Podcasts about Benetech

Emily Kircher-Morris talks with Barbara Pape, Senior Director of the Learner Variability Project, about the concept of learner variability. The conversation touches on the importance of recognizing each student's unique strengths and challenges. They explore how educators can support neurodivergent learners through personalized instruction, they cover the role of technology in education, and talk about the need for a sense of belonging in the classroom. The discussion also touches on the barriers educators face in addressing learner variability and the evolution of educational policy to better support diverse learners. TAKEAWAYS Learner variability is the recognition that each student has unique strengths and challenges. Teaching to the middle does not effectively reach any student. Understanding learner variability allows educators to see design challenges rather than student problems. The Learner Variability Navigator is a tool for educators to understand and support diverse learners. Creating a sense of belonging is crucial for student engagement and success. Students should have agency in how their accommodations are presented to peers. Belonging in the classroom requires a whole child approach. Educational policy must evolve to provide adequate support for neurodivergent learners. Barbara Pape is the Senior Director of the Learner Variability Project at Digital Promise, where she led a national survey on learner variability, edtech, and teacher practice, authored the defining paper on learner variability, and co-developed the IEP Project, which emphasizes strength-based, whole-child approaches to writing IEPs. She also hosts a monthly edWeb webinar series and previously served as executive producer of the award-winning Teaching & Learning conference for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Her background includes roles in public policy, having worked on former U.S. Senator Paul Simon's Senate and Presidential campaign, as well as in the U.S. Senate on the Education and Labor Committee. Barbara has contributed to numerous publications and was the editor and publisher of the first electronically delivered education newsletter, The Daily Report Card. She serves on the boards of Benetech and The Riley Project and is involved in multiple education and learner variability working groups. Previously, she was an advisor for the Kennedy Center's Intersection of the Arts and Special Education and a strategic planning committee member for Montgomery County Public Schools. She is currently pursuing a PhD at University College London, holds an EdM in reading and literacy from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, and began her career as a middle school language arts teacher. BACKGROUND READING Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, YouTube, The Learner Variability Project, The Learner Variability Navigator The Neurodiversity Podcast is on Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky, and you're invited to join our Facebook Group. For more information go to www.NeurodiversityPodcast.com

2512 Benetech Celebrates 25 Years of Making Books Accessible for Everyone (Mar. 19, 2025) Show Notes Benetech's work has transformed how people with disabilities access information. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with founder Jim Fruchterman and CEO Ayan Kishore about the evolution of Bookshare, the use of AI in accessibility, the Global Certified Accessible … Continue reading 2512 Benetech Celebrates 25 Years of Making Books Accessible for Everyone (Mar. 19, 2025) →

Michael Johnson is the Vice President of Content at Benetech. In this role, he works directly with publishers, conversion houses, technology platforms, retailers, and educational institutions to help them understand and implement processes that allow for fully accessible content to get from authors all the way through to the end reader. He also has a long-time relationship to publishing standards having sat on several ISO, NISO, BISG, and MARC standards committees throughout his career and currently sits on the Board of Directors for DAISY. With almost 40 years of experience in the technology, publishing, and distribution markets, Michael joins us on the BookSmarts Podcast to discuss the services that Benetech offers to create accessible ebooks, such as Bookshare, and provides advice on how to make books GCA (Global Certified Accessible) certified.Visit the following links to learn more: Benetech: benetech.org  Bookshare: bookshare.org  Born Accessible: bornaccessible.org

In this episode of the Advice on Editing & Design stream of the Self-Publishing with ALLi Podcast, Campaigns Manager Matty Dalrymple talks with Michael Johnson of Benetech about the importance of accessibility for authors and visually impaired readers, emphasizing ethical self-publishing and the potential market share missed if authors do not make their content accessible. Michael provides practical tips for indie authors on how to ensure their books are accessible, including the use of technology and proper formatting.  Find more author advice, tips, and tools at our self-publishing advice center. And, if you haven't already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally.  Sponsors This podcast is proudly sponsored by Bookvault. Sell high-quality, print-on-demand books directly to readers worldwide and earn maximum royalties selling directly. Automate fulfillment and create stunning special editions with BookvaultBespoke. Visit Bookvault.app today for an instant quote. This podcast is also sponsored by Gatekeeper Press, the all-inclusive Gold Standard in Publishing, offering authors 100% rights, royalties, satisfaction and worldwide distribution. Gatekeeper Press, Where Authors are Family. About the Host Matty Dalrymple podcasts, writes, speaks, and consults on the writing craft and the publishing voyage as The Indy Author. She has written books on the business of short fiction and podcasting for authors, and her articles have appeared in Writer's Digest magazine. She serves as the campaigns manager for the Alliance of Independent Authors. Matty is also the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers, beginning with Rock Paper Scissors; the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels, beginning with The Sense of Death; and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Shorts, including Close These Eyes. She is a member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime.

2433 The Evolution of Benetech and Bookshare (Aug. 14, 2024) Show Notes Benetech has made it possible for people around the world who are blind, visually impaired, or print disabled to access printed books and educational materials. Hosts Nancy and Peter talk with CEO Ayan Kishore about the evolution of Benetech and Bookshare, and how … Continue reading 2433 The Evolution of Benetech and Bookshare (Aug. 14, 2024) →

Hey there, book lovers and tech enthusiasts! Today's episode is a real eye-opener about how technology is revolutionizing reading for everyone, especially kids with learning differences. We kicked things off with Ayan Kishore from Benetech, who's doing amazing work with Bookshare. Imagine a free online library with over 1.3 million books, all accessible to kids who struggle with traditional reading. We're talking text-to-speech, customizable fonts, and even refreshable Braille displays. It's not just cool tech – it's life-changing stuff that's boosting reading comprehension for kids with dyslexia and other challenges. Next up, we chatted with Dr. Adeia Theodore about her heartwarming book "I Would Love You Still." She reminded us how crucial it is to show our kiddos unconditional love, even when they're driving us bonkers. Plus, she dropped some knowledge about the long-term benefits of reading to our little ones – better vocabularies, school readiness, you name it! Last but not least, Jason Broughton from the National Library Service blew our minds with what they're offering. We're talking free access to talking books, Braille materials, and even the world's largest Braille music collection. And get this – they're working on e-Braille devices that can display images through touch. The future is now, folks! Throughout the show, we hit on some big themes: the power of personalized learning, breaking down barriers to education, and using tech to level the playing field for all readers. Whether you're a parent, teacher, or just someone who loves a good book, this episode is packed with info on how we can make reading accessible and enjoyable for everyone. So, grab your favorite e-reader (or good old-fashioned book) and dive into this episode. Trust me, it'll change how you think about reading and technology! Click here to visit our website - www.readingwithyourkids.com  Follow us on social media - www.facebook.com/ReadingWithYourKids  @ReadingWithYourKids on Instagram @JedlieMagic on X

Authors, who would like to tap into another 20% of the reading population? You can do that by making your works accessible to the community of potential readers with print disabilities.   Matty Dalrymple talks with Michael Johnson about HOW TO MAKE YOUR WORK ACCESSIBLE, including the requirements of digital accessibility, such as making images and graphs and charts accessible; tools and services for accommodating accessibility; IP financial and rights considerations; SEO benefits; and the impact of AI. Michael talks about both the social obligations of making work accessible as well as the financial benefits of doing so—there's a substantial audience out there eager for more accessible content.   Interview video at https://youtu.be/lQHoHCLusoE   Show notes (including transcript) at https://www.theindyauthor.com/229---how-to-make-your-work-accessible.html   If you find the information in this video useful, please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple   Michael Johnson is a seasoned executive with almost 40 years of experience in the technology, publishing, and distribution markets. He is the Vice President of Content at Benetech, working with publishers, conversion houses, technology platforms, and booksellers to help them understand and implement processes that allow for accessible content to get from authors all the way through to the end reader.   Matty Dalrymple is the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers, beginning with ROCK PAPER SCISSORS; the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels, beginning with THE SENSE OF DEATH; and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Shorts. She is a member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime. Matty also writes, speaks, and consults on the writing craft and the publishing voyage, and shares what she's learned on THE INDY AUTHOR PODCAST. She has written books on the business of short fiction and podcasting for authors; her articles have appeared in "Writer's Digest" magazine. She is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors.

