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Help elsewhere: Guidelines for
accessible web design | What are assistive technologies?
Support for university web authors: main page
It is the aim of this page to be of assistance to disabled and dyslexic students and staff using computing facilities both on and off each of the University's three campuses: Colchester, Southend and East 15 (Loughton).
Adjustable monitor arms are installed on one PC workstation in all open access laboratories on the Colchester campus, (and on two PCs in the case of Lab J and Lab A); on one PC in each of the ISS computing rooms at East 15 (ISS E15) and Southend (in ITLab 1 and in the Open Study Area). Monitor arms permit adjustment of the height of the monitor as well as of the user's viewing and focal distance from the screen. Positioning the monitor screen at the correct viewing height eliminates strain to the neck and upper back of the user, as well accommodating users seated at different heights, for example in a wheelchair.
Two 19 inch LCD monitors, (21
inch approximate CRT monitor equivalent), have been installed on the
machines with monitor arms, (see above), in labs C and M on the Colchester
campus to assist users
with visual impairments. More large monitors are planned, but not yet
available.
All University open access laboratory PCs, installed with the Windows XP operating system, have the below accessibility menu enabled on the Windows Start Bar:
Magnifier is a display utility that makes the computer screen more readable for people who have low vision. It creates a separate window that displays a magnified portion of the screen enabling users to:
Adjust the magnification level of text and images in the magnification window.
Change the size and location of the magnification window.
Change the position of the magnification window on the desktop.
Invert the screen colours.
Use a high-contrast setting.
Magnifier also has a number of tracking options, which include:
Following the mouse pointer as it moves on the screen.
Following the keyboard focus, which centres on the location of the cursor.
Following text editing.
Narrator is a very basic text-to-speech utility (screen reader). It reads what is displayed on the screen, (the contents of the active window, menu options, or text that has been typed). Narrator is designed to work with Notepad, WordPad, Control Panel programs, and Internet Explorer. It also allows users to customize the way screen elements are read. Users can:
Hear new windows, menus, or shortcut menus read aloud when they are displayed.
Hear typed characters read aloud.
Watch the mouse pointer follow the active item on the screen.
Adjust the speed, volume, and pitch of the voice.
IMPORTANT: To make use of this facility in any of the open access laboratories, or the Southend Open Study Area, users must bring their own headphones. There are also plans for headphones to be made available for purchase from the Help Desk (on the Colchester campus) in the near future.
On-screen Keyboard displays a virtual keyboard on the computer screen that enables use of a pointing device, joystick or mouse to input text or key strokes. It can also help people who do not know how to type.
There are three typing modes:
Clicking: Select the on-screen keys to type text.
Scanning: Type keyboard characters by pressing a hot key or by using a switch-input device as On-screen Keyboard scans and highlights areas of the keyboard.
Hovering: Point to a key by using a mouse or joystick for a pre-defined period of time, and the selected character is typed automatically.
The On-screen Keyboard allows users to:
View an enhanced keyboard that includes the numeric keypad, or view a standard keyboard without the numeric keypad.
Display the keyboard with the keys in the standard layout, or in a block layout in which the keys are arranged in rectangular blocks.
Display the U.S. standard keyboard, the universal keyboard, or a keyboard with additional Japanese language characters.
Select Click Sound to add an audible click when a key is selected.
Select Always on Top to keep the keyboard displayed on the screen when switching programs or windows.
Utility Manager brings all of the Windows 2000/Windows XP Accessibility programs together in one place. You can quickly check the status of an individual program, or start and stop any or all of them.
The Student Support Office on the Colchester campus has the following facilities available:
An embosser which can convert text to braille and "print" it in raised braille form.
A copy of the speech recognition software, Dragon Naturally Speaking. This allows users to dictate instead of typing, and to use a computer or surf the Web by voice command.
Students can arrange to use both of these facilities by contacting the Student Support Office, although access is limited.
JAWS 6.0 is an advanced screen reader for use with many software applications and the Internet. It uses an internal software speech synthesizer to read aloud information from the screen. JAWS is also capability of outputting to a refreshable Braille display (not yet available at the University).
