AssistiveTechnologySolutions

DEPARTMENTFOREDUCATIONANDCHILDDEVELOPMENT
OFFICEFORCHILDRENANDYOUNGPEOPLE

SPECIALEDUCATIONRESOURCEUNIT
72A Marlborough Street, Henley Beach SA 5022

ph 08 8235 2871
www.web.seru.sa.edu.au

f 08 8235 1907

admin@seru.sa.edu.au

Adjustmentsandaccommodationstosupportaccesstotext
Manystudentswithreadingdifficultiesexperienceanumberofbarrierstoreadingwhenparticipatinginthe
PremiersReadingChallenge.FlexibleaccommodationsincludeallowingstudentstoreadeBooks,audiobooks,
nonfictiontexts,booksinanotherlanguageandresearchforassignments.AssistiveReadingTechnologiescan
supportstudentswithreadingdifficultiestobemoreindependentandparticipatemorefullyinthePremiers
ReadingChallenge.Thisresourcedocumenthasbeencompiledtoassistteachersindeterminingtechnology
solutions.

HowdoAssistiveTechnologieshelp?
Assistive technologies are designed to provide additional accessibility to individuals who have physical or
cognitive difficulties, impairments, and disabilities. Specialised applications which support students with
readingdifficultieshavetexttospeechenginesthatreadoutthetextonthescreentothestudent.Manyof
theseprogramshighlighttheindividualwordsastheyareread.Thisallowsstudentstovisuallytrackthewords
being read out aloud. By using assistive technologies to support reading, students are able to tackle more
varied and challenging texts independently. Research (NEIRTEC 200; Hecker, L. Urquhart Engstrom, E. 2004)
showsthatemployingAssistiveReadingTechnologiessupportsstudentstoattendbettertotheirreadingwith
reduceddistractibility,readwithlessstressandfatigue,readforlongerperiodsoftime,completereadingin
lesstimeandbettercomprehendtext.

Whatisreadilyavailable?

Studentswithaprintdisabilitymayusetextsthathavebeenadaptedtomeetindividuallearningandliteracy
needs,includingBrailletexts,ebooks,talkingbooks,podcastsandbooksonDVDorCD.Manypublishedbooks
areavailableasdigitalbooksfromanumberofsources(freeandpaid).Theseareaccessedonline.

ONLINELIBRARIES
1) LibrariesofSAPubliclibrariesacrossSouthAustraliaofferalargecollectionofdownloadableeBooks
andAudiobooks.BorrowingisFREE!DownloadwirelesslytoacompatibleeReader,iPad,smartphone,
mp3player,PCorlaptop.Allthatisneededisavalidlibrarycard(joinatanypubliclibraryacrossSA),
adeviceandaninternetconnection.Moredetails:http://www.libraries.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=535

2) VisionAustralia'sInformationLibraryService(VAILS)providesfreeinformationandreadinginbraille,
andaudioforpeoplewithaprintdisabilityanywhereinAustralia.Accessibleviapostoronline.
iaccess Onlineallows library members to download a variety of audio and text DAISY books,
newspapers, magazines and podcasts, as well as braille books and braille music, directly to their
desktopsviatheinternet.

Aprintdisabilityincludes,aperson:
withoutsight,orwhosesightisseverelyimpaired;
withaperceptualdisabilitye.g.dyslexia,visualprocessingdisorder;
unabletoholdormanipulatebooks,ortofocusormoveeyese.g.MS,stroke

3) Bookshare.org is a service which can provide a reader with a print disability access to a a library of
syntheticvoiceDAISYandBrailleformatbooks.Ithasover13,500titles,andisavailablethroughVision
Australia. Ideal for students, keen nonfiction interest and recent titles. An annual subscription to
Bookshare also offers members access to assistive reading software applications that have high
qualityvoices.

Updated03/15

DEPARTMENTFOREDUCATIONANDCHILDDEVELOPMENT
OFFICEFORCHILDRENANDYOUNGPEOPLE

SPECIALEDUCATIONRESOURCEUNIT

NB:BookshareisanadditionalrangeoftextstoiaccessOnlinehttp://www.visionaustralia.org

HowcanyoureadBooksharebooks?
Listentobookswithhighqualitytexttospeechvoices
Hearandseehighlightedwordsonscreen
Readwithdigitalbrailleorenlargedfonts
Createphysicalbrailleorlargeprint
ReaddirectlyfromanInternetbrowser
UsetheappRead2Goandreadfromportabledevice.