Michael Johnson has many years of experience in publishing, technology, and educational distribution. He is currently Vice President of Content at Benetech, a global company that creates software for social good in the areas of education, employment, and social inclusion. In other words, Michael assists in making your stories and art accessible to anyone, regardless of their circumstances. Michael has been involved with many publishing evolutions that were feared to be the end of publishing, such as eBooks, only to find publishing emerging all the stronger. As long as there are humans reading stories, there will be publishing. We cover accessibility in publishing and define the term and its importance in the coming years. We also discuss AI in book publishing - plagiarism.

Michael Johnson has many years of experience in publishing, technology, and educational distribution. He is currently Vice President of Content at Benetech, a global company that creates software for social good in the areas of education, employment, and social inclusion. In other words, Michael assists in making your stories and art accessible to anyone, regardless of their circumstances. Michael has been involved with many publishing evolutions that were feared to be the end of publishing, such as eBooks, only to find publishing emerging all the stronger. As long as there are humans reading stories, there will be publishing. We cover accessibility in publishing and define the term and its importance in the coming years. We also discuss AI in book publishing - plagiarism.

This month we talked to Christen Thomas and David Stinson from CNIB Beyond Print about accessible audiobooks, braille, and more. Find the transcript here: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2023/6/27/podcast-making-books-accessible-for-everyone Further reading and listening: -CNIB Beyond Print: https://cnib-beyondprint.ca/ -Centre for Equitable Library Access: https://celalibrary.ca/ -CNIB braille transcription services portal: https://cnib-beyondprint.ca/braille-portal/ -Benetech's Global Certified Accessible (GCA) Program: https://bornaccessible.benetech.org/global-certified-accessible/

In this episode, EALA is joined by Ayan Kishore, the CEO of Benetech. Listen in as we discuss how Benetech's technology is being used to break down barriers to expand inclusive and equitable education opportunities for all learners. To learn more about Benetech, and how they're helping over 1.5 million students, jobseekers, and adults to read, learn, and pursue their dreams, visit their website at benetech.org.   Access the full transcript at bit.ly/5MinsWithBenetech

LEARN ABOUT HOW BENETECH CAN SUPPORT YOUR STUDENTS WITH VISUAL CHALLENGES WITH THOUSANDS OF BOOKS AVAILABLE IN  ALL FORMATS SO ALL STUDENTS HAVE THE JOY OF READING..AND ITS ALL FREE FOR SCHOOLS WORLDWIDE. We'll focus also  on urban education and how they are working in Detroit with Benetech's . Nancy Brown and Lisa Wadors

LEARN ABOUT HOW BENETECH CAN SUPPORT YOUR STUDENTS WITH VISUAL CHALLENGES WITH THOUSANDS OF BOOKS AVAILABLE IN  ALL FORMATS SO ALL STUDENTS HAVE THE JOY OF READING..AND ITS ALL FREE FOR SCHOOLS WORLDWIDE. We'll focus also  on urban education and how they are working in Detroit with Benetech's . Nancy Brown and Lisa Wadors

As publishers continue efforts to make their content available to all, this episode of the IPG Podcast discusses accessibility issues with Julie Willis of River Editorial, a division of Westchester Publishing Services UK. Julie offers some good advice for the benefits and practicalities of fully-accessibie content and discusses the implications of the European Accessibility Act for publishers.    TRANSCRIPT Hello and welcome to the IPG Podcast. I'm Tom Holman of the IPG. In this podcast we're talking about accessibility in publishing—an important subject of course. Awareness of the need to make content freely available to everyone has grown steadily over the years, but there's still some work to be done. To talk about that is Julie Willis, who is editorial director and systems lead at River Editorial, a division of Westchester Publishing Services UK. Julie is particularly passionate and knowledgeable about this subject, and she's with us to share some good advice for any publishers who are working on accessibility projects at the moment. I hope you find our conversation useful.  Tom Holman / Hi Julie, and thanks for joining us on the Podcast. It's great to have you. Before we talk about accessibility, maybe you could give us just a quick guide to Westchester and River Editorial and the services you offer to publishers these days.  Julie Willis / Of course, and thank you for having me Tom. We are River Editorial, which is a part of the UK division of Westchester Publishing Services, a 50 year-old employee-owned US company. We've got wholly-owned typesetting operations in India, and we map our ethical approach to employment across those two operations, as well as in the UK.  Westchester Publishing Services UK is celebrating five years of existence. There are two divisions: River Editorial is headed up by myself and Rosie Stewart, and we manage all aspects of book production for clients including academic publishers of books and journals, as well as organizations and institutions. The education division is headed by Rebecca Durose-Croft and has a large client base, providing upstream services like content creation, curriculum mapping and culturally responsive education reviews to name a few. Tom Holman / Well, happy fifth birthday! I know a lot of IPG members work with you already. So why should publishers be interested in accessibility? There's a moral reason of course—that content should be available to everyone—but I guess there's some sound commercial reasons too? Julie Willis / Above both of those reasons is that it will become compulsory via the European Accessibility Act in June 2025—but we'll come on to talk about that a little later. Commercially, it's been demonstrated by the likes of Apple that customers will buy into your brand if your values as a business mirror their own. There are lots of different phones available on the market, so why do you buy an iPhone? Because you value the same things as Apple. The same is true for businesses that demonstrate they are prioritizing accessibility. If that is a value that your potential customer holds, then they will choose you and your books over others. There's also 80 million people in the EU with a disability—so clearly there's a market there that you can attract. Morally, equal access is clearly a goal of modern western society. Everyone should be able to have the same user experience across all platforms, but especially digital platforms. There's no real excuse for that to be any different for anybody in this day and age.  Tom Holman / When we talk about accessibility, what exactly are we talking about in practical terms? What are the specific things that publishers should be doing to make sure that those 80 million people can access their content? Julie Willis / It's a really good question. Accessibility requirements extend to all digital content, so for publishers that includes their websites as well as their epubs and any other digital deliverables that they provide on a practical level. The very basic things are providing something called alt text, which is short for alternative text, and means that a screen reader can read out a description of the figures and tables.  Alt text must be supplied for figures, so it needs to include what a person with full sight would see and interpret from those figures. Tables have to be tagged correctly so a screen reader can read them in the correct order, as you would read them as a sighted person. So for more complex titles, like education titles that have columns and so on, you can imagine that if it doesn't have the right reading order, it wouldn't make sense. Font choice should be taken into account for neurodivergent individuals, and colour contrast for the same reason. If you've got multi-media content, then transcripts have to be available for those, and there are other considerations, like seizure warnings. That's a very basic introduction to what we should be doing, but there are many more standards and guidance points that we need to consider along with those top-level ones. Tom Holman / There's a lot to think about there. Are there any useful accessibility standards or resources out there that people should be aware of?  Julie Willis / Absolutely. The main one that most people are working towards at the moment is WCAG —Web Content Accessibility Guidelines—2.1 Level AA, to be superseded by WCAG 3.0, which provides standards for neurodivergence and autism. It's an international organization and their website has enormous amounts of information and guidelines to help guide you through the requirements.  There is also an International Standard Organization control—30071-1—which brings it all together. That goes beyond technical standards and talks about embedding accessibility into your managerial processes. If you've heard of the expression ‘born accessible', that is the key—the goal that we're trying to reach. There's also an organization called the Daisy Consortium that provides tools and standards and advice for best practice within the publishing industry for people with print disabilities. That doesn't just mean print—it means digital accessibility Issues as well.  There's also an organization called PAAG, which stands for Publishing Accessibility Action Group. They have a Charter that you can sign up to, and I would encourage publishers to look at getting their house in order so they can sign up, which requires certain standards to be met.  Tom Holman / It's good to know that there's a lot of help out there. And there's an awful lot of acronyms in there as well! You mentioned the European Accessibility Act earlier. There's a lot of talk about it at the moment, but there's also uncertainty about what it actually means in practice. I guess in some ways it's too early to tell, but what's your sense of the implications for publishers?  Julie Willis / One element I want to get across is that the Act is already in existence. It's already been passed and we've already signed up to it. It's enforced from 28th June 2025, so that date is a benchmark, but it's already in existence. Key individuals in the industry that have read the Act feel that that backlist conversion is within its scope, and obviously that's an enormous task. So not only does it mean then that all books published after 28th June 2025 have to be accompanied by an accessible epub, it also looks like the backlist has to be converted. However, it looks like there's a five-year grace period in which you can get your backlist fully accessible. There's more information online about the Act and what it means for publishers.  Tom Holman / And finally, what can Westchester do to help IPG members on this front? There's a lot to get through, and some publishers might feel a bit daunted by it. What can you do to help with accessibility?  Julie Willis / Well, we're a Benetech accredited supplier. Benetech is a global non-profit technology organization that validates the accessibility standards of our epubs and continues to check them annually as well. We're offering IPG members a deal to create certified-accessible epubs for them—normally they couldn't get that certification themselves, but because we are producing the files for them we can certify the files individually. We can do that for both frontlist and obviously for conversion of backlist epubs. We're also looking to organize an accessibility webinar In the summer, and we plan to invite key individuals within the industry to discuss the European Accessibility Act in more detail and give publishers the latest interpretation of what it means for them. We'll be publicizing both of those in the IPG's newsletter.