Features include:
Multi-lingual software speech synthesizer (American English, British English, Castilian Spanish, Latin American Spanish, French, German, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Finnish.)
An interactive talking installation which makes it easy to get started without sighted assistance.
JAWS supports all standard Windows applications (e.g. Outlook, Word, Excel, Internet Explorer).
JAWS is installed on one PC in every open access laboratory, (and on two PCs per lab in Labs A, F and J on the Colchester campus). It is installed on all PC workstations where monitor arms have been fitted.
IMPORTANT: Users will need to bring their own headphones to make use of the audio features of this package.
TextHELP! Read & Write software aims to assist users with dyslexia or other difficulties which affect their English reading and writing abilities. It is a vocabulary support package which talks, types, checks spellings, and can even predict what the user wishes to type. TextHELP! Read & Write can be used with word processors, spreadsheets, databases, email and Internet. It provides a simple toolbar that "floats" on top of any open application waiting to provide assistance when called upon.
Features include:
Speech: It reads out loud as you type or reads any document. It also provides full screen reading of text, menus and icons.
Spell Checking: An advanced phonetic spell checker can automatically notify you when a mistake is made and can correct the most complex errors.
Homophones Support: homophones are colour-coded to help to proof and correct text. Descriptions of like sounding words are provided to ensure the correct word is selected.
Word Prediction: Phonetic and grammar based word prediction will offer suggestions as you type and will also learn your individual writing style.
Thesaurus: provides synonyms for words with descriptions and sample sentences to aid understanding.
Word Wizard: is a step-by-step process linking the word you know, to the word you are searching for.
There is a link for TextHELP under Start>Programs>Accessibility on all open access lab and library pc's.
IMPORTANT: Users will need to bring their own headphones to make use of the audio features of this package.
SmartDraw is a software program for creating business charts, technical drawings, and other diagrams. Its installation at the University is intended to assist users with mobility difficulties to create vector graphics with ease.
Features include:
A simple drag-and-drop drawing interface lets users draw any of the thousands of pre-defined shapes with a single click.
Built-in templates and examples
Built-in collections of clipart, images, and symbols
Automatic alignment and formatting
Inspiration is a windows-based organisational and study skills tool that helps students learn to think. Students can use Inspiration to create a visual map of ideas using pictures, colours, shapes and relationships. Inspiration is especially useful for students with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia.
Features include:
Built-in library of more than 1,250 colourful, high-resolution symbols, including photographic images and animated symbols
Flexible diagramming from formal flow charts to freeform concept map
Ability to work in either diagram or outline mode
Wide variety of built-in templates and ability to create custom templates
Rapid-fire mode that lets you add diagram elements and topics on the fly
Ability to create live hyperlinks to web sites and local web browser documents
There is a link for Inspiration 6 under Start>Programs>Applications on all PCs in the open access labs. Other machines on the campus network can access Inspiration by typing \\sernt27\inspiration8$\insp8ie.exe at start>run but please be aware that the license limits use to 10 concurrent users.
ZoomText Magnifier/Reader is a fully integrated magnification and screen reading program that enlarges, enhances and reads aloud everything on the computer screen.
Features include:
Flexible Magnification - Full range of magnification levels up to 36x. Levels include: 1x to 8x in steps of 1, 10x to 16x in steps of 2, 20x to 36x in steps of 4, and fractional powers of 1.25x, 1.5x, 1.75x and 2.5x.
Complete Screen Reading - ZoomText automatically speaks all program controls, including menus, dialogs, list views and messages. Three verbosity levels give you complete control over the amount of information spoken.
Text Navigation - Navigation keys make it easy to read while creating and editing documents. With simple commands you can read by character, word, line, sentence and paragraph, even while selecting text.
Reading Zones - Reading Zones allow you to instantly see and hear selected locations in your applications. Define up to 10 zones per application that you can trigger via pop-up menu or keyboard commands.
There is a link for ZoomText under Start>Programs>Accessibility on all open access lab and library pc's. Our license limits the usage to 10 concurrent users.
IMPORTANT: Users will need to bring their own headphones to make use of the audio features of this package.
