A New, Improved ICDL
This article originally appeared in SLJ’s Extra Helping. Sign up now!
SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 6/18/2008 2:00:00 PM
If your students like the fabulous books offered online for free by the International Children's Digital Library (ICDL), they’ll love the new changes to its Web site.
The world’s largest collection of children's literature on the Internet has added ClearText technology, which significantly enhances the translation and readability of the books on offer. What that means is easier reading of scanned books on a small screen. Users, for instance, can simply click text to display a magnified version or to read the text in a different language. The visually impaired can also read with a screen reader.
The book reader technology was developed in-house at ICDL by Ben Bederson, a foundation cofounder and chief technology officer, who worked closely with a team from the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at the University of Maryland.
In addition to the tech upgrade, a massive translation project is now underway with the help of more than 1,200 online volunteer translators. "We are constantly working to expand the library and increase its relevance worldwide," says Tim Browne, ICDL executive director. "[ClearText] makes it possible for more children from more countries to enjoy more books. We are delighted to unveil what we view as our most significant advancement to date."