Amanda Landavazo from Benetech's  BOOKSHARE  is our guest. . Bookshare makes reading easier for your students with  challenges like dyslexia, blindness, cerebral palsy, and other reading barriers  and can customize their experience to suit their learning style and find virtually any book they need for school, work, or the joy of reading.And it's all free.Amanda's email is amandal@bookshare.org.

Amanda Landavazo from Benetech's  BOOKSHARE  is our guest. . Bookshare makes reading easier for your students with  challenges like dyslexia, blindness, cerebral palsy, and other reading barriers  and can customize their experience to suit their learning style and find virtually any book they need for school, work, or the joy of reading.And it's all free.Amanda's email is amandal@bookshare.org.

BENETECH, BOOKSHARE AND EDUCATIONAL EQUITY If you don't know about Bookshare and how WITH FREE RESOURCES FOR YOUR SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY  they help children with special needs, particularly sight challenges and those with language needs as well as areas of lower income , listen to their CEO Ayan Kishore tell you  and your school and district all about it.

BENETECH, BOOKSHARE AND EDUCATIONAL EQUITY If you don't know about Bookshare and how WITH FREE RESOURCES FOR YOUR SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY  they help children with special needs, particularly sight challenges and those with language needs as well as areas of lower income , listen to their CEO Ayan Kishore tell you  and your school and district all about it.

Bookshare, the worlds largest online library of accessible eBooks, is pleased to announce some exciting new features. Come learn about our new reading tools for computers, mobile devices and Alexa smart speaker plus our new human narrated audio collection. With over 1 million titles that are available any time and anywhere, Bookshare is a great resource for readers who need accessible formats. Not a member, sign up is easy on the Bookshare website. If you have any questions or need support, please contact our Customer Service team at 650-352-0198 or via email support@bookshare.org. Presenter Contact Info Email: larar@benetech.org

Zach Berke, Founder & Managing Partner at Exygy Zach oversees Exygy's strategy, design, and engineering work. He serves as the Account Manager for clients such as Children's Council, CARE, REDF, Benetech, and the SF Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development. Zach founded Exygy in 2004 with a vision: innovation and technology will accelerate progressive social change. This vision led Zach to build Exygy, the market-leading innovation agency in the for-purpose sector. Zach wrote his first line of code at age six, designed his first website at 12, co-founded a non-profit at 18, graduated with High Honors at 22, completed his AmeriCorps*VISTA fellowship at 23, and then started Exygy. A Bay Area native and father of three, today Zach is dedicated to improving the health and resilience of his community. Learn more about Exygy and the work they do: https://www.exygy.com/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/governmentcoins/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/governmentcoins/support

Zach Berke, Founder & Managing Partner at Exygy Zach oversees Exygy's strategy, design, and engineering work. He serves as the Account Manager for clients such as Children's Council, CARE, REDF, Benetech, and the SF Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development. Zach founded Exygy in 2004 with a vision: innovation and technology will accelerate progressive social change. This vision led Zach to build Exygy, the market-leading innovation agency in the for-purpose sector. Zach wrote his first line of code at age six, designed his first website at 12, co-founded a non-profit at 18, graduated with High Honors at 22, completed his AmeriCorps*VISTA fellowship at 23, and then started Exygy. A Bay Area native and father of three, today Zach is dedicated to improving the health and resilience of his community. Learn more about Exygy and the work they do: https://www.exygy.com/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/governmentcoins/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/governmentcoins/support

With specialties in Enterprise Architecture, Outsourcing, and IT Infrastructure Virtualization, KP Naidu has been at the cutting edge of software for the last 20+ years. Starting his career with an MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur, he also holds a MS.c in Artificial Intelligence from The University of Edinburgh, and has been leading technology in companies such as Amava, BeneTech, and Telenav.