4) Freeetextscanbeobtainedfromanumberofwebsites.Thislinkathttp://bit.ly/dY0B4jprovidesa
listingofover300websiteswhichhavefreeeBooks.Oneofthemostcomprehensiveoftheseweb
sites is Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/) a site containing over 48,000 titles. The
copyrightfreebooksareinsimpletextformat.Theetextfilescanbekeptintactorconvertedtoother
formatsincludingePubandKindle,andofferscloudstorageoptions.Thisgenreoftextmayappealto
readers who have previously not been able to access original classics (Alice in Wonderland,
HuckleberryFinn)becauseaccesstothesetextswasnotavailable.

eBookReaders
The"e"ineBookstandsforelectronic,meaningthebookisinanelectronicformat,asopposedtoatraditionalbook
printed on paper. Being electronic, eBooks can be accessed via computers using special software or portable
devicescalledeBookreaders.ThepagesofaneBookappearinprintonascreenwithpushbuttonsortouchscreen
gesturesusedtoturnthepages,placebookmarks,makenotesandsoon.

Whileatabletisnotessentialinreadinganebook,theydoallowfortheaccessibilityfeaturescontainedin
Android and iOS to be used to support the ereading experience. In addition, the tablet form factor and e
reading apps offer useful features such as a backlit screen and the ability to bookmark pages, make notes,
highlightandsaveselectedtext,changefontsizesandstyles,accessaninbuiltdictionaryandallowthebook
tobereadoutbythescreenreader.

Thefollowingarewellsupportedereadingdevicesthatalsocontainanumberofaccessibilityfeatures:
AppleiPadandiBooks
GoogleAndroidandPlayBooks
AmazonFireandKindleapp

Formoreinformationhttp://www.mediaaccess.org.au/digitaltechnology/ereaders.

TwoebookreaderappsalreadymentionedinthisarticleareRead2GoandOverDrive.Theyareofferedon
multipleportabledeviceplatforms.

The Read2Go appis an accessible ebook reader app for readers with print disabilities. Directly from within
theRead2Goapp,Booksharememberscanfind,download,andreadbooksallonasingledevice.Itoffershigh
qualitytextspeechwithdualhighlightingoftext(Americanvoiceonly).ThisapponlyworkswithaBookshare
account(criteriaforBooksharementionedabove).

http://read2go.org/

TheereaderappOverDriveiscompatiblewithmanyonlinelibraries,includingLibrariesSA.Youcanborrow
eBooks,audiobooks,andstreamvideo. eBook&Audiobookcatalogueathttp://sapln.lib.overdrive.com/

Updated03/15

DEPARTMENTFOREDUCATIONANDCHILDDEVELOPMENT
OFFICEFORCHILDRENANDYOUNGPEOPLE

SPECIALEDUCATIONRESOURCEUNIT

AccessibilityfeaturessupportingreadingoniOSdevices(iPad,iPodandiPhone)

Asmentionedabove,eBooksofferstudentsanaccessibleavenuetoengagewithappropriatebooks.Apples
iOSmobileplatforminparticular,providesanextensivearrayofaccessibilitysettingsthatcanaccommodatea
diverserangeoflearnerpreferencesandaccessrequirementsforindependentinteractionwithdigitalbooks.
(Sprialis,J2015,PremiersReadingChallengetheOCROption,http://www.sprialisconsulting.com/blog)

Afulldescriptionofaccessibilityfeaturescanbelocatedathttp://www.apple.com/accessibility.
Featuresspecifictosupportingaccesstotextinclude:

SpeakScreen
SpeakScreencanbeactivatedtoreadaloudanytextdisplayedonthescreen(books,webpages,emailsetc).
The release of iOS8 Speak Screen option now gives users the ability to have word definitions spoken out
aloud!Thevoicesdialectandspeakingrateareadjustableandwordsarehighlightedastheyarebeingread.
ToturnonSpeakScreenswipedownfromthetopwithtwofingers,orjusttellSiritoSpeakScreenandhave
all the content of the page read back to you. This option can be used in the ebook reader applications
mentionedinthisarticle(aswellasmanyotherthirdpartyapps)andhasmadereadingdigitalbooksoniOS
devicesmuchmoreaccessible.Toenablethisfeature:Settings>General>Accessibility>SpeakScreen

VoiceOver is a screen reader that lets user know what is happening on the iOS screen. Voice over is touch
activated,givingtheuseraninstantauditorymessagefromtheiOSdevice.Gesturesarealsousedtocontrol
thedevice.VoiceOverworkswithappsthatcomewiththeiOSdeviceandisparticularlyusefulforuserswitha
visionimpairment.
Settings>General>Accessibility>VoiceOver

Speakhelpswithreadingtextaswellasspeechdevelopmentbyspeakingwordsthatareread.Thisfeature
works in the ebook application iBooks, when books are in an ePub format, but does not work with other
ebookapplications.Italsosupportsreadingontheweb,emailsandforanytextthatcanbeselectedonthe
iOSdevices.
Settings>General>Accessibility>Speak

Dictionary definitions are integrated into iOS. The dictionary provides quick access to definitions and
commonly used phrases to help with reading, spelling, pronunciation, andgrammar. Speak Screen and
VoiceOverreadaloudthedictionarycontent.

