Learning Ally Audible Book Service - A Review

Learning Ally is a non profit audible book service for students with a print disability.  It was formerly called Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic.  Founded in New York City in 1948, the organization initially had volunteers who read to returning GIs in World War II who had lost their eyesight in battle.  The organization’s Stated Purpose is “to create opportunities for individual success by providing, and promoting the effective use of accessible educational materials”

Today Learning Ally has over 75, 000 volunteer read titles in their audio library.  They have the world’s largest selection of audio textbooks which can be played on a DAISY device, PC, Android or Apple.  One can enroll in a free 14 day trial by visiting Learningally.org.  There is individual, school, and district membership packages for a three month period or a year term.

Learning Ally is more than an audio book service.  The organization offers support for students, parents, educators, and adult learners.  They present monthly webinars presented by their parents and experts. Each event focuses on managing learning disabilities and is highly interactive.  They offer parents a 30 minute phone consultation with Learning Ally's Parent Support Specialists.   Where you can ask questions and get practical guidance from trained parents that know what you're going through.  Learning Ally has free educator webinars on dyslexia and professional development packages about dyslexia.

The audio book feature is easy to use.  First you search for your book by author/subject/title/grade level/copy write year/ISBN number.  You then put the book on your “bookshelf”.  From there you can log into your account from any device and download the book to the device.

Intuitive Controls Make Learning Ally Audio Easy to Use

Learning Ally Audio displays seven buttons at the bottom of the screen:

1.     Zoom: Visually impaired readers can adjust font size (from 100% to 300%) or highlighting (4 text and background color options) by clicking the "Aa" icon

2.     Reading Speed: Click the runner icon to access a screen to adjust reading speed and pitch, or press the "Standard Value" button to reset to default

3.     Back: Press the left pointing arrow to move to the previous page

4.     Play: Press to play or stop playing the book

5.     Forward: Press the right pointing arrow to move to the next page

6.     Level Navigation: Press the four-way arrow icon to access a screen with arrows that enable quick navigation to any level or section of the book

7.     Bookmark: Press the bookmark icon to mark a page; retrieve it using the "Bookmark" navigation button in the Table of Contents.

Here are a few perspectives on the benefits of Learning Ally.  

There are several aduible book services available.  Here is a comparison matrix of some of the features of three common services.

                                                 

                                               LEARNING ALLY                                                                                                               AUDIBLE.COM

			BOOKSHARE
Eligible Audience	Blind and Dyslexic	General Public	Blind and Dyslexic
Title Collection	65% = Textbooks 35% = Popular 80,000+	0% = Textbooks 100% = Popular 100,000+	5% = Textbooks 95% = Popular / Magazines 159,000+
Narration	Human-Read by Subject Matter Experts	Read by Authors and Celebrities	Read by Computer (Synthetic)
Download Limit	Unlimited/yearly or 4 books/quarter	24 books/year (Additional plans available)	Up to 100/month
Special Features For Blind Users	Picture Image Description and Audio Playback	Audio Playback	Audio Playback
Individual Membership Pricing *	$49/quarter or $119/year	$229.50/year (Additional plans available)	Free to U.S. Students, $75 for other individuals
Services for Parents	Yes	No	No
Enhanced Navigation	Yes (Flexibility in providing direct access to pages)	No	Yes (Flexibility in providing direct access to pages)
Highlighted Text with Audio	Yes Select Titles	Yes On Kindle Only	Yes App Purchase Necessary
App Price (for mobile devices)	Free	Free	$19.99
Live Customer Service	Yes	Yes	No
Best for:	Help in school	Pleasure reading	News and resources

www.learningally.org

The services provided by Learning Ally definately meet the organization's mission “to create opportunities for individual success by providing, and promoting the effective use of accessible educational materials”.  The textbooks at the high school and college level make it possible for students with disabilities reach their highest goals.