Microsoft Office Tools
- Overview 2010 Version and Tutorials
Word Auto Summary Tool - Look under the Tools menu - Word Readability Tool - Word 2007, 2008 and Mac instructions
- Add audio to Powerpoint - To record your own sound clip (you must have a microphone attached to your computer) and add it to the slide, on the Insert menu, point to Movies and Sound, and then click Record Sound. Word Auto Summary Tool
- SmartArt (Word 2007 & 2010) Visual organizers help students to study and organize information for writing. Word 2007 contains basic organizers for creating list through more complex Venn Diagrams click here for a handout on instructions.
- PowerTalk Automatic speech for PowerPoint presentations. PowerTalk is a free program that automatically speaks any presentation or slide show running in Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows.
- Video tutorial
Text to Speech on a Mac: Go to Preferences; select speech; check speak selected text and choose a key to activate it. You can also select a voice. - Text to Speech Windows - 2003 | 2007 | 2010
- Comment Feature - Insert Menu
- Speech option to hear any eBook read aloud. In addition, you can create eBooks from any MS Word file by installing the Add-in feature; an icon on the Word toolbar will provide the means to do this. Using this feature, you can locate any e-text file (e.g. from Project Gutenberg website), copy/paste/save it as a MS Word file. Click the new toolbar button and the file is converted into the eBook format for Microsoft Reader; it is added to its library.
- Microsoft Reader (2.0) is a free e-book reader that will read any available e-book on your Windows computer and Pocket PC. After the Reader is installed, add the Text-to-Speech option to hear any eBook read aloud. In addition, you can create eBooks from any MS Word file by installing the Add-in feature; an icon on the Word toolbar will provide the means to do this. Using this feature, you can locate any e-text file (e.g. from Project Gutenberg website), copy/paste/save it as a MS Word file. Click the new toolbar button and the file is converted into the eBook format for Microsoft Reader; it is added to its library.
- Wordit A free Windows text-to-speech plugin for Microsoft WordIt will speak the text of the document and will highlight it as it goes. It contains a talking dictionary and a text-to-mp3 converter.
- WordTalk a free plug-in developed for use with all versions of Microsoft Word (from Word 97 upwards), which can help people with reading difficulties use Microsoft Word more effectively.
- PowerTalk automatically speaks any presentation or slide show running in Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows. You just download and install PowerTalk..
- Talking Notes for Powerpoint For those with speech problems who need to talk to a Powerpoint presentation.
- Voice Comments Use microphone to record and embed audio files in MS Word documents Built into MS Word from Word 97 onward (can be problematic in Windows 7) Windows only Click HERE for more information
- Auto Summarize Create summaries of MS Word documents Automatically highlight key points Built into MS Word from Word 97 onward Windows only Click HERE for more information
- Equation Editor Toolbar offering mathematical symbols and notation for doing math in MS Word Built into MS Word from Word 97 onward Windows onl Click HERE for more information
- Math Add-on for MS Word Add-on for Word 2007 and 2010 that makes mathematical symbols and notation available conveniently in MS Word Click HERE for more information
- Microsoft Mathematics 4.0 Free standalone program from Microsoft Powerful and versatile math tool Graphing calculator (2D and 3D) Equation solver Formulas and equations library Unit conversion tool
Microsoft Windows Accessibility Features
Many of the accessibility features found in Windows 7 and Windows Vista can be found through the Ease of Access Center (in Control Panel). The Ease of Access Center provides a convenient, centralized place to find accessibility settings and programs to make your computer easier to use.
- Make the computer easier to see
- Make it easier to focus on reading and writing tasks
- Make the mouse easier to use
- Make the keyboard easier to use
- Hearing impairments features
- Over of Windows 7 Accessibility Tools
Windows 7 Accessibility Tutorials - Ease of Access Center provides a convenient, centralized place to locate accessibility settings and programs to make your computer easier to use. The Ease of Access Center can be found in the Control Panel by selecting Windows logo key+U and also when logging into Windows.
Many of the accessibility features found in Windows 7 and Windows Vista can be found through the Ease of Access Center (in Control Panel). The Ease of Access Center provides a convenient, centralized place to find accessibility settings and programs to make your computer easier to use.
