Scanning Software, Text-to-Speech, and Text-to-Audio File

This is part of a series of blogs our Director, Alan Knue, has composed to help people increase their reading and writing efficiency

It is Monday, and your English teacher just gave you a short story to read out of a book. Your biology teacher just uploaded a 10 page electronic PDF for you to read. You are expected to read both assignments by the end of the week for discussion in class. Reading isn’t easy for you and if only these documents were provided in an accessible text format, then you could use your handy AT software with text-to-speech to help you work your way through these documents.

I didn’t have any AT options in school, so I was rarely able to read fast enough to complete a reading assignment on time and failed many tests because I couldn’t keep up. I had to rely on peer discussion groups and teacher lectures to cover the reading material to actually learn what was in those various texts. By college I had become a human tape recorder, memorizing practically everything said in conversations, in lectures, and in study groups.

Today, what AT do I use? If I need to read printed material, I can set up my flatbed scanner and use a feature in ClaroRead called "Scan from Paper." By taking what is essentially a photograph of a page it applies a slick piece of software known as optical character recognition or OCR to the page. Of course the better the printed copy, the better the program will be able to recognize text on the page. Students and their support team using any program with a built in OCR, like ClaroRead, will need to be able to find places where the OCR didn’t do such a good job and correct the mistakes before having a “clean” copy. TTS can certainly help with the clean-up of a scanned document by aiding students in finding incorrect words.

What about the electronic PDF reading assignment? ClaroRead has a nifty “Scan from PDF/File” feature which applies OCR to the electronic PDF rather than first having to scan a printed copy. Of course, it would make a student’s life far easier if these documents were already in a good electronic format, but that is a whole other discussion.

ClaroRead takes this all one step further. You can also convert electronic text to an audio file (mp3) that you could then listen to on an iPod, Zune, or any other mp3 player. The “Save as Audio” feature is handy for short documents, but anything too long, and then it becomes difficult to find where you left off in your listening. Books and magazines are often available in other electronic formats, such as the Daisy format, and these will be discussed on our blog in later posts.

ClaroRead is not the only AT software available with strong scanning and OCR, and text-to-speech or audio file capabilities. Contact our AT Specialists for a demonstration of the available options.

Speech Recognition: The Writing Magic Bullet?

This is part of a series of blogs our Director, Alan Knue, has composed to help people increase their reading and writing efficiency

Wanting to try speech recognition software is a popular request from students at our AT Demonstration and Lending Library. These software programs have come a long way from when they were first introduced in the 1980s. The recognition accuracy has significantly increased and at the same time, the amount of time and effort to train a speech recognition program for a specific user has decreased. But there are considerations to be made if you believe speech recognition is for you.

Once a voice file has been created- the student needs a good quality microphone and your computer needs to be sufficiently powerful to run both the speech recognition program and word processor simultaneously. But a student should be aware that every word that is recognized is correctly spelled. However, a correctly spelled word does not mean the correct word choice. The student needs to be able to detect and make corrections. This is where reading with text-to-speech (TTS) comes in. A student can listen for the words and make the correction by voice in some programs (preferred since this improves recognition over time) or by using the mouse and keyboard. Additionally, some programs can play back a recording of your dictation so the student can actually hear what they said.

If hands free computer control and navigation is your goal, some dictation programs can make this a reality but with a lot of training and technical assistance from qualified professionals. The cognitive load is very high since making corrections would involve learning and remembering a large number of verbal commands. However, using a speech recognition program to be totally hands free isn’t always important or necessary for everyone. 

Besides the popular, reliable, and powerful DragonNaturallySpeaking and the new Dragon Dictate for Mac, all Microsoft Windows operating systems since Vista have very good speech recognition built into the Ease of Access. This built-in option has less navigation controls and a smaller vocabulary than a stand alone program. However, is a good option for many users and has the benefit of being free. 