In this edition of the AppleVis Extra, Thomas Domville and Scott Davert are joined by Hema Natarajan, product manager at Benetech, the parent company of Bookshare.Bookshare is an ebook library that currently has 1,097,526 titles and is the most extensive collection of accessible ebooks in the world. It includes books for school, career, and reading pleasure, as well as titles in over 34 languages.Hema, is excited to introduce us to Bookshare's upcoming suite of free reading tools: Bookshare Reader for Web, Bookshare Reader for iOS, Bookshare Reader for Android, and Bookshare Reader for Alexa. This suite of free tools, available summer 2022, will make reading accessible books easier than ever before.Bookshare Reader for the Web is currently in private testing in select school districts across the US. Bookshare Reader for the Web and the mobile app will be available to the public in summer 2022.Bookshare Reader for Smart Speaker is currently in beta release and only available to Bookshare Individual Members. Find it in the Alexa App store.Further information on Bookshare's upcoming suite of free reading tools is available at https://blog.bookshare.org/2022/03/benetech-unveils-bookshare-reader-suite/

"The story on accessible books and libraries is still being written. In this third chapter in this series, the Triple Vision team speaks with George Kerscher, Chief Innovation Officer of the DAISY Consortium and senior officer of global literacy with the Benetech corporation of Bookshare, and Kieran LeBlanc, Executive Director of the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. Involved in accessible book publishing since 1988, George Kerscher talks about the kinds of standards which exist to assist publishers in producing accessible books without having to go through a third party. “You want to get to the place where you're getting materials from the commercial outlets and not necessarily have to go through a service like NNELS or CNIB or CELA. All of these are great services, but my vision of the world is where they'd be born accessible right out of the box and we wouldn't have to go through a service,” her says. But Kieran Leblanc is clear that the Canadian publishing industry still needs a fair bit of support to produce their works ""born accessible."" ""I would say publishers are doing accessible publishing because it is the right thing to do. They would not be seeing any kind of any monetization or profit from that at this point. But there is a value that they want their books to be available to all readers in formats that readers need to access,” he says. At the end of these three episodes, the Triple Vision team still has questions about this evolving industry, so stay tuned for more podcasts in this area in the future!" --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/david-best9/message

Shawn Anthony Robinson Ph.D. is a full-time reading instructor at Madison College, a Senior Research Associate in the Wisconsin's Equity and Inclusion Laboratory (Wei LAB) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a social entrepreneur, co-founder of Doctor Dyslexia Dude, former board member of the International Dyslexia Association, and serves on the inaugural advisory council of Benetech, a nonprofit that empowers communities with software for social good . Dr. Robinson graduated from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (UWO) with a Bachelor of Science in Human Services, a Master's in Education from DePaul University, and a PhD in Language and Literacy from Cardinal Stritch University. Robinson has over 40 peer-reviewed publications and received several distinguished honors throughout his early career such as: the 2017 Alumni Achievement Award/New Trier High School Alumni Hall of Honor; the 2016 Outstanding Young Alumni Award from UWO; and received “Educator of the Year” from All-State Insurance (Chicago) 2005. Robinson is also a Life Member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Further Resources: Dr. Robinson's website Word Analysis Course developed by Shawn Robinson for the Learning Differences Innovation Center @ Madison College Blog about the pilot course at Madison College Dr. Dyslexia Dude website Dr. Robinson's Scholarly Work: Robinson, S. A. (2018). A study designed to increase the literacy skills of incarcerated adults. The Journal of Correctional Education, 69(1), 60–72. Robinson, S. A. (Ed.) (2018). Untold narratives: African Americans who received special education services and succeeded beyond expectations. Information Age Publishing. Robinson, S. A. (2020). Culturally responsive representation in graphic novels matter for African American boys with reading disability. Journal of African American Males in Education, 11(1), 23–36. Robinson, S. A., & Thompson, C. L. (2019). Promoting academic readiness for African American males with dyslexia: Implications for preschool to elementary school teaching. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 35(1),1–64. [Invited to reprint in an edited book with Routledge]. Robinson, S. A. (2019). Critical literacy impacts African American boys' reading identity. Gifted Child Today, 42(3), 150–156.

In this episode of SPEDTalk, we are joined by Dr. Shawn A. Robinson aka Doctor Dyslexia Dude following his inspiring presentation at the 2021 Cotton Boll Consortium. Shawn Anthony Robinson, Ph.D. is a full-time faculty member teaching reading, scholar, and entrepreneur, who delivers premium services such as training sessions, consulting and speaking engagements. He is professionally affiliated with the Wisconsin's Equity & Inclusion Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison Area Technical College, and advisory member with Benetech. Robinson's goal is to change the narrative and give all students HOPE! https://drshawnarobinson.com/doctor-dyslexia-dude/ https://drdyslexiadude.com/ 2021 Barbara Jordan Media Awards www.facebook.com/SPEDTalk2020 www.instagram.com/spedtalk2020/ Twitter@spedtalk2020 SPEDTalk Dashboard ARD Buddy Elite Big Changes It Takes Courage To Create Culture & Kindness To Keep Us Connected! (Dr. JCB) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/spedtalk/message

“By the time you're 18, you'll be dead or in jail.” When those words come from your teacher or coach, it takes a long time to unlearn that belief. This is the story of a troubled twice-exceptional teen who had no idea about his diagnosis until after he fought his way into college. Today, Dr. Shawn A Robinson is a reading instructor at Madison College, and a Senior Research Associate in Wisconsin's Equity and Inclusion Laboratory. He and his wife are the authors of the Doctor Dyslexia Dude book series. This is an inspiring story you need to hear. ABOUT THE GUEST - Shawn A Robinson PhD is a full-time reading instructor at Madison College, a Senior Research Associate in Wisconsin's Equity and Inclusion Laboratory (Wei LAB) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a social entrepreneur, co-founder of Doctor Dyslexia Dude, former board member of the International Dyslexia Association, and serves on the inaugural advisory council of Benetech. Robinson graduated from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (UWO) with a Bachelor of Science in Human Services, a Master's in Education from DePaul University, and a PhD in Language and Literacy from Cardinal Stritch University. Robinson has over 40 peer-reviewed publications and received several distinguished honors throughout his early career such as: the 2017 Alumni Achievement Award/New Trier High School Alumni Hall of Honor; the 2016 Outstanding Young Alumni Award from UWO; and received Educator of the Year from All-State Insurance (Chicago) 2005. Robinson is also a Life Member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. You can support the podcast and receive subscriber-only benefits at www.patreon.com/neurodiversity. The Neurodiversity Podcast is available on Facebook and Instagram, and on Twitter @NeurodiversePod. For more information go to www.NeurodiversityPodcast.com

Jim Fruchterman, Benetech's founder, was an engineering student at Caltech when he learned how pattern recognition technology could guide a missile to its target. “If you could use this technology to recognize tanks or bridges,” Jim thought, “perhaps you could also recognize letters and words. Then we could use software to read those words aloud to people who are blind.”