- Make the computer easier to see
- Make it easier to focus on reading and writing tasks
- Make the mouse easier to use
- Make the keyboard easier to use
- Hearing impairments features
Windows Speech Recognition Windows Speech Recognition in Windows Vista empowers users to interact with their computers by voice. It was designed for people who want to significantly limit their use of the mouse and keyboard while maintaining or increasing their overall productivity. You can dictate documents and emails in mainstream applications, use voice commands to start and switch between applications, control the operating system, and even fill out forms on the Web. tutorial
_Mac Accessibility Tools
Getting Started: Apple Tech for Diverse Learners Extensive document (pdf) from Apple outlining accessibility and other learning options built into and available for Apple products ATMac
Getting Started: Apple Tech for Diverse Learners Extensive document (pdf) from Apple outlining accessibility and other learning options built into and available for Apple products ATMac
ATMac provides instantly useful information about all Apple and Mac products for users with a disability
Web Accessibility
Broadcast Website Broadcast allows you to broadcast audio to websites, social networks, desktops apps and mobile devices via a Flash Player. Features include scheduled events, live DJ mixing, interactive messaging and more. Works with Chrome and Firefox.
Midomi: A search engine that is based on sound rather than text. It can be a more intuitive way to find things if you respond better to sounds.
FireFox with Accessibility A collection of free accessibility add-ons available from Firefox. FoxVox and CLiCk-Speak are great.
Chrome Add-ons
Broadcast Website Broadcast allows you to broadcast audio to websites, social networks, desktops apps and mobile devices via a Flash Player. Features include scheduled events, live DJ mixing, interactive messaging and more. Works with Chrome and Firefox.
Midomi: A search engine that is based on sound rather than text. It can be a more intuitive way to find things if you respond better to sounds.
FireFox with Accessibility A collection of free accessibility add-ons available from Firefox. FoxVox and CLiCk-Speak are great.
- MITS Collections Collection of add-ons to make Firefox more accessible--from Ira Socol Separate collection for Firefox on Mac
- CLiCk,Speak Text-to-speech for websites open in Firefox Three-button toolbar Works especially well in Firefox on Windows [As of March 2011, works only Version 3.6.15 or earlier. Older versions of Firefox can be downloaded HERE.]
- Fire Vox (Firefox Add-on) Fire Vox, which, along with CLiCk Speak and CLC STAR, is developed by Charles Chen, is an open source, freely available talking browser extension for the Firefox web browser. Think of it as a screen reader that is designed especially for Firefox. In addition to the basic features that are expected of screen readers, such as being able to identify headings, links, images, etc. and providing navigational assistance=
- Speaking Fox Text-to-speech for websites open in Firefox Works only in Firefox on Mac OSX
- Theme Font & Size Changer Firefox add-on that changes font and adjusts font size of theme options, eg. address bar or menus Access from 'Tools' menu, or install button on toobar
Chrome Add-ons
- Google Chrome Increasingly accessible web browser. Access facilitated by extensions and 'apps' created by Google and by third-party developers. Click HERE for more information
- SpeakIt!Google Chrome extension. Text-to-speech for reading web content in Google Chrome. Select text, click icon, listen
- Voice Search Use speech-to-text for Internet searches. Click icon, speak search term. Works with multiple search engines
- Readability Redux Remove clutter from websites (ads and distracting graphics. Set margins, select style and adjust font size. Can be activated by keyboard shortcut set by user
- ChromeVis Magnify and change the color of any text selected. Use mouse or keyboard to move selection Click HERE for ChromeVis manual
- Voice Recognizer Google Chrome App Speech to text application that works whether user is online or offline
- Announcify Chrome and Android options: Announcify is a browser extension for those times when you'd rather just listen. All you have to do is browse to any article and click the Announcify button. Announcify still shows you the text it's reading to you in a more readable format. It also blurs out everything but the paragraph it's reading to make it much easier to follow along. You can set the voice that reads the text, its speed, and its pitch so you can hear the articles the way you want.
Tools to simplify articles on the Web and save paper
Print What You Like is a simple web tool that lets users select just a portion of a website. This is particularly useful for printing articles from websites or blogs that do not have a "printer friendly" option.
