Assistive Technology in the Library
Equipment and Facilities
- Wheelchair-accessible:
- study desks
- computer workstations including a workstation with an electronic lift
- video viewing area
- circulation desk
- restrooms
- Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) for enlarging and viewing reading material.
- BookWise/Reading-Edge, an integrated, stand-alone reading machine for blind and visually impaired individuals.
Assistive Technology Software
Three Windows based computers are available with special software and capabilities for individuals who wish assistance. Not all software is installed on every computer. Locations:
To schedule an appointment to learn more about Assistive Technologies, please contact the Disability Resources front desk at (541) 463-5150
Inspiration 8 - by Inspiration Software
Inspiration®'s is the essential tool students rely on to plan, research and complete projects successfully.
With the integrated Diagram and Outline Views, they create graphic organizers and expand topics into writing. This powerful combination encourages learning in multiple modes. As a result, students gain and retain a better understanding of concepts and demonstrate knowledge, improving their performance across the curriculum.
- Visualize ideas, concepts and relationships - In Diagram View, students create graphic organizers — a core element of visual learning to analyze, compare and evaluate information. They quickly brainstorm new ideas with the RapidFire tool, search the symbol collection to find images to represent any concept, and insert and play multimedia files. To show relationships between ideas, students link symbols and add words to further clarify meaning.
- Improve writing proficiency - As they start the writing process, students use visually integrated notes to expand topics and switch to Outline View to further develop their ideas. The integrated Word Guide helps students choose words with more precision, and a contextual spell checker automatically identifies misspelled words.
- Plan and organize projects - Inspiration helps students organize information, develop thinking skills and demonstrate knowledge. Drag-and-drop actions and hyperlinks make it easy to gather research and connect to files and web resources. As students develop their projects, they use AutoArrange to automatically format their diagrams.
Natural Reader 7- by NaturalSoft
NaturalReader is a Text to Speech software with natural sounding voices. This easy to use software can convert any written text such as MS Word, Webpage, PDF files, and Emails into spoken words.
NaturalReader can also convert any written text into audio files such as MP3 or WAV for your CD player or iPod.
Wynn Wizard 5 - by Freedom Scientific
WYNN (What You Need Now) is the innovative literacy software tool designed to enhance success for individuals with reading challenges and writing difficulties. WYNN was developed with the help of special educators and individuals with learning difficulties such as dyslexia, dysgraphia and aphasia. By using a bi-modal approach - simultaneous highlighting of the text as it is spoken - WYNN transforms printed text into understandable information that benefits readers of all ages including English Language Learners (ELL), struggling readers and children with ADD (attention deficit disorder) or ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder).
AlphaBeam IR Receiver - by AlphaSmart
The AlphaSmart is a keyboarding device that enables a person to work on the go, much like a laptop computer, but it is strictly for word processing, as it functions essentially like a simple digital typewriter.
Jaws 11 - by Freedom Scientific
(With Dizzy reader training files on JAWS)
JAWS for Windows is a powerful accessibility solution that reads information on your screen using synthesized speech. JAWS provides many useful commands that make it easier to use programs, edit documents, and read Web pages. With a refreshable braille display, JAWS can also provide braille output in addition to, or instead of, speech.
FS Reader 2.0 - by Freedom Scientific
- Freedom Scientific's FSReader DAISY player software opens a world of accessible reading material for people who are blind or visually impaired. Used with Digital (D) Accessible (A) Information (I) System (SY) (DAISY)-formatted talking books, FSReader delivers a host of powerful navigation tools for reading.
- The majority of Freedom Scientific's training materials are now in DAISY format. With formats other than DAISY, such as audio cassette and CD, you could only navigate forward and backward in a linear fashion. The structure of FSReader allows you to navigate in much finer, smaller elements, such as the tree view of major headings, as well as by words, sentences, paragraphs, and so on. When text is available you can even perform searches and insert bookmarks! With FSReader and the DAISY format, navigation is much quicker and more efficient.
- There are many kinds of DAISY books, ranging from audio only to text only. Full text and full audio offers the fullest and richest reading experience.
- New beginning with JAWS 11 and MAGic 12, FSReader is no longer a demo but a fully functional DAISY reader that reads other DAISY books besides those created by Freedom Scientific. Now the full version of FSReader is included at no additional charge whenever you install JAWS or MAGic. PAC Mate users can find instructions on how to download and install FSReader from the downloads page of Freedom Scientific.
Openbook 7.0 - by Freedom Scientific
Making graphics-based text accessible to the visually impaired
OpenBook® converts printed documents or graphic-based text into an electronic text format on your PC, using quality speech and the latest optical character recognition (OCR) technology. Easy switching between the Nuance OmniPage® and ABBYY FineReader® OCR engines allows you to choose the OCR engine that works best for your particular use. You also can choose between two leading text-to-speech software synthesizers: RealSpeak™ Solo (natural, human-sounding voices) or Eloquence (efficient synthesized speech that often is preferred for editing and document skimming).
ZoomText 9.0 Magnifier - by Ai Squared
ZoomText Magnifier/Reader is a fully integrated magnification and screen reading program that enlarges, enhances and reads aloud everything on the computer screen.