In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Dr Homiyar Mobedji who heads Bookshare in Asia and Africa. Bookshare is owned by a US based company, Benetech, which is a nonprofit social enterprise that empowers communities with software for social good. Bookshare is an online library of accessible ebooks for people with print disabilities, such as visual impairment, severe dyslexia, cerebral palsy, and so on. Born with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a degenerative eye condition, Dr Homiyar went about his life in all ways mainstream. He trained to become a clinical physiotherapist and went on to head the first ever Physiotherapy College for the Blind. An astute supporter of digital literacy for the blind, Dr Homiyar was one of the early users and promoters of assistive technology. Tune in to listen to his transition from therapy to NGO management and finally a digital literacy activist. To access the podcast transcript, click on link: https://otter.ai/u/VFoXTQH-qx7SpMMJZoSlwjNHyYY This podcast is supported by BarrierBreak Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

BOOKSHARE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS FOR  K-12 EDUCATIONS   I love Bookshare from Benetech. They provide reading materials for those with reading challenges FREE for  U.S. students with a qualifying need like Dyslexia, Blindness, etc.    Its an amazing organization Enjoy Equity & Access Online journal and all we do for Equity at ace-ed.org, home website of the American Consortium for Equity in Education.

BOOKSHARE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS FOR  K-12 EDUCATIONS   I love Bookshare from Benetech. They provide reading materials for those with reading challenges FREE for  U.S. students with a qualifying need like Dyslexia, Blindness, etc.    Its an amazing organization Enjoy Equity & Access Online journal and all we do for Equity at ace-ed.org, home website of the American Consortium for Equity in Education.

We know there is value in diversity. So how do we ensure we make things available and accessible to everyone as we're learning? It is essential to make STEM education accessible for students with disabilities. This story will help to understand why.It may seem pretty straightforward until one pauses to think about how one's ability to read, hear, use their hands (as a few examples) impacts how and when one can learn.If one can't see, how do they read a textbook in class that all the other students are reading? If the text has been converted to a printed version in braille, does that student's school have access to it? If the text has been converted to a version to be read through a digital braille device, what does it show/present for that algebraic formula with the obtuse triangle? If you couldn't see the image but could only read the alternate text in place -- "image" -- would you be able to learn from that?This is a much more complex topic than one might think. Fortunately, there is an organization (Benetech) dedicated to helping overcome these challenges, giving students a chance to dream -- and fulfill their dreams -- about what they want to be when they grow up. We get to chat with their VP and GM of Global Education and Literacy, Brad Turner. Brad brings with him half the story.The other half of the story comes from our other guest, high school student, Luisa Monteiro-Oliveira. Luisa is a senior in high school and preparing to graduate the week following this recording. How has she leveraged technologies like those provided by Benetech to excel in her coursework and prepare for college and a fulfilling life ahead?Oh, she also read more than 100 books per month, but there is even more than that.You do not  want to miss this.From the Benetech Site:Education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) is essential. Despite its importance, many are excluded from learning STEM because of learning differences or disabilities.About Luísa Monteiro-Oliveira:Luísa Monteiro-Oliveira is a graduating high school senior from Georgia. Totally blind, she has used Bookshare and other forms of assistive technology since a young age to read, learn, and access information. An avid reader, she regularly reads up to 100 books each month. When she begins college in the fall, she looks forward to pursuing a double major in foreign languages and psychology.GuestsLuísa Monteiro-Oliveira, High School Student and Benetech Bookshare UserBrad Turner, VP and GM of Global Education and Literacy at BenetechThis Episode's SponsorsBugcrowd: https://itspm.ag/itspbgcwebDevo: https://itspm.ag/itspdvwebResourcesLearn more about Benetech: https://www.benetech.org (@Benetech on Twitter)Learn more about the Bookshare Accessible Library: https://www.bookshare.orgLearn more about Global Accessibility Awareness Day: https://globalaccessibilityawarenessday.org/Learn more about Benetech and STEM for all here: https://benetech.org/what-if/what-if-stem-were-inclusive-to-all/Hear another Benetech student story here: https://benetech.org/story/technology-puts-career-within-reach-for-blind-engineering-student/To see and hear more The Academy content on ITSPmagazine, visit:https://www.itspmagazine.com/the-academyAre you interested in sponsoring an ITSPmagazine Channel?https://www.itspmagazine.com/podcast-series-sponsorships

MAKING BOOKS AND READING ACCESSIBLE TO ALL... FROM PUBLISHER TO YOUR  STUDENT ADDRESSING INEQUITIES IN INFORMATION ACCESS....Michael Johnson of Benetech is my guest....you know, the folks who bring you Bookshare...bringing  with him two e-learning librarians from Southern NH University, Anaya Jones and Trisha Previtt Enjoy "Equity & Access PreK12" online journal at ace-ed.org, home website of our American Consortium for Equity in Education

MAKING BOOKS AND READING ACCESSIBLE TO ALL... FROM PUBLISHER TO YOUR  STUDENT ADDRESSING INEQUITIES IN INFORMATION ACCESS....Michael Johnson of Benetech is my guest....you know, the folks who bring you Bookshare...bringing  with him two e-learning librarians from Southern NH University, Anaya Jones and Trisha Previtt Enjoy "Equity & Access PreK12" online journal at ace-ed.org, home website of our American Consortium for Equity in Education

HOW THE PANDEMIC HAS IMPACTED CHILDREN WITH READING BARRIERS  ..How important is this these days. The brand new survey of educators offers  results from Benetech which makes reading available to all through BOOKSHARE.. lessons learned and planning forward. READ THE REPORT HERE https://ace-ed.org/report-how-the-pandemic-is-impacting-students-with-reading-barriers/? PLEASE CLICK THROUGH  PREK-12 EQUITY CONSORTIUM AT ACE-ED.ORG AND ENJOY OUR 'EQUITY & ACCESS' ONLINE JOURNAL AND A HOST OF OTHER INFORMATION FOR EDUCATORS. JOIN WITH US...MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD...ITS FREE AND WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU.

HOW THE PANDEMIC HAS IMPACTED CHILDREN WITH READING BARRIERS  ..How important is this these days. The brand new survey of educators offers  results from Benetech which makes reading available to all through BOOKSHARE.. lessons learned and planning forward. READ THE REPORT HERE https://ace-ed.org/report-how-the-pandemic-is-impacting-students-with-reading-barriers/? PLEASE CLICK THROUGH  PREK-12 EQUITY CONSORTIUM AT ACE-ED.ORG AND ENJOY OUR 'EQUITY & ACCESS' ONLINE JOURNAL AND A HOST OF OTHER INFORMATION FOR EDUCATORS. JOIN WITH US...MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD...ITS FREE AND WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU.