PrintFriendly strips away all of the ads and side bar content allowing you to print only the article on the page. There are two ways to use PrintFriendly. You can copy and paste an article's url into the PrintFriendly homepage or use the PrintFriendly bookmarklet. I tried it both ways and much prefer using the bookmarklet as it doesn't require any toggling between browser tabs or windows. Video
Printliminator is a handy little bookmarklet for Firefox, Chrome, and Safari. Printliminator allows you to highlight a webpage and select only the elements which you wish to print. You can install Printliminator in seconds by just clicking and dragging it into your browser's toolbar. video
Print Edit is a Firefox add-on that allows you to edit the content of a webpage in your "print preview" screen. With Print Edit installed once you enter the print preview screen you can highlight and delete sections of a webpage before you print them
PrintFriendly strips away all of the ads and side bar content allowing you to print only the article on the page. There are two ways to use PrintFriendly. You can copy and paste an article's url into the PrintFriendly homepage or use the PrintFriendly bookmarklet. I tried it both ways and much prefer using the bookmarklet as it doesn't require any toggling between browser tabs or windows. Video
Printliminator is a handy little bookmarklet for Firefox, Chrome, and Safari. Printliminator allows you to highlight a webpage and select only the elements which you wish to print. You can install Printliminator in seconds by just clicking and dragging it into your browser's toolbar. video
Print Edit is a Firefox add-on that allows you to edit the content of a webpage in your "print preview" screen. With Print Edit installed once you enter the print preview screen you can highlight and delete sections of a webpage before you print them
Tools that Compensate for Handwriting Issues
Consider using these tools to bypass output issues, for example, as an alternative way to record homework assignments, and get ideas recorded or as an alternative to paper-based posters.
Consider using these tools to bypass output issues, for example, as an alternative way to record homework assignments, and get ideas recorded or as an alternative to paper-based posters.
- Dial2Do - lets you do common tasks by just calling a number and speaking. Use it to send EMAIL or TEXT messages, record REMINDERS to help you remember things. . It's easy and handsfree. Watch the video here.
- Vocaroo - very easy to use online audio recording service; can email, download or post the recording to the internet.
- TokBox - Free video chat and video email. View the demo here.
- Voxopop- create message boards that use recorded audio, not text
Accessibility for Mobiles
These are all free (or cheap) and provide both effective Text-To-Speech (thus access to content) and those with Word-by-Word highlighting help build sight-word recognition. One of the best uses of text to speech is to support writing with "read back" editing.
These are all free (or cheap) and provide both effective Text-To-Speech (thus access to content) and those with Word-by-Word highlighting help build sight-word recognition. One of the best uses of text to speech is to support writing with "read back" editing.
_Accessories for iPad $
- Biggrips- available for the iPad 1 and 2. The Big Grips Frame helps keep the iPad from slipping out. It is made out of foam, which protects against accidental drops. It also has a stand that can be purchased separately. The case is $39.95. Purchasing the case and stand together is $49.95.
- Bupcap- Does your child keep hitting the home button when working on an app? Bupcap will prevent this with 3 different types of caps from regular to maximum protection. These covers fit over the home button. The cost ranges from $5.00 to $6.99.
- Keyguard- Bumpers to prevent the student from accidental activation of a key. This is especially great for apps such as Proloquo2go. The guard is $19.95.
- Mouthstick Stylus $40.00 Stylus a solution for quadriplegics, people with ALS, MS or other disabilities where they cannot use their hands. It has a default stick size, which can be altered when ordering. It has two working solutions: A fully conductive mouthstick with a Stylus Sock on the tip or a separate Stylus Sock that you can wrap around your own mouthstick plus a slice of the same conductive fabric that connects the sock to the iPad body.
- iPad Steady Stylus $40.00 This T-shaped stylus has a wooden handle with a grip made from transparent rubber wrapped around a wooden stick. The pointer is made from aluminum with a conductive fabric sock plug as the tip. Especially good for people with limited strength in their hands.
- Stylus R Us has a wide variety of telescoping styli ranging in price. The average price is around $40.00.
_Talking calculator tool for
students with learning disabilities! Students with learning disabilities
often need more modes addressed - seeing and hearing is a great start
and that's just what the talking calculator does. Best of all it's
free! Download it to your computer
Open Source Assistive Technology Software Searchable by need and type
Power ReaderA dyslexic text reader/learning tool, a
graphical, interactive text reader integrated with computer
text-to-speech whose level of focus, complexity, and detail is
adjustable according to the user's needs.
_eStoryMaker A simple means for assembling text, picture and sound files into an e-story that supports multiple access means.
Create & Convert: a free and easy way to make accessible text. It brings together in one neat package a range of open source
programs that can quickly and capably translate electronic documents
into an accessible alternative format, such as audio or a talking book. Create & Convert works with any document that is
editable form such as Microsoft word. It is a free download and works
from both a portable usb key or can be downloaded to a desktop.
Check it out: http://eduapps.org/?page_id=10
pVoice an application for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC).Disabled people who cannot speak and have very little possiblities to operate a computer can use pVoice by selecting photo's or symbols to generate speech output.
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Dasher a zooming interface. You point where you want to go, and the display zooms in wherever you point. The world into which you are zooming is painted with letters, so that any point you zoom in on corresponds to a piece of text. The more you zoom in, the longer the piece of text you have written.
