Assistive Technology for Students with Disabilities
The University of Hawaii, in accord with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is committed to ensuring that campus computing and information resources are accessible to disabled students, faculty and staff. Ongoing efforts are a collaboration between Disabled Student Services (KOKUA), the Office of Equal Employment Opportunities and Affirmative Action, UH Libraries, and Information Technology Services. These efforts include making departmental web sites and online instruction more accessible and also providing assistive technologies in the computer labs on campus.
Listed below are assistive technology products deployed on UH Campuses. Availability of each technology varies from campus-to-campus, therefore, contact each campus directly to discuss any special requirements you make have.
AlphaSmart 3000: The AlphaSmart 3000 allows text entry and then be sent to any computer for formatting or directly to a Its portability allows students to use it anywhere and anytime - in the classroom, at home, or on field trips.
Co:Writer (Mac) :Co:Writer's word prediction lets students construct complete, grammatically correct sentences, and its Topic Dictionaries help students use appropriate topic-specific words.
Dragon Naturally Speaking: Dragon NaturallySpeaking allows you to create, edit, and revise documents and e-mail and navigate the Web, all by voice. Just speak into a microphone, and your words appear in letters, reports, e-mails and virtually all Windows-based applications. Dragon NaturallySpeaking makes it easy to edit and format text-even change fonts, colors, and sizes-by voice. Insert phrases and paragraphs with only a few words. Listen to text and e-mail read aloud by replaying your recorded speech.
Franklin Spelling Ace : English-language spelling corrector.
JAWS: JAWS for Windows works with your PC's software Its internal software speech synthesizer works with sound card to read information from the screen aloud. JAWS also to refreshable Braille displays, A training tutorial is included.
Kurzwiel 1000: Kurzweil 1000 is a scanning, reading and writing software program for use by people who are blind or visually impaired. The software works on a personal computer in conjunction with a flatbed scanner and synthetic speech. Scanned text is converted into speech.
Kurzwiel 3000 for Windows and Macintosh: Kurzweil 3000 is a software that helps people with reading or learning difficulties increase their reading speed and comprehension. Kurzweil 3000 can read virtually any scanned document or other electronic file on your computer or the Internet, using a high quality synthetic speech. Words are also highlighted in a contrasting color to the reading unit making tracking easier. New or unfamiliar words can be defined using Kurzweil 3000's electronic dictionary, or broken down into syllables using the syllabification tool.
Optelect System CCTV (Closed Circuit Television): CCTV's are specially designed to enlarge printed material for people who have low vision and can no longer comfortably use glasses or special lenses to read regular size print. Optelec uses a video camera that focuses on the printed page. The print is then enlarged and displayed on a monitor.
Phonic Ear FM Auditory System: Portable hearing-aid device.
Ovation: Access to printed information just got easier than ever before. With the Ovation, you can accurately and easily scan and store text of any kind and convert it to adjustable audio-output.
Telesensory:Website/products to help people with low vision enjoy independent access to information, enabling them to stay active in their work, school, and community and to improve their quality of life.
ViaVoice (Mac/Win): IBM line of continuous speech recognition products for Mac OS and Windows.
Write:OutLoud (Mac): Write:OutLoud simplifies the writing process by reading each word out loud as students write. Consistent auditory feedback reduces the physical effort of writing and lets students use a minimum of keystrokes. The program also reads any electronic text, so students can research and present reports in class.
SARA: Scanning and Reading Applicance : BookWise is a PC-based system which scans books and other printed materials, converts the text to synthesized speech.
ZoomText 9.0: ZoomText is a magnification and reading software. With its easy to use features, ZoomText makes computers accessible and friendly to low-vision users.