Many helpful accessibility utilities are available through the Windows Control
Panel, (although campus users must note that access to the control panel
accessibility options is not available in the labs, due to security reasons).
Home/staff PC users can view these options by opening Control Panel and double-clicking on
Accessibility Options
(icon
shown left). The following dialogue box will appear:
A brief outline of each utility is given below:
StickyKeys
A helpful application that allows
users to press a key and then release it, and then press the other key or keys
without having to press and hold all simultaneously.
FilterKeys
People who inadvertently brush against keys will benefit from FilterKeys,
which instructs Windows to disregard keystrokes that are not held down for a
minimum period of time. Most keyboards allow users to repeat keys by holding
them down. This can be a problem for people who have impaired dexterity.
FilterKeys lets you adjust or turn off the repeat feature.
SerialKeys
SerialKeys allows you to control the personal computer by using adaptive
equipment such as alternative keyboards or augmentative communication devices
that connect to the serial port.
MouseKeys
Permits control of the mouse pointer by using the keyboard instead of the mouse.
Actions include clicking, double-clicking, and dragging and dropping.
SoundSentry
This feature tells Windows to send a visual cue, such as a blinking title bar
or screen flash, whenever the system makes a sound. Turning on this feature
allows you to see messages you might not hear.
ShowSounds
Some applications present information audibly by using digitised speech or
other audible cues that might be unusable by a person who is deaf or hard of
hearing. ShowSounds allows user to instruct
applications to display closed captions for their sounds, (but only if the
application has closed-captions built in).
Customisable Sound Schemes
People who are hard of hearing or working in a noisy environment can adjust
the sounds and volume associated with various onscreen events, making the events
easier to distinguish.
High-contrast Mode and Schemes
Ready-to-use appearance schemes make it easier to see screen objects. You can
also set a global flag to advise applications to
present high-contrast text, and to avoid black text on a grey background or text
drawn over pictures.
Since 1985 Apple has been committed to helping people with disabilities access their personal computer. Apple’s commitment to accessibility is evident throughout the Mac OS X operating system which is by design, easy to use, but also includes a wide variety of features and technologies specifically designed to provide accessibility to users with disabilities. Apple refers to these features collectively as Universal Access and has integrated them right into the operating system so they can be used in conjunction with a variety of applications from Apple and other developers. These features include:
Screen magnification and colour removal and inversion
Alert sound adjustment with visual indication
Keyboard adjustments: sticky keys, key click sound, key repeat options
Mouse speed and delay adjustment
Speech Recognition
Spoken User Interface (alerts and menu)
Further details on these features are available from the Apple web site at: http://www.apple.com/accessibility/
Mac OS X 10.4 and above, now also comes with a Screen Reader built in.
Older Macs with System 7.x, 8.x, or 9.x, has features (usually in the Apple menu under 'Control Panels') that include:
CloseView - screen magnification software
Easy Access - system software (StickyKeys, SlowKeys, MouseKeys)
PlainTalk - text-to-speech synthesis and voice recognition
Key-repeat Disable
Sticky Mouse
Visual Alert Cues
Computing Service Help Desk (helpdesk@essex.ac.uk)
- first point of contact on the Colchester campus for enquiries relating to accessibility issues
in the open access computing laboratories.
IT Help Desk - first
point of contact on the Southend campus for enquiries relating to accessibility issues
in the ITLab an the Open Study Area.
Student Support Office (sso@essex.ac.uk)
- All University Students (from any campus) are welcome to contact their staff for information about support for students with
disabilities, or to book use of their equipment.
Web Support Unit (wsu@essex.ac.uk) - can advise web authors (on all campuses) on testing web pages to be compliant with assistive technologies.
AbilityHub Assistive Technology Solutions - informative site designed to direct users to adaptive equipment and alternative methods available for accessing computers (PC & Mac).
Microsoft Accessibility - Find accessibility information about Microsoft products including features, installation tips, and upgrade considerations.
This page conforms to all Priority 1 checkpoints of the WC3-WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
The persons responsible for the
content of this page are Sharon Steeples
and Darin Cruickshanks.