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EdWord and EdWeb EdWord is a talking word processor that allows you to combine text with symbols. EdWeb is a talking web browser that can display web pages as a combination of text and symbols. _
_Large Pointers Extensive set of cursors to meet wide range of needs Windows only
WWAAC Web Browser This is a talking, keyboard, switch and mouse pointer
accessible web browser with page summarising tools. It has a highly
configerable user interface
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Mouse Tools and Alternatives
1. DwellClick (from Sensory) provides dwell selection for those who may have trouble clicking mouse buttons. You just hover the cursor over a clickable target for a user configurable amount of time and DwellClick sends the desired mouse event to the target. It supports left, right, double clicks and dragging operations. It also has a 'sleep' mode that temporarily turns off clicking so you don't have to be vigilant. You resume dwell clicking by just hovering over a small green button. You can adjust the target size, dwell time and dwell tool bar all with dwell clicking. Requires VB runtime dll. Quirky under Vista http://www.sensorysoftware.com/dwellclicker.html
2. Point-N-Click This is undoubtedly the most full featured dwell selection program. As a result it takes the longest to learn all its features including Shift-clicks, Control-clicks various repeating click modes and more. You can build your own mouse function toolbar that has as many, or as few tools as you want. The dwell user can have complete control over all features. A great freeware program that woks well under Vista. http://polital.com/pnc/
3.ClickAid – ClickAid, by the same authors of Point-N-Click, is a virtual mouse aid designed for anyone who has difficulty switching between mouse buttons or double clicking on a physical computer mouse. It can increase the functionality of a program like CameraMouse which has an dwell click feature, but no accommodation for right-click, double-click, shift-click etc... http://www.polital.com/ca/
4.Mouseketeer is yet another dwell clicker that is nice and small. It has all the basic functions: click, double-click, right-click, and it has suspend clicking mode. No setup complications. The website that has Mouseketeer has many other assistive technology utilities including many supports for low vision users including various cursor sets, cursor enhancers and a really huge mouse cursor. http://www.fxc.btinternet.co.uk/assistive.htm
5. mmFollow quite simply adds a cartoon character to the mouse cursor. It ensures rapid location of the pointer, and obviously adds a little fun to using the computer. In use, the application adds an icon to the Windows Taskbar area. By right clicking on this icon, you can vary the character Scroll down site to locate. Scroll down site to locate.
6. Bigger Cursors A selection of bigger cursors for anyone who finds the existing cursors too small. Simply download the zip file and extract into the Windows/Cursors folder and you are ready to go. Scroll down site to locate.
7. Chunky Cursors A selection of chunky cursors for anyone who finds the existing cursors too small. Simply download the zip file and extract into the Windows/Cursors folder and you are ready to go. Scroll down site to locate.
Web Cam Mousing
Enable Viacam - This program, like CameraMouse, uses a web cam to track the user’s head movements and convert them to mouse cursor movement. Unlike CameraMouse, Enable Viacam identifies and tracks facial orientation. There is no single point to click on for tracking. But, there is a button to click once the user has aimed the camera or positioned themselves into to the web cams view field. It also comes with an easy to use dwell click feature. http://eviacam.sourceforge.net/eviacam.php
Camera Mouse Website Camera Mouse enables you to control the mouse pointer on your computer screen just by moving your head. Camera mouse will be of use to those who do not have reliable control of a hand but who can move their head.
Mouse Tools and Alternatives
1. DwellClick (from Sensory) provides dwell selection for those who may have trouble clicking mouse buttons. You just hover the cursor over a clickable target for a user configurable amount of time and DwellClick sends the desired mouse event to the target. It supports left, right, double clicks and dragging operations. It also has a 'sleep' mode that temporarily turns off clicking so you don't have to be vigilant. You resume dwell clicking by just hovering over a small green button. You can adjust the target size, dwell time and dwell tool bar all with dwell clicking. Requires VB runtime dll. Quirky under Vista http://www.sensorysoftware.com/dwellclicker.html
2. Point-N-Click This is undoubtedly the most full featured dwell selection program. As a result it takes the longest to learn all its features including Shift-clicks, Control-clicks various repeating click modes and more. You can build your own mouse function toolbar that has as many, or as few tools as you want. The dwell user can have complete control over all features. A great freeware program that woks well under Vista. http://polital.com/pnc/
3.ClickAid – ClickAid, by the same authors of Point-N-Click, is a virtual mouse aid designed for anyone who has difficulty switching between mouse buttons or double clicking on a physical computer mouse. It can increase the functionality of a program like CameraMouse which has an dwell click feature, but no accommodation for right-click, double-click, shift-click etc... http://www.polital.com/ca/
4.Mouseketeer is yet another dwell clicker that is nice and small. It has all the basic functions: click, double-click, right-click, and it has suspend clicking mode. No setup complications. The website that has Mouseketeer has many other assistive technology utilities including many supports for low vision users including various cursor sets, cursor enhancers and a really huge mouse cursor. http://www.fxc.btinternet.co.uk/assistive.htm
5. mmFollow quite simply adds a cartoon character to the mouse cursor. It ensures rapid location of the pointer, and obviously adds a little fun to using the computer. In use, the application adds an icon to the Windows Taskbar area. By right clicking on this icon, you can vary the character Scroll down site to locate. Scroll down site to locate.
