Libraries and Learning Skills
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We have a number of assistance items available at the university libraries which can be issued through your Learning Support Plan with authorisation from Student Wellbeing:
Please ask for the equipment at any Library help desk.
We offer a selection of assistive technologies and support on how to use them for studying.
What are Screen Readers and why are they useful
Screen readers are an assistive technology that can aid those with visual impairments or other issues reading digital text on screen. The screen reader reads aloud the text on screen, alleviating some of the difficulties you may experience when reading the text visually. Screen readers often come with various accessibility features that allow you to personalise and tailor the experience to your needs, such as by changing the speed of the voice or accessing the content on screen solely with the use of a keyboard.
The following guide recommends some of the most common free screen readers for different devices. We have also highlighted some of the issues you might experience when using a screen reader with our most popular e-book resources.
Screen Readers - Screen Readers and Accessibility - Guides at University of Lincoln
After upgrading to macOS Catalina, follow these steps to turn on Voice Control:
Dictation lets you use speech-to-text to author content in Office with a microphone and reliable internet connection. Use your voice to quickly create documents, emails, notes, presentations, or even slide notes.
Available for Word for Microsoft 365, Outlook for Microsoft 365, PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, Word for Microsoft 365, for Mac PowerPoint, for Microsoft 365, for Mac Word for the web, OneNote for the web, Word for iPhone and Word for Android phone.
Voice-In is a free browser plug-in for Chrome for voice typing.
Alternatively, scroll with the wheel of your mouse whilst holding down the control key. This will Zoom the page in or out.
By default, computers display fonts at the normal size of 100%. You can customise this setting by increasing the percentage from 125% to 500%.
Go to: Start > Settings > System > Display > Scale and Layout > Change the size of text, apps and other items
To enlarge screen data without changing the screen resolution you can use simple keyboard shortcuts to zoom in and out, select the following keys to operate this function:
On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Accessibility.
macOS accessibility features are grouped by category in the sidebar of the preference pane:
Vision: Use these features to zoom in on the screen, make the pointer or menu bar bigger, apply colour filters and more. Or have your Mac speak what’s on the screen. Visit macOS accessibility features for vision.
Hearing: Use these features to show and customise captions on the screen, make and receive Real-Time Text (RTT) calls, and more. Visit macOS accessibility features for hearing.
Motor: Use these features to control your Mac and apps using spoken commands, the Tab key, an on-screen keyboard, the pointer or assistive devices. You can also set options that make it easier to use a mouse and trackpad. Visit macOS accessibility features for mobility.
General: Use these features to easily turn various accessibility features on or off, and to type your Siri requests. Visit macOS general accessibility features.