Bookshare Lesson 6: Choose Audio and Display Preferences

Lesson 6 of 10. You may study lessons in any order. Complete and mark all ten before the final quiz.

Your goal

Record one audio or display preference, change it, compare the same paragraph, and restore it. Explain why partner apps may have different controls.

Before starting

Use your own authorized practice account or a harmless practice document. Identify the active application and the focused control before each command. Keep these instructions in a separate window. Never include passwords or private messages in your learning notes.

Follow the product and device version named in each procedure. A plus sign means hold the modifier while pressing the final key; “then” means release before continuing. These procedures are documentation-based and have not been tested here with the actual assistive software or signed-in reading accounts.

Open, play, and navigate Bookshare Reader on the web

Start here: A book’s details page in your signed-in browser account, or a book assigned in your reading list.

Step-by-step instructions

  1. Locate Read Now and activate it. Wait for the reader to open. Read the book title and identify the player controls before starting audio.
  2. Use Tab to locate Play and activate it. Listen to a short passage. Return to the player’s pause or stop control before exploring other settings.
  3. Open Book Navigation to inspect the chapter list. Select the intended chapter, return to the text, and verify its heading or opening words.
  4. Open Settings and inspect its audio and display choices. Change one preference at a time and compare the same paragraph after each change.
  5. If the player voice and your screen reader compete, pause book playback while you navigate controls. Start it again after you have returned to the reading location.
  6. Before leaving, record a chapter or page reference and create a bookmark if needed. Reopen the book to check your return location instead of assuming it.

Check your result

You can read a passage, stop playback, and intentionally choose a chapter.

If something goes wrong

If audio does not begin, first confirm the book has opened and the player is active. Then check device volume and audio output. An account-access error needs account support, not a volume adjustment.

Try it yourself

Read one paragraph, stop, navigate to another chapter, then return to the original passage.

Documentation: Bookshare Reader web workflow.

Choose a reading device

What you will learn: Match the reading tool to your access needs.

Exactly how to do it

  1. Review Bookshare’s supported reading tools. Bookshare Reader is available for browsers, iOS, Android, and Alexa; partner tools provide other options.
  2. Choose one tool and sign in through its documented Bookshare connection.
  3. Try a short book on that device before depending on it for a long assignment.

What should happen: You have a workable reading method for your device.

If that does not happen: Do not assume all tools use identical controls or support every format. Check the selected tool’s instructions.

Practice: Compare listening, enlarged text, or braille according to your needs. Explain which method you would choose for leisure versus study.

Source: Supported reading tools.

Your practice assignment

Record one audio or display preference, change it, compare the same paragraph, and restore it. Explain why partner apps may have different controls.

Check your work before marking complete

If the application, membership, or device is unavailable: complete a written walkthrough of this exact assignment. Include the starting context, ordered actions, expected results, and one recovery step. Label it “written alternative — not tested on the device.” The completion record is self-reported, not an instructor-verified skills assessment.

Keep your notes locally, for example bookshare-lesson-6.txt. No assignment upload is required. Use your anonymous Student ID to save lesson completion below; you can undo it.