6. Bigger Cursors A selection of bigger cursors for anyone who finds the existing cursors too small. Simply download the zip file and extract into the Windows/Cursors folder and you are ready to go. Scroll down site to locate.
7. Chunky Cursors A selection of chunky cursors for anyone who finds the existing cursors too small. Simply download the zip file and extract into the Windows/Cursors folder and you are ready to go. Scroll down site to locate.
Web Cam Mousing
Enable Viacam - This program, like CameraMouse, uses a web cam to track the user’s head movements and convert them to mouse cursor movement. Unlike CameraMouse, Enable Viacam identifies and tracks facial orientation. There is no single point to click on for tracking. But, there is a button to click once the user has aimed the camera or positioned themselves into to the web cams view field. It also comes with an easy to use dwell click feature. http://eviacam.sourceforge.net/eviacam.php
Camera Mouse Website Camera Mouse enables you to control the mouse pointer on your computer screen just by moving your head. Camera mouse will be of use to those who do not have reliable control of a hand but who can move their head.
_Onscreen Keyboards:
There are really only a few worthwhile free onscreen keyboards. The best have features that may include resizable layout, switch accessibility, word completion, customizable layouts, program launching, macro capability, and other system interaction functions.
1. Osk.exe keyboard, the one that comes free with XP and Vista (and works with Win2K), but it is not resizable. It actually supports switch access, but it is hard to imagine that that would be too useful without a more global switch accessibility strategy like what is potentially possible with SAW. It is also included with the PortableApps onscreen keyboard distribution. It is typically found in: C:\WINDOWS\system32\osk.exe and can be copied for portable use.
2. The On-ScreenKeyboard.exe that works with Win9x through Vista that is also included in the PortableApps distribution (in the App/OSK folder,) and is resizable. http://portableapps.com/apps/accessibility/on-screen_keyboard_portable
3. Big Screen Keys Mac 10.2.x - 10.6.x Big Screen Keys is an on-screen virtual keyboard designed to help individuals who find using a keyboard difficult or impossible. By clicking the on-screen keyboard keys, Big Screen Keys will type to the active window. Big Screen Keys can also be resized to quickly adjust to the user’s needs.
4. Click-N-Type Accessible onscreen keyboard, with word prediction Windows only
There are really only a few worthwhile free onscreen keyboards. The best have features that may include resizable layout, switch accessibility, word completion, customizable layouts, program launching, macro capability, and other system interaction functions.
1. Osk.exe keyboard, the one that comes free with XP and Vista (and works with Win2K), but it is not resizable. It actually supports switch access, but it is hard to imagine that that would be too useful without a more global switch accessibility strategy like what is potentially possible with SAW. It is also included with the PortableApps onscreen keyboard distribution. It is typically found in: C:\WINDOWS\system32\osk.exe and can be copied for portable use.
2. The On-ScreenKeyboard.exe that works with Win9x through Vista that is also included in the PortableApps distribution (in the App/OSK folder,) and is resizable. http://portableapps.com/apps/accessibility/on-screen_keyboard_portable
3. Big Screen Keys Mac 10.2.x - 10.6.x Big Screen Keys is an on-screen virtual keyboard designed to help individuals who find using a keyboard difficult or impossible. By clicking the on-screen keyboard keys, Big Screen Keys will type to the active window. Big Screen Keys can also be resized to quickly adjust to the user’s needs.
4. Click-N-Type Accessible onscreen keyboard, with word prediction Windows only
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MyStudyBarToolbar with set of applications to support reading, writing, planning and vision. Install on computer, or run from USB drive Click HERE for demonstration of using MyStudyBar with Windows 7 Speech Recognition Video tutorials HERE for tools on MyStudyBar Windows only Click HERE for more information
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