Assistive Technology for Online Learning
Assistive Technology (AT) is any any item, piece of equipment, software program, or product system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve an individual’s functioning and independence, thereby promoting their well-being. Within the educational environment, AT can help enhance learning by capitalizing on one's strengths while modifying areas of difficulty. Explore different forms of educational assistive technology:
Text to Speech & Literacy Support Tools
Executive Functioning: Time/Task Management Tools
Open Access Textbooks and Literature
Text to Speech & Literacy Support Tools
Distance learning is often guided by an increase in the volume of reading a student is responsible for, from additional printed or digital readings, postings on Canvas, and associated online resources and websites that classes may tie together to round out the experience. Assistive Technology can provide support with reading, enhanced comprehension, and built in tools, such as dictionaries, built in highlighting and note-taking features, and visual tracking support, that can make you more efficient while reading. Students with learning disabilities, ADHD, mental health diagnoses, traumatic brain injuries, chronic health conditions, and visual impairments may benefit from these types of tools.
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Read&Write | Read&Write for Google Chrome - Stanford has a site license for all students with a valid SUNet ID
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Kurzweil Read the Web - Chrome Extension
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Microsoft Learning Tools - Within Office 365
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Balabolka - Windows only
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VoiceOver - Mac Operating Systems - includes options to magnify, keyboard control and verbal descriptions (in English) to describe what is happening on screen. It also reads aloud file content as well as web pages, E-mail messages, and word processing files while providing a relatively accurate narrative of the user’s workspace. Instruction guide here.
Writing Support Tools
You may find that due to the virtual format of your classes and difficulty in re-creating in-class group experiences that your professor may assign a greater volume of writing and responses. Additionally, Assistive technology may provide new ideas, methods, and support to your traditional writing habits.
Dictation/Speech-to-Text:
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Talk&Type within Read&Write or Read&Write for Google Chrome by Texthelp
Grammar/Spell Checkers:
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CheckIt! within Read&Write and Read&Write for Google Chrome by Texthelp
Mind Mapping/Brainstorming Tools:
Executive Functioning: Time/Task Management Tools
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Pomodoro Technique or Pomodoro Apps (search for these on the internet)
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Guided Access and Do Not Disturb on iOS devices
Accessible Screen Readers
- NVDA - The NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) is a free, open-source, portable screen reader for Microsoft Windows.
- WebAnywhere - WebAnywhere is a free web-based screen reader for the web. It requires no special software to be installed on the client machine and, therefore, enables print-disabled people to access the web from any computer they happen to have access to that has a sound card.
- Configuring your Mac for greyscale (if you experience colorblindness): System Preferences->Accessibility->Display->Use Grayscale
- Freedom Scientific -Freedom Scientific has release special, free, short-term licenses of these three softwares for individuals with a personal email address in Canada or the United States.
Accessibility Features
In a short amount of time, students, faculty and staff are having to learn new tools and technologies to manage with the transition to online learning. Below are a few tips regarding the accessibility features of a few of these technologies, to support the transition:
Accessibility features of Microsoft Teams
Accessibility features of Zoom
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Keyboard accessibility – hot keys and keyboard shortcuts
Open Access Textbooks and Literature
Emergency Library for students to have free access to textbooks. Offered through the Internet Archive
Internet Archive - Accounts are free and open to the world. Please visit their site to sign up or write to info@archive.org for assistance. Browse the collection or search for books or authors here. During this time of emergency, users can check out up to 10 books at a time.