Zoom
ZoomisabuiltinmagnifierthatworksanywhereontheiOSdeviceandwithallappsfromtheAppStore.Turn
Zoom on forfull screen or picture in picture mode, to allow the user to see the zoomed area in a separate
windowwhilekeepingtherestofthescreenatitsnativesize.Magnificationisadjustabletoaccessmultiple
filteroptionstosuitthereadersvisionneeds.Whilezoomedin,allthefamiliargesturestonavigatearound
thedevicecanstillbeused.
Settings>General>Accessibility>Zoom

Visit http://luisperezonline.com/portfolio/ for more information and tutorials on accessibility using iOS
devices.Thereisalinktohisyoutubechannelaswellasmanyotherrelevantresources.

Android also offers accessibility features. For information on Android accessibility options, visit
http://www.androidaccess.net

Moreinformationaboutebookreadersisalsoavailableathttp://www.visionaustralia.org/.

Updated03/15

DEPARTMENTFOREDUCATIONANDCHILDDEVELOPMENT
OFFICEFORCHILDRENANDYOUNGPEOPLE

SPECIALEDUCATIONRESOURCEUNIT

ReadingsupportwiththephysicalbookOCRoptions

TheoptionforadigitalversionofabookforthePRCmaynotalwaysbepossible.Mobiledevicescanbeusedtoinstantly
provide reading support when interacting with a physical book. This is achieved by utilizing Optical Character
Recognition (OCR) technology. This technology analyzes a photograph of text and converts it into digital text that can
thenbereadoutaloud.Thismeansthatastudentcouldbeholdingandreadingabook,useamobiledevicetotakea
photoofablockoftext,andinstantlyhearthattextbeingreadbacktothem.http://www.sprialisconsulting.com/blog

TherearemanyOCRappsavailablebutherearethreeoptionsforyoutoconsider:
Prizmo http://www.creaceed.com/iprizmo/about
OneofthemorepopularOCRapps,Prizmooffersaonebuttoncaptureandreadprocess.Thisis
particularlyusefulwhenareaderwouldliketoreadanumberofpagesfromadocumentwithout
interruption.

ClaroSpeakPlushttp://www.claroapps.com/clarospeak/
This includes access to high quality voices, an extensive range of personalisation settings for
reading,andtheabilitytoeditandspellchecktoincreasethelevelofaccuracyofthedocument.
Theresultingscancanalsobesavedasanaudiofile.

Knfb Reader http://www.knfbreader.com

KnfbReaderisbyfarthemostadvancedOCRappavailable.Ithasextremelypositivereviewsfrom
the blind and vision impaired community for its ability to accurately handle a wide variety of
document styles and formats. Though highly priced incomparison to other OCR apps, its superior
accuracy and functionality are essential reasons why an individual with a print disability would
choosetoutilisethisapp.

FormoreinformationaboutOCRapplications,visithttp://www.sprialisconsulting.com/blog.

Many resources are available to borrow at the Special Education Resource Unit (SERU), including Assitive
Technology, for Trial and Evaluation purposes. For more information about SERU and how to register, visit
http://web.seru.sa.edu.au,orcontactSERUbyphoneoremail(detailsbelow).
NB:DECDemployeesandallfamiliesofchildren/youngpeople(Bto12)withadisabilityorlearningdifficulty
areeligibleborrowers.

Thisarticlewascompiledby:
CandiceFiegert
SpecialEducationResourceUnit(SERU)
ProjectOfficerLearning,CommunicationandTechnology.
candice.fiegert324@schools.sa.edu.au

FormoreinformationonanyoftheAssistiveTechnologyoptionsmentionedinthisarticle,pleasecontact
SERUph:0882352871e:admin@seru.sa.edu

72AMarlboroughStreet,HenleyBeachSA5022

Websitesusedinthisarticlehavebeencitedthroughout.Theyarelistedbelowforeasyaccess.
http://www.apple.com/accessibility
http://luisperezonline.com/portfolio/
http://www.visionaustralia.org/
http://www.sprialisconsulting.com/blog
http://web.seru.sa.edu.au
http://www.mediaaccess.org.au/
https://www.bookshare.org/cms
http://www.libraries.sa.gov.au/
http://www.androidaccess.net

Updated03/15