The UDL Educational Technology Guide 2019-2020: Technology for Special Education

John F. O'Sullivan
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Section 7 Audiobooks


Once you figure out that you can have everything read to you for free on all platforms, then you find a new problem. Students complain that the voice is robotic, and that makes it hard to focus. The options on audiobooks have increased in recent years. There are free services to pick from and a number of paid services that have large libraries of audiobooks. This can be helpful for the visually impaired, students that have reading disabilities and attentional problems. When you find audiobooks that meet a need, this can relieve stress and get the student to focus on the work again. 


OverDrive Author’s Pick 

Most public libraries with eBooks have OverDrive. You can download some movies and audiobooks with this service. Once you log on the app for one library, you can also download material from other libraries, that you are eligible to take out books or audiobooks from.  

https://www.overdrive.com/

https://gsuite.google.com/marketplace/app/overdrive/254158829526

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/overdrive/fnhgfoccpcjdnjcobejogdnlnidceemb?hl=en


Libby, by OverDrive

This app is used to access OverDrive. The rating on this app is outstanding. If you plan like to use high-quality audiobooks, this app is a great option for accessing OverDrive. 

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/libby-by-overdrive/id1076402606

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.overdrive.mobile.android.libby&hl=en_US


Audible

You have to pay a fee, but you get access to a number of books high-quality recordings. 

http://www.audible.com/

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/audible-audio-books-original-series-podcasts/id379693831?mt=8

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.audible.application&hl=en


YouTube

You can find a ton of free audiobooks on YouTube. The only problem is that many of the audiobooks are under copyright. I would recommend buying the resources that you need. If a student has a disability, even a temporary disability, services like Bookshare will give you the materials for free.

https://www.youtube.com/


LibriVox Audio Books

This has a ton of free audiobooks. The app claims to have 24,000 audiobooks. You can also pay for a pro version of the app. The free version’s app ratings are awesome. 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/librivox-audio-books/id596159212?mt=8

Pro Version:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/librivox-audio-books-pro/id662558935?mt=8

https://librivox.org/


Gutenberg Reader

This app has a speech to text and thousands of free books. You can bookmark multiple books. The app even enlarges text. This app gets outstanding reviews. 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gutenberg-reader/id1294103623


Audiobooks

This app has thousands of free recorded books. You can even buy a few more. The app is also highly rated.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/audiobooks/id311507490?mt=8


Audiobooks 7K+ - High-Quality Audio Books Library

This app has thousands of free audiobooks. You can pay to remove ads if you want. The app gets some good ratings. 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/audiobooks-7k-high-quality-audio-books-library/id737369671?mt=8

 

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