General
Assistive Technologies (ATs) are those that help people to perform daily activities. Here, we focus on the most used ATs in digital education like the ones for reading digital texts.
Notice that ATs are not aimed exclusively at permanently people with disabilities. On the contrary, all people may find them useful in certain situations. ATs enhance the capabilities of people displaying the information in a way that is perceivable, understandable and usable for each individual. In order to deliver inclusive digital distance education it is important to know how they are used. In this context computer aids are the most frequently used ATs.
Related topics
Key tips
- Most used ATs in the context of digital education
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- Screen readers let users interact with the content displayed on the screen. This is made possible by using audio or braille output, and special keyboard commands for navigation.
- Screen magnifiers help users to perceive the content on the screen by enlarging it.
- Braille displays are a hardware AT that translates the screen contents into braille digital text so that the user is able to read it using their fingers.
- Keyboard and switch devices let users control computers without the use of pointing devices like mouse or touchscreen.
- Eye trackers are used to perform actions on screen using only their eyes.
- Speech recognition is similar to eye trackers since it allows users to interact with a computer but in this case, it uses the user’s speech to input commands.
- Importance of the accessibility in digital content
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ATs are not able to handle non-accessible digital content properly. Therefore, accessibility has to be taken into account during the creation, publication and distribution of the digital educational material. See: Accessible digital content and Tools for creating accessible content
- Visual disability aids
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- Braille displays. Video showing a braille display by APH.
- Screen readers. Video showing the use of screen readers by UCSF.
- Screen magnifiers. Video showing the use of screen magnifiers by Access Mooc.
- Motor disability aids
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- Adaptive keyboards and keyboard-only control.
Sample of adaptive keyboard by INDATA Project. - Keyboard navigation video demonstration by Level Access.
- Adaptive switch or button. Video about switches as AT by ALS Association Evergreen Chapter.
- Adapted pointing device. Use of an adapted mouse video demonstration by JISC RSC Scotland North and East.
- Eye tracker. Video demonstrating how to use a PC with eyes only by TechAble Assistive Technology.
- Speech recognition. Video sample of dictation software by Level Access.
- Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices. Video introduction to AACs by Sophia Cormack.
- Adaptive keyboards and keyboard-only control.
- Cognitive and learning disabilities aids
- Hearing disability aids
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- ATs for Students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Video explanation by Oklahoma ABLE Tech.
- Closed captions. Video showing the benefits of closed captioning by Madison College Disability Resource Services.
- Speech recognition. Video explaining speech recognition to write using Word by Keving Stratvert.
- User and assistive technology pairing
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This is a difficult topic which is tackled in depth in the Understand student accessibility needs page. An example of how to do this is the following:
- Assess the student’s abilities.
- Assess the needs that the student will have while taking a specific course.
- Search in a repository of ATs for those that potentially meet the needs.
- Create a support plan to assist the student and provide the most appropriate ATs for them to be able to follow the studies.