Earlier this month, WATAP’s Assistive Technology Specialists,
Maria Kelley and Gaby de Jongh, were busy presenting on the built-in
accessibility features of Windows 8 on the Surface tablet. The trainings
included how to locate and initiate the Ease of Access programs and address
situations where using the built-in features would be appropriate for consumers
with disabilities. Two back-to-back presentations were held at the SW
Washington Special Education conference with 30 parents and educators from the
south west part of the state. At the NW
Washington Assistive Technology Interest Group meeting thirty two K-12 and
higher education professionals from the northern part of the state learned how
accessibility of Widows 8 could benefit their students.
For a number of the participants, learning that these free
options were available in the operating system they already used was great
news. Our AT Specialists answered questions from educators and parents on how
to utilize the magnification and high contrast features in conjunction with
other software programs for individuals with low vision. One educator wanted
specific information on how Narrator, Windows built-in screen reader, could be beneficial
for an individual with a learning disability. Our AT Specialists were able to
provide her with information about how she could use speech output as an
alternative method for accessing printed material.
One individual shared their own experience with built-in
Speech Recognition, and how they were able to use dictation for composing
emails and editing documents as they were unable to use a keyboard effectively
due to suffering a sprained wrist. When one of our AT Specialists asked if they
used Speech Recognition to launch programs and navigate around the screen using
their voice instead of a mouse, the individual didn’t realize the program had
that capability but was excited to try it out.
The built-in accessibility features of the Windows Operating
system have successively improved with each iteration. And while many third
party software programs offer accessibility where there may not have been
before, the built-in features make it more cost effective and available for
everyone to use.