The 2020 Kessler Foundation Virtual Grantee Symposium taught how employers use artificial intelligence (AI) in the employment process for streamlining resume screening, interviewing candidates, and onboarding new hires. Increasingly, this machine learning process is reshaping the world of work. It is important for disability professionals working in job search, placement, and support to understand how disability is defined and understood in the context of AI, and the perils of bias in these systems. View the symposium video at https://youtu.be/PF7bVQtKoY4 View the slides at https://kesslerfoundation.org/sites/default/files/2020-12/2020%20Grantee%20Symposium%20Slides-WEB.pdf Read the transcript at https://kesslerfoundation.org/sites/default/files/2020-12/Implications-of-AI-for-employment-of-individuals-with-disabilities-TRANSCRIPT.pdf Moderator: Elaine Katz, MS, CCC-SLP is Senior Vice President of Grants and Communications. Elaine Katz oversees Kessler Foundation’s comprehensive grant making program and its communications department. During her tenure, the Foundation has awarded more than $49 million in grant support for national and community-based employment programs. For more than 25 years, Katz has worked with non-profit organizations in the areas of board development, fundraising, marketing, and business development. Katz often speaks about innovative practices for employing people with disabilities, and is the author/co-author of articles and papers on related topics. Guests: Betsy Beaumon, CEO, Benetech Betsy Beaumon is the CEO of Benetech, a nonprofit that empowers communities with software for social good in education, poverty alleviation, and human rights. Betsy has been advocating for ethical and inclusive technology for over a decade and is focused on innovating around the immense potential of technology to drive inclusion, equity, and justice to positively impact marginalized communities across the globe. She defined the concept of “Born Accessible,” a vision where all digital content is made accessible to everyone when created. Betsy is a social entrepreneur and engineer and has co-founded two software companies, including the first web-based information and referral service for human services. She has developed products across software, semiconductor, and information sectors and held senior positions with BEA Systems and Cisco Systems. Betsy holds a degree in electrical engineering from Northwestern University. Jonathan J. Kaufman, President, J. Kaufman Consulting Jonathan Kaufman is an innovative thought leader, business educator and strategist who recognizes the impact of personal development on organizational growth. Born with Cerebral Palsy, Kaufman’s disability has been a profound part of his personal, academic and professional life. Building on his past experience as a former policy advisor to the White House on diversity and disability, Professor Kaufman has grown his work even further. Currently, he is a Forbes contributor, writing a regular column "Mindset Matters” that focuses on the intersection of disability, business and leadership strategy. In addition, he is an executive coach, licensed psychotherapist, and strategist working with C-Level Executives, Fortune 500 and 1000 companies, and nonprofits through his company J Kaufman Consulting. He develops new strategies and initiatives by combining ideas from management theories and applications to entrepreneurial thinking with the knowledge of human capital through increasing motivation and skills to achieve greater success both personally and professionally. For more information contact: Kfgrantprogram@kesslerfoundation.org

Episode Notes This coming week The American Council of the Blind participates and Anchors programming of a unique Tech Conference dedicated to driving Tech from the bottom up. Eric Bridges and other ACB notables are participating in panel discussions about the tech advances that have made life more manageable as well as the need to keep Tech companies striving to use the newest technology and accessibility in the forefront of design with the disabled community in mind. Alice Turner joins us to discuss and preview this innovative programming. Alice Turner Director of Community and Corporate Relations Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired Alice Turner serves as Director of Community and Corporate Relations at Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, headquartered in Palo Alto, CA. As a member of the Leadership Team there, Alice has a multi-layered role, where she interfaces with the community at large, to include clients, service delivery partners, health care providers, industry associations, civic clubs, and technology partners. After her own vision loss, Alice came to Vista Center as an accomplished corporate professional, Due to the services she received at that time, which enabled her to continue her career as the Training and Development Manager for a large corporation in the Bay Area, she decided to accept an offer of employment, which has resulted in significant growth in corporate and volunteer relationships for the organization. Alice is active in state and national consumer organizations for the blind, and leads a statewide affiliate for guide dog handlers. True to her personal belief that vision loss need not be a barrier to a full and independent life, Alice has joined her passion and commitment to exemplary community service with her gift as a speaker, which has resulted in being a sought after presenter for Silicon Valley companies and numerous state and national consumer organizations. Ms. Turner's personal mission is aligned with Vista Center's mission. She is a well-known advocate and user of the many tools and technologies typically used by the Blind and Low-Vision Community. Sight Tech Global is a new global, virtual conference in partnership with TechCrunch dedicated to fostering discussion among technology pioneers who are fundamentally altering the landscape of assistive technology and accessibility. Sight Tech Global is the 1st global virtual conference dedicated to the tech pioneers helping the blind & visually impaired. Hear from Waymo, TechCrunch, Amazon, OrCamTech, Microsoft, Benetech.Org, humanware, and more on Sight Teck Global's Dec. 2-3 show. Tickets are free! https://bit.ly/38q5kYf After we talk with Alice the Dynamic Deb Cook Lewis Joins us for an in-depth conversation where we will get to know her and her ACB Journey. Deb has become instrumental in the Board of Publications, planning all the amazing virtual conventions we all enjoy. Deb has been a leading voice in the ACB world. We will discuss the growing community and the need for updating and stream-lining of all the ACB Communication channels. Deb will share with us her radio life and the things that make her one of the Go-to persons in ACB. Sunday Edition airs on ACB Radio Mainstream every Sunday at 1pm eastern and can be found on all podcast catchers by searching ; ACB Sunday Edition Questions and comments for the show can be sent to celebrationac@aol.com As always Sunday edition thanks for great listeners and valuable contributions.

Emma Irwin joins us on the podcast from Mozilla Corporation. She is an Open Source and Community Strategist there and heads up diversity and inclusion strategy development for their open source projects and their communities. Prior to her role at Mozilla, she worked at Benetech as a Developer Community Manager. On today's episode, we discuss Emma's strategies for maintaining diversity and inclusion in the open source community and specifically why it's so important in the tech industry.

Emma Irwin joins us on the podcast from Mozilla Corporation. She is an Open Source and Community Strategist there and heads up diversity and inclusion strategy development for their open source projects and their communities. Prior to her role at Mozilla, she worked at Benetech as a Developer Community Manager. On today's episode, we discuss Emma's strategies for maintaining diversity and inclusion in the open source community and specifically why it's so important in the tech industry.Who is this episode great for?Virtual communities, Tech community leaders, Community strategistsWhat's the biggest takeaway?Emma shares her experience with building community in the tech industry, specifically within the area of open source. Her strategy is to start with reaching out and listening to members of your community to understand their experiences while making sure you are asking questions in a way that feels inclusive. Secondly, your community needs to be a safe place where your members feel comfortable providing anonymous feedback. Lastly, devise a way to make changes and progress using the feedback you receive from your community. 

Betsy Beaumon, the CEO of Benetech, joins the program to discuss the work that her organization does to bridge the gap between the social sector and Silicon Valley by working closely with both communities to identify needs and software solutions that can drive positive social change. Discover accessibility initiatives in the education sector including Bookshare and The DIAGRAM Center.

Betsy Beaumon is the CEO of Benetech, a nonprofit that empowers communities with software for good. In this episode, Betsy talks with Don and Thane about transformative technologies, the ethics of data, misconceptions around new technologies, and how technology is impacting vulnerable communities.

RE-THINKING READING WITH ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY DURING THE COVID CRISIS :Our friends from Benetech make an important return visit...important for all teachers, both general education and special education .

RE-THINKING READING WITH ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY DURING THE COVID CRISIS :Our friends from Benetech make an important return visit...important for all teachers, both general education and special education .

Jim Fruchterman is a leading social entrepreneur, a MacArthur Fellow, a recipient of the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, and a Distinguished Alumnus of Caltech. Jim believes that technology has the power to improve—even transform—the lives of people around the world. As Founder and CEO of Benetech, he focused on bringing Silicon Valley’s technology innovations to all of humanity, not just the richest five percent. He is a former rocket engineer who also founded two successful for-profit technology companies. Under Jim’s leadership, Benetech created and scaled multiple software for social good enterprises spanning education, human rights, and environmental conservation. Jim has recently founded a new nonprofit, Tech Matters, to provide strategic technology services that maximize impact, not profit. Jim is active on Twitter as @JimFruchterman As with all of our episodes, this one also is accompanied by a transcript so that everyone can enjoy it. Click here to read a transcript of Episode 6.