Finally, SpeakQ is a speech recognition add-on to WordQ that is specifically targeted at students who have difficulty with writing. It is especially useful for students who cannot fluently dictate at a natural speaking rate, remember verbal commands, and/or get through the initial training. It is not meant to be a full feature speech recognition tool as it lacks navigation and editing commands. However, it works seamlessly with WordQ’s word prediction, combining the benefits of both of these features, and is especially useful in picking the correct homophone.

If you are interested in speech recognition, contact our ATSpecialist for a demonstration of the available options.

Writing and Spelling TTS, Word Prediction, Spellcheck, Supports

This is part of a series of blogs our Director, Alan Knue, has composed to help people increase their reading and writing efficiency

As stated in Reading with Text-to-Speech, the text-to-speech feature (TTS) can be very useful for students who have difficulty reading.Text-to-speech (TTS) can be very useful for students who have difficulty reading. TTS is also very important as a writing support. Students can hear the letters, words, and sentences as they are typed, making it easier to detect when the words are types incorrectly. In conjunction with spell check in word processors, a student can see misspelled words easier and then have each letter in the word read out loud, aiding the student in learning the actual spelling of a word. If a student has difficulty knowing which word is correct in a spellcheck list, TTS can also be used to read the spell check list out loud.

Word processors, such as Microsoft Word, have additional features that help students in increasing writing and spelling speed and accuracy. Abbreviation/expansion and auto-correction help increase typing speed. Many programs also provide a built in Dictionary and Thesaurus, which can allow a student to look up definitions for unfamiliar words or find synonyms. 

What about students who have difficulty coming up with or correctly spelling words? Word prediction can help a student select the correct word as they type by “predicting” which words the user is trying to type and listing them to be selected. Word prediction learns with the student and aids in finding the correct spelling of a word. Coupled with TTS for reading, word prediction can be a powerful tool in assisting spelling and writing. Assistance with making a distinction between homophones, words that sound the same but are spelled differently (i.e., see and sea) by providing a definition or by giving an example in context can be used in conjunction with word prediction to aid in choosing the right word. Many of the software programs listed in Reading with Text-to-Speech include word prediction and homophone support.

Word prediction will not increase writing speed, as it is meant as an aid in selecting the correct word in terms of sentence placement and spelling and this is often a relatively slow process. It has been demonstrated that students who learn to keyboard have greater success in writing. Simple aids, such as keyboard covers and typing programs can be employed to help students learn to keyboard effectively. Becoming even an average keyboardist will improve writing speed.

Speech recognition programs are also popular writing aids, but are they for you? Find out in the next blog post.

As always our AT Specialists are available to work with and explore the specific needs of students and their support team when determining what options might work best. These products and many others are available for short term loan through WATAP's Device Lending Library to help individuals make an informed decision about what products will work best for them.

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Web Accessibility Tip: WCAG 2.0 and Reading Level

It is always a good idea to make content as readable and understandable as is suitable for the audience. For complex content (defined as that which requires a reading ability more advanced than the lower secondary education level), WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 3.1.5 (Level AAA) requires that a more simplified and readable version of the content be provided. Much content cannot be made perfectly understandable at these levels (consider a college-level chemistry class, for example), thus it's a Level AAA success criterion. Regardless of the limitations for some content, for a page to be optimally accessible, it should be written so as to be easily readable and understandable to the target audience.

Web Accessibly Tip: Link Type Indicators

It is a good idea to inform users when a link goes to non-HTML content (such as a PDF file or Word document). It can be frustrating to activate a link and then realize that the link requires an external program or viewer. An icon (with appropriate alternative text) or text, such as "(PDF)", is sufficient. Because screen reader users commonly navigate by links, it is vital that the link type indicator icon or text be placed within the link, otherwise this information is readily available to sighted users, but not presented in the context of the link for screen reader users.

