Everyone is different and has their own needs to help them navigate the world around them. While we expect reasonable accommodations to be made, there are several tools that we can use to help us individually.
Assistive technology is a term for any device, piece of equipment, system, or software that allows an individual to perform a task they would otherwise be unable to do. This technology increases the ease and safety with which the task can be performed. Some assistive technology is specifically designed to support people with disabilities or impairments in their everyday tasks. In the library it is used to support independent learning and to increase the accessibility of materials. Some examples of assistive technology include voice recognition systems, voice synthesis, and alternative computer input devices such as a tracker ball.
‘AT Hive’ is a web based resource by AHEAD that aims to impart information about the large area of Assistive Technology that supports students students with disabilities. These technologies and tools help people who may have challenges with reading, writing, organisation, motivation as well as much more so explore the wide range of apps and tools.
Here are some free tools that can be used to improve accessibility (cognitive, hearing, mobility, speech, vision):
Checkout the built-in accessibility features to help you on Apple devices.
Built-in screen reader that enables people with visual impairments to use the Chrome operating system.
Removes barriers to accessible reading.
Explore Google’s accessibility features and products.
Non-Visual Desktop Access software to download to your computer.
Online text-to-speech converter.
See Accessibility.com for a comprehensive list of free and open source tools for accessibility.
Read Aloud is a simple but powerful tool that reads the text of a web page audibly.
Immersive Reader in Microsoft Edge simplifies web page layouts and removes clutter and helps you customize your reading experience.
AT Hive Edge Browser Reading Tools
Award winning technology to make text easier to read, modify contrast, remove distracting content from websites and more!
Many EBSCO databases provide a read aloud option and download to mp3 feature for full-text articles available in HTML format.
