Assistive Technology
Assistive Technology
Much of the
assistive technology support comes through the Disabled Students Allowance.
However, The University of Worcester has a range of assistive
software available on the student networked PCs or available for loan from the
IT Helpdesk.
The software includes:
Please note that the
software is under constant review and the University network might have newer
versions, or additional software available.
Networked
TextHelp Read & Gold (on campus network
but not at the library)
TextHelp Read &
Write Gold enables you to hear web pages and documents read aloud to improve
reading comprehension and help with proofreading your work. It lets you easily
change the background colour of your computer screen, has a built-in screen
ruler, dictionary and thesaurus, helps develop your writing skills with word
prediction and supports independent research with a number of study skills
tools.
Inspiration (on campus
network but not at the library)
Inspiration
software allows you to create visual mind maps so you can use colours, images
and words to begin with a central idea and expand outward to more in-depth
sub-topics. Mind maps display large amounts of information in ways that are
easy to understand, and which help reveal relationships and patterns. They can
be used to help with taking notes, planning assignments, revising or managing
your time.
Supernova (on campus
network and limited loans)
Supernova enables
you to gain complete access to your learning materials. Course notes, essays
and revision notes are clearly magnified, can be spoken with high quality
voices and accurately translated to literary Braille. Lecture slides, hand-outs
and feedback produced electronically can be read using your ideal combination
of magnification, speech and Braille.
Limited loans:
Claroread
JAWS
JAWS reads aloud what is on your PC screen and gives you a unique
set of tools for navigating and accessing Web pages and all screen content.
JAWS provides speech and Braille output for the most popular computer
applications on your PC. Its OCR features provide access to the text of PDF
documents and scanned images.
Zoomtext
Dragon Naturally Speaking Further Ed Pack
Eligible students may use the above software in
examinations.
There are also many Free Assistive Technology
features and tools available. Please contact us if you would like further information.
Software Training Site
The University of Worcester is offering free specialist software training through the iView portal. This provides training videos on a whole range of specialist software including the items listed below and the software which you may have received through your DSA funding.
Please click on this link to view the instructions on how to register:
iView_Training_instructions_edited_for_website.pdf
Please note you must sign up using your University email address. Once you register you will receive a confirmation email. Please check all your Inboxes for this reply, including your Junk Mail. If you have any problems please contact https://at.iviewlearning.co.uk/contact
Please click on this link to find information relating to free resources to help students with their work such as: useful websites, Apps, PC/laptop help, useful tools for Word documents
How to Change to Record online or face to face lectures.
Audio Notetaker
- To record in face to face lectures set Record to Microphone only
- To record online lectures set Record to Speakers only (NB This is not possible for Mac computers)
Glean
- To record in face to face lectures set Record to Screen Audio & Mic
- To record online lectures set Record to Screen Audio Only. Glean works with both Windows and Mac systems.
Making Documents Easier to Use
Powerpoints , pdf or word
files can be converted into any other file type e.g. audio (mp3) so they can be
listened to or used by a screen reader.
Go to https://library.worc.ac.uk/make-resources-accessible
Documents can be uploaded and
the conversion will be emailed back to you.
It is an automated system so
the document returned sometimes needs a bit of tweaking to make it more
visually presentable but the underlying accessiblity will be there.
Contact us
We meet with students in a confidential space in firstpoint. To book a Disability Advisor appointment please contact or visit firstpoint, which is open Monday to Friday 9:00am - 4:00pm, and is situated in the Peirson Study and Guidance Centre on St Johns Campus.
Telephone: 01905 542551 Email: firstpoint@worc.ac.uk
To contact the team directly please email disability@worc.ac.uk or telepone 01905 855531
We are also on Twitter https://twitter.com/UoWDDS
A detailed access guide to the Peirson Centre can be found on AccessAble.co.uk