure Modifier, you can:

• Use the source document created with Structure Editor or another HTML-editor as a starting point.
• Use the Continuation Element Wizard in Structure Modifier to add the continuation elements after headings and page numbers.
• Include additional skippable content wherever you like in the source document.
• Save the modified source document, now complete with skippable content, and compliant with the recommendation.

The Structure Modifier is available free of charge to members of the DAISY Consortium.

For more information see: www.ks-huseby.no/daisy/StructMod. Contact: Per Sennels per.sennels@statped.no.

Design Science WebEQ Developers Suite is a comprehensive toolkit for building web pages that include interactive, accessible math. The world's leading e-learning companies, content developers and education portals are implementing WebEQ components to create web-based learning environments that help educators engage their students in math and science on the web. Since WebEQ creates MathML output, all the math equations can be made accessible to the end user.