Issues 1-6 Gifted "The first story arc focused on the introduction of several key characters and their involvement on the team. Whedon introduced a "mutant cure" designed by Indian Benetech scientist Dr. Kavita Rao, who was secretly sponsored by warrior alien Ord. The prospect of "real" humanity arouses the interest of a heavily mutated Beast, who visits Rao only to discover that the drug is the product of illegal human experimentation on an unknown victim. The X-Men raid Benetech and reunite with Colossus. With Colossus's help, the team takes down Ord, but not before it's revealed that a mutant (most likely an X-Man) would destroy Ord's home planet, the Breakworld, within the next three years."   Merch: https://www.zazzle.com/focpodcast   Be Sure to Follow us on Social Media Twitter: @FOC_Podcast Facebook: FOCPodcast Instagram: @FOC_Podcast Email: focpodcast@gmail.com Music: Aural Bandito --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/fortress-of-comictude/support

BENETECH'S  NEW ACCESSIBILITY CERTIFICATION FOR ED CONTENT....CONGRATULATIONS, MACMILLAN .... Benetech's Brad Turner joins us along with the very first education company officially certified under the new program. MACMILLAN represented by their director of Content Standards and Accessibility, Rachel Comerford

BENETECH'S  NEW ACCESSIBILITY CERTIFICATION FOR ED CONTENT....CONGRATULATIONS, MACMILLAN .... Benetech's Brad Turner joins us along with the very first education company officially certified under the new program. MACMILLAN represented by their director of Content Standards and Accessibility, Rachel Comerford

ACCESSIBILITY IN EDUCATION" BOOKS FROM BENETECH'S BOOKSHARE SO ALL STUDENTS CAN READ: Working with Bookshare ,school districts  bring books and reading  to all those students  whose abilities may have created challenges. Benetech's VP of Global Learning, Brad Turner  brings such capabilities to students worldwide.

1852 But Wait, There Is More (Dec. 26, 2018) Show Notes This week hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey bring listeners up to date on several topics that were featured in previous episodes of Eyes On Success. Hear what’s new with NASA summer internships, at Benetech, the FlickType keyboard for iOS, the braille Dot Watch, the … Continue reading 1852 But Wait, There Is More (Dec. 26, 2018) →

Joyce welcomes Jim Fruchterman a leading social entrepreneur, MacArthur Fellow and CEO of Benetech, a nonprofit technology company based in Silicon Valley, which creates e-books and other technology innovations for people with disabilities. He will explain the mission of this organization in-depth.

If you’ve been paying attention to the news around Accessibility for the past few years, you’ve surely heard of the Marrakesh Treaty. But what exactly is the Treaty and what does it all mean? You might even be asking yourself (as we did), where the heck IS Marrakesh? This week Brad Turner from Benetech returns to the show to break down all the details of the Treaty and what exactly it means for accessible books for the global visually impaired community while the Guitar Dungeon’s Google Home answers some of our Geography questions. Show Notes Benetech https://benetech.org/ BookShare https://www.bookshare.org/cms/ Microsoft Accessible Controller Now Available for Pre-Order https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/xbox-adaptive-controller/8nsdbhz1n3d8   AT Banter is brought to you by Canadian Assistive Technology, providing sales and training in Assistive Technology and Accessibility with over 30 years of knowledge and experience. Visit them online at www.canasstech.com or call toll-free 1-844-795-8324. Need repairs on your device? Chaos Technical Services offers service and support on almost any piece of Assistive Technology, while also providing parts and batteries. Visit them online at www.chaostechnicalservices.com or call 778-847-6840.

How do we crack a problem that has existed for decades? Jobs in science, technology, engineering & mathematics (STEM) jobs are projected to grow 17 percent between 2014 and 2024; non-STEM jobs are expected to rise only 12 percent. Even so, minorities, women and people with disabilities are still severely underrepresented in STEM-related fields. And if innovation springs from looking at problems from a very different perspective, then coaxing people who bring diverse perspectives should become a national imperative. As part of Silicon Valley’s Commonwealth Club discussion series, EdSurge CEO and co-founder Betsy Corcoran spoke with three MacArthur Fellows actively involved in helping people from underrepresented populations enter and thrive in STEM careers. Deborah Bial, founder of the Posse Foundation, Jim Fruchterman, founder of Benetech and Dr. Manu Prakash, a physical biologist from Stanford University, bring powerful—and different—perspectives on how to over barriers so many confront when pursuing careers in STEM.

This week we welcome Brad Turner, VP of Education at Benetech into the Guitar Dungeon where we discuss the company's ongoing mandate of providing positive social change utilizing technology. Also, we discuss some big news for Steve's company, Canadian Assistive Technology. Show Notes Benetech https://benetech.org

Benetech Labs is the innovation engine of Benetech, a leading nonprofit that empowers communities through software for social good with a focus on education, human rights, poverty, and the environment. Benetech Labs works with communities and partners to identify needs and prototype software for social solutions and support solutions that deliver the greatest impact in...

Welcome to Leading Good, the podcast for leaders of social impact brands, social enterprise and nonprofits. Each episode is hosted by Leading Good co-creators, Rod Arnold & Hugh Weber, and features a leading voice in the social good sector. This episode is part of the Social Enterprise Alliance Series, a partnership with the key catalyst for the rapidly growing social enterprise movement. In this episode, Rod Arnold hosts Jim Fruchterman. Jim is Founder and CEO of Benetech, which was founded to be a different kind of tech company—a nonprofit—with a pure focus on developing technology for social good. But they also pride themselves on being a different kind of nonprofit—one with an approach that draws its inspiration from successful Silicon Valley businesses. To learn more, visit LeadingGood.com

Brian Behlendorf is a legend in the open software movement. He is one of the creators of Apache – server software that powers most websites on the internet. He currently serves as Executive Director of Hyperledger – one of the most prominent Blockchain consortiums in the world. His list of accomplishments in the tech industry is beyond impressive:  Technology Advisor – White House & 2008 Obama Presidential Campaign President – Apache Software Foundation CTO – World Economic Forum Managing Director – Mithril Capital Management (venture capital firm) Board member – Mozilla Foundation, Benetech, Electronic Frontier Foundation  In this episode, Brian and I discuss the history of Hyperledger, the 8 projects under the Hyperledger banner (including several interesting use cases), and what Brian really thinks about the current ICO and cryptocurrency craze.