Web Accessibility Tip: Text Readability

Keep the following guidelines in mind for displaying text:

• Avoid very small text. This not only impacts some users with low vision, but many users with cognitive disabilities as well.
• While serif fonts (e.g., Times) are more readable when printed, both serif and sans-serif fonts are appropriate when displaying body text onscreen, as long as the font is clean and readable.
• Underlined text should be avoided, except to designate links.
• Minimize the number of different fonts used on a page. Two to three fonts is optimal.
• ALL CAPS should be used minimally. It is more difficult to read and is often interpreted as "shouting". Additionally, screen readers may read all-caps text letter by letter (like an acronym) rather than as full words.

Web Accessibility Tip: Use True Text

True text has several advantages over graphical text and should be used whenever possible. True text is easier to read, especially if it is enlarged. The user can more easily customize the appearance of the text to make it more readable (changing color, size, font, etc.). File size is typically smaller for true text and it can be translated into other languages.

WCAG 2.0 Level AA requires that if the same presentation can be accomplished using true text, then you must use true text rather than an image of text. Level AAA requires that text cannot generally be used within images at all.

Don’t Know What to Wear Today? There’s an App for That

iDress for Weather Screenshot

Knowing what to wear can be difficult in the hourly changing climate of the Pacific Northwest and as someone without a television or the inclination to listen to the radio in the morning I’m often caught out in the rain, or more accurately the drizzle, without a raincoat. iDress for Weather is an app for iOS (that’s Apple’s operating system for those of us who aren’t overly techy) which can help people determine what attire is weather appropriate by tapping into the local weather reports. You can either take pictures of your own wardrobe or use the cartoon style clip art closet of clothing. For people who benefit from prompting about appropriate clothing but may not have supports to provide that prompting in the morning, or just aren’t morning people who  want to be told what is appropriate to wear, this app has the potential to increase a person’s independence, giving  them the opportunity to make informed and independent choices about their wardrobe. For two dollars this apps can give you peace of mind that you are dressed appropriately for the day, that is, if you trust weathermen. To borrow iDress for Weather, or other prompting apps, on an iPod or iPad visit the WATAP Lending Library.  

Last Minute AT Holiday Gift Ideas

Iris 9000 Voice Control Unit 

Looking for last minute ideas for the holiday season? Check out WATAP's past webinars including the AT Holiday Gift Buying Guide for lots of cool ideas for people with varying abilities and varying interests. Great AT accessory ideas as well as products for everything from gardening to gaming to modifying your home environment. Get simple, low cost, low tech ideas or explore ideas for the techies in your life.  

Happy Holidays from WATAP!

Web Accessibility: Cognitive Disabilities

This is part of a continuing series of web accessibility tips for IT personnel, web managers and web development groups. These tips can be used to review current website accessibility and to utilize in developing new websites with the hope of improving web accessibility for everyone.

The number of people with cognitive disabilities is greater than the number people with all other disabilities combined. Cognitive disabilities are complex and vary greatly. Recommendations for those with cognitive disabilities share much overlap with general usability recommendations, however, the impact of poor usability and understandability can have a much more significant impact on those with cognitive disabilities. Care should be taken to ensure optimal functionality and understandability of web content by those with cognitive or learning disabilities.

Webinar: A Holiday Assistive Technology Buying Guide

Join the Washington Assistive Technology Act Program (WATAP) and the Washington Access Fund for a free webinar on AT gifts on November 17th! Learn about adaptive gizmos, gadgets and practical ideas that make great gifts for people of all ages this holiday season. We will be going over both low-tech, less expensive devices to more high-tech and expensive gadgets. The webinar will include a range of mainstream devices (items that may not be specifically designed as AT) and others will be actual AT products. WATAP's AT Specialists will explore devices for people with a range of functional needs and abilities that will make great small gift ideas to fabulously wrapped presents with a bow. Please join us on November 17th, from 10:00am-11:15am for a gift guide webinar on assistive technology. To register for this free webinar, please send an email to Leann at leann@washingtonaccessfund.org, or by phone at (206) 328-5116 or TTY (888) 494-4775.

