For persons with visual disabilities, accessing the outside world often requires accommodations, strategies, and technology. And while strategies and accommodations can be relatively easily put in place, lack of access to vision-correcting technology is still an issue for many individuals. The reason for this is simple: cost. For example, there are wearable devices for blind users that provide real time color and product information, face recognition, and more. This device, called the OrCam MyEye is an incredible piece of technology, but with a price tag of around $5,000, this technology is not affordable for everyone. So then that begs the question, what’s out there that is actually affordable for persons with visual disabilities?

NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) is a free, open-source screen reader for Windows that has been in development since 2006. If you are not aware, a screen reader is a piece of technology that helps individuals with visual impairments access and interact with digital content like websites or applications via audio or touch prompts. Users control what is read by moving the cursor to the relevant area of text with a mouse or by using the arrows on a keyboard.

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On episode 8, we are joined once again by AT researcher and life-long assistive technology user Nakia Singh. In this episode, we talk about some of our favorite back to school apps, making friends with AI, apps for math, and Seaver’s recent experiences in joining the partially sighted community.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Anchor, Spotify, or Google Podcasts.

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We’ve looked at a couple math calculator and equation breakdown apps in the past, but today we are going to look at a math app that instead focuses on building mathematical foundations. Montessori Numbers is a visual math app designed for children aged 3-7, and it offers a wide range of guided math activities that are designed to conform to common core standards.

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Text-to-speech apps allow users to quickly absorb articles, documents, emails, and virtually anything else found online. Of course, students and professionals aren’t the only ones who benefit from text-to-speech applications. Persons with disabilities including those with dyslexia, dysgraphia, visual impairments, and more, can all benefit from this alternative approach to reading.

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Imagine you’re a highly visual learner, and your math instructor’s teaching style isn’t working for you. You’ve gone for extra help, but you just can’t wrap your brain around these new concepts. Many of us have been there, but the good news is there are now plenty of apps available that are designed to provide alternative means of instruction.

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In 2022, if you want to stay informed and connected to the outside world, being digitally literate is essential. This is especially true for those who are still participating in the work force, as most job opportunities, work environments, and means of companywide communication is online. And while Neil Squire offers free digital literacy training for persons with disabilities, there are also other free options available right now that shouldn’t be ignored. These resources are well-crafted, searchable, and have been used by millions of users.

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The internet in 2022 is like a digital version of the wild west, it’s vast, open-ended, and as full of opportunities as it is danger. That being said, there are measures that can be taken to ensure that one’s browsing experience is as safe as possible, and today, we are going to look into those measures in a bit more detail. And while this guide is especially aimed for those who are fairly new to or don’t have much experience browsing the internet, experienced users might also learn a thing or two.

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If you’re using the internet in 2022, chances are you’ve already heard of Microsoft’s email platform (and successor to Hotmail), Outlook. The platform is quick, efficient, and easy to use, and generally does everything an email service should. Plus, the Outlook is especially helpful for anyone who operates within the Microsoft/Microsoft 365 environment, because of how well it integrates with the other apps under that umbrella such as Teams. Today, we’re going to look at a few tips, tricks, and interesting features that not every Outlook user may be aware of. Hopefully even veteran users will learn something new today!

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Do you find yourself often running out of hard drive space? Have you noticed that your computer has begun to slow down significantly after owning it for a couple of years? Taking advantage of free, cloud-based storage is a great way to maximize your overall digital storage potential, and to prevent you from having to spend money on a bigger hard drive, USB sticks, external hard drives, etc. That being said, you may have noticed that there are quite a few options to choose from! In an effort to better understand these options, we’re going to compare and contrast the top four cloud-based services available today.

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Within a relatively short period of time Microsoft Teams has seen widespread adoption across schools, business, and groups across the globe, and for good reason. The platform is free, easy-to-use, and offers plenty of accessibility features for individuals across a wide spectrum of backgrounds, learning styles, and abilities. And while the app does a great job of pointing users to its many useful features, there is so much to explore within Teams that we thought we’d create a list of some tips and features for Microsoft Teams that you may not know about.

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