1724 Encore of 1517 Jim Fruchterman – Social Entrepreneur (Jun. 7, 2017) Show Notes Jim Fruchterman is the founder and CEO of Benetech, which operates Bookshare, an accessible online library of e-books in audio, Braille, large font and other formats for people with print disabilities. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with him about how … Continue reading 1724 Encore of 1517 Jim Fruchterman – Social Entrepreneur (Jun. 7, 2017) →

In this Spotlight Interview, James Oates sits down with Brad Turner, the vice president of global literacy at Benetech. They discuss: Benetech Brad tells us about the organization and its mission. Bookshare Brad tells us about how the organization has grown into such a successful digital platform that makes more than a half a million books available for blind and visually impaired individuals. Born Accessible Brad talks about Benetech’s mission to ensure that as more and more print material is born in a digital format, it also needs to be born in an accessible format. The Marrakesh Treaty Brad updates us on the current status of the Marrakesh Treaty in the US Senate. He also discusses the global benefit of this treaty. Spotlight Gateway Brad finally talks about Benetech’s efforts to help with Spotlight Gateway, which is a project designed to help those who have a visually impairment gain access to the power of reading through a combination of the Spotlight Text app, a Bookshare membership, and an iPad. Students who are eligible can receive all of these for free through the Spotlight Gateway program

In this Spotlight Interview, James Oates sits down with Brad Turner, the vice president of global literacy at Benetech. They discuss: Benetech Brad tells us about the organization and its mission. Bookshare Brad tells us about how the organization has grown into such a successful digital platform that makes more than a half a million books available for blind and visually impaired individuals. Born Accessible Brad talks about Benetech’s mission to ensure that as more and more print material is born in a digital format, it also needs to be born in an accessible format. The Marrakesh Treaty Brad updates us on the current status of the Marrakesh Treaty in the US Senate. He also discusses the global benefit of this treaty. Spotlight Gateway Brad finally talks about Benetech’s efforts to help with Spotlight Gateway, which is a project designed to help those who have a visually impairment gain access to the power of reading through a combination of the Spotlight Text app, a Bookshare membership, and an iPad. Students who are eligible can receive all of these for free through the Spotlight Gateway program

In this Spotlight Interview, James Oates sits down with Brad Turner, the vice president of global literacy at Benetech. They discuss: Benetech Brad tells us about the organization and its mission. Bookshare Brad tells us about how the organization has grown into such a successful digital platform that makes more than a half a million books available for blind and visually impaired individuals. Born Accessible Brad talks about Benetech’s mission to ensure that as more and more print material is born in a digital format, it also needs to be born in an accessible format. The Marrakesh Treaty Brad updates us on the current status of the Marrakesh Treaty in the US Senate. He also discusses the global benefit of this treaty. Spotlight Gateway Brad finally talks about Benetech’s efforts to help with Spotlight Gateway, which is a project designed to help those who have a visually impairment gain access to the power of reading through a combination of the Spotlight Text app, a Bookshare membership, and an iPad. Students who are eligible can receive all of these for free through the Spotlight Gateway program

Leading for-profit companies thrive by embracing data insights to drive increased efficiency, effectiveness, and scale. They view information and analytics as core strategic assets in running a modern business. In this talk from our 2017 Do Good Data | Data on Purpose conference, Jim Fruchterman, founder and CEO of the tech nonprofit Benetech, argues that the social sector must follow these companies’ lead. Drawing from his 2016 SSIR article “Using Data for Action and for Impact,” Fruchterman leads a discussion about how nonprofits can embrace the “Software for Good” movement characterized by data-driven decisions to better serve communities. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/software_for_good_empowering_the_social_sector_data_revolution

Joining us today on the podcast is Brad Turner, Vice President of Global Literacy for Benetech, and Deborah Backus of All Children Reading. They talk about helping children with disabilities appreciate books and reading with a book distribution program that places books in Braille, audio, and mixed formats in the hands of children who need them. “Access to information is a basic human right,” Jim Fruchterman, Founder and CEO of Benetech has said.

BETSY BEAUMON, PRESIDENT OF BOOKSHARE, IS OUR GUEST. IMPORTANT SHOW

Anh Bui, Vice President of @Benetech Labs, joined us to discuss using technology for good.  Benetech is most widely known for Bookshare, an online library for people with print disabilities. Note that this is only open to people with print disabilities per the Chafee Amendment (copyright exceptions with cause). There are some public domain books you can search through on the site. Martus is another of Benetech's core programs, in their human rights and civil liberties program. It is an open source, secure information collection and management tool. Poet Image Description Tool is a Benetech tool to aid in making visuals more accessible to everyone. Some accessibility guidelines and techniques: W3 Web design accessibility Apple's many accessibility resources POUR (Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust) website design article Enabling The Future is the group that 3D prints prosthetic limbs.The Dean Kamen water filtration system is called Slingshot. Hackaday Prize (2016 announcement is coming!) For more information about the embedded software position at Avid Identification Systems, please email Mark (Engineering Manager) and CC Karen (HR Manager). 

1537 3-D Printer Project at Benetech (Sep. 9 2015) Show Notes 3-D printers are capable of making tactile representations of figures, diagrams and other pictorials that occur in textbooks and other educational materials. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey speak with Anh Bui and Lisa Wadors Verne of Benetech about their work to develop the infrastructure … Continue reading 1537 3-D Printer Project at Benetech (Sep. 9 2015) →

1518 Global Reach of Benetech and Bookshare (Apr. 29, 2015) Show Notes Last week, hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talked with Jim Fruchterman, the founder and CEO of Benetech about his early work in OCR and starting Bookshare. This week we talk with him about Bookshare’s global reach and how it has helped to influence … Continue reading 1518 Global Reach of Benetech and Bookshare (Apr. 29, 2015) →

1517 Jim Fruchterman – Social Entrepreneur (Apr. 22, 2015) Show Notes Jim Fruchterman is the founder and CEO of Benetech, which operates Bookshare. This week hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with him about how he became interested in OCR, the founding of Arkenstone, and the inspiration behind Bookshare. Next week we speak more with … Continue reading 1517 Jim Fruchterman – Social Entrepreneur (Apr. 22, 2015) →

Aired: 03/24/13 This week I'm joined by RON SCHULTZ, editor of a new book, CREATING GOOD WORK, that brings together essays by social entrepreneurs that share their experiences as well as their insights and advice for others. Ron has invited a few of his book's contributors (PAUL HERMAN, founder/CEO, HIP Investor Inc; JIM FRUCHTERMAN, founder/CEO Benetech; CARRIE FREEMAN, Second Muse; formerly Intel) to join us, and I want to tap each person's individual story while asking some of these bigger questions -- What is a social entrepreneur? What's working in the field? Why is it working? What is the larger goal or vision? Why is social entrepreneurship important? What are the big challenges? What lessons have they learned? Where can listeners learn more? I hope someone new to the concept will understand what we're talking about and a knowledgeable listener will learn things they can put to use.

This week, Paul Henrichsen concludes his review of MyMovies Pro for Apple's iDevices. Then, Blind Bargains brings us information from ATIA concerning offerings from Benetech and Handy Tech North America.

Harnessing engineering innovation and technology to further social causes is one path to social enterprise. In this university podcast, sponsored by Stanford's Center for Social Innovation, former rocket scientist Jim Fruchterman talks about how he created Benetech, an organization that uses technology innovation and business expertise to solve unmet social needs. He discusses how he has leveraged the intellectual capital and resources of Silicon Valley to create solutions that are truly life changing. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/jim_fruchterman_-_harnessing_technology_for_social_enterprise

A talk show on KZSU-FM, Stanford, 90.1 FM, hosted by Center for Internet & Society Resident Fellow David S. Levine. The show includes guests and focuses on the intersection of technology and society. How is our world impacted by the great technological changes taking place? Each week, a different sphere is explored. This week, David interviews Jim Fruchterman, CEO of Benetech. For more information, please go to http://hearsayculture.com.