Web Accessibility Wednesday: Animation

This is part of a continuing series of web accessibility tips for IT personnel, web managers and web development groups. These tips can be used to review current website accessibility and to utilize in developing new websites with the hope of improving web accessibility for everyone.

Animation or other moving elements on a web page can be distracting to all users. Even simple animation can render a web page completely inaccessible to users with certain cognitive disabilities or high levels of distractibility. Animation should generally be avoided. Brief animations (ones that completely stop in less than 3 seconds), however, can be used to draw attention to important page elements, such as error messages or alerts.
A common use of animation to increase accessibility and usability is the implementation of what is called the Yellow Fade Technique. This technique presents a bright, quickly fading background to important page elements or messages.

Audio Note Taking: Pulse Smartpen

The Livescribe Pulse Smartpen is a helpful tool for anyone. It is a note capturing device that conbines the use of a pen with a built-in digital recorder and special dot matrix paper. It can make taking notes, making a list, or planning an essay much easier. The Smartpen records what you or anyone else says while you are writing.

I found this pen very useful when taking notes for a lecture. I always have a hard time writing down everything my professors say because they can talk faster than I can write. When using the Smartpen I am able to just write key words or sentences and later listen to that key point by just tapping the word on the matrix paper with the pen. It also helps with class participation to be able to follow the lecture instead of focusing on capturing everything that was said by hand.

This pen would be helpful for individuals who don’t write fast or write legibly. Individuals who have difficulty with spelling or just want to be able to connect what was actually said at the time the note was written will also find it to be a helpful tool. The Pulse Smartpen could also be used as a memory aid by using audio recording with written cues. If someone cannot remember what a written note was regarding they can listen to the recorded audio to trigger their memory. Your notes and audio can also be uploaded to your computer so you can save and replay them as often as you need. The Smartpen is Mac and PC compatible.

If you're a Washington resident interested in borrowing the Pulse Smartpen to try at school, work or home, visit the WATAP Assistive Technology Lending Library.

Written by Julia Ladner

Web Accessibility Wednesday: Assistive Technology

This is part of a continuing series of web accessibility tips for IT personnel, web managers and web development groups. These tips can be used to review current website accessibility and to utilize in developing new websites with the hope of improving web accessibility for everyone.
Assistive Technologies, or AT, are technologies that help one overcome some physical issue or limitation so they can function in ways they otherwise would be unable to. AT includes both software and hardware. It can range from screen readers which convey information audibly to those who have visual or cognitive disabilities, to captions for the Deaf or hard-of-hearing, to refreshable Braille devices which present content to those who are deaf-blind, to screen enlargers for those with low vision, to physical devices to assist those with varying levels and types of motor function. For a web site to be accessible, it must be compatible with varying assistive technologies.

Web Accessibility Wednesday: Considering Various Disabilities

We will be posting a continuing series of web accessibility tips that IT personnel, web managers and web development groups can use in reviewing current website accessibility and in developing new websites. These tips were developed in partnership between the Association of Tech Act Programs (ATAP) and WebAIM with the hope of improving web accessibility for everyone.

Web accessibility is about reaching the broadest range of users regardless of age or disability. A web site can always be made more accessible, and thus, will always be inaccessible to someone. Guidelines, policies, and laws provide measures of accessibility that can be useful in establishing goals and in evaluating accessibility. Viewing web accessibility as a continuum on which improvement can always be made will help ensure that accessibility is continually improving and that it is about people, not merely compliance with law or guidelines.

Web accessibility affects the following disability categories
 Visual disabilities - blindness, low vision, and color-blindness
 Auditory disabilities - deafness and hard-of-hearing
 Motor disabilities - difficulty using a mouse or keyboard
 Cognitive or learning disabilities
 Photo-sensitive epilepsy

While care should be taken when grouping anyone into a category, when approaching web accessibility issues, it's often useful to consider the distinct needs of users with each of these types of disabilities.