Advice service
The University has dedicated staff to help students with their research in the library and getting the most out of the assistive technology available. For particular meetings or advice, please book an appointment through the LIS Helpdesk or through Student Futures Support - Disability and Inclusion.
Commercial Software
The University has purchased site licenses for the following software which are available on computers in the Universitys' open access areas and libraries.
Freeware or Open source Software
The following software is free to use, instructions are in the links. Some of the owners offer full featured versions for a price.
Accessibility in common Software
The following software is free to use on University computers and has many accessibility features.
- Acrobat Reader - Adobe (High Contrast, Read Aloud, Zoom, Add Notes).
- Office - Microsoft (Accessibility Checker, Speak Selected Text option).
Integrated Accessibility Software
The following applications are integrated in the common operating systems.
Loan of Digital Equipment
The University has a stock of digital equipment which can be loaned to students for an extended period. This could be while the student is awaiting DSA funding or their own equipment is currently being repaired. The equipment available to loan includes:
- Windows notebooks and laptops (with Read&Write Gold and MindView installed).
- MacBooks Pro.
- Dictaphones including editing software.
- Specific commercial software such as ZoomText, JAWS, SuperNova and Dragon Naturally Speaking, if required.
What do you want to do?
The following table lists some common computer tasks and, in the subsequent columns, suggests apps that can be used to complete the tasks.
| Task | Inclusive, Open source or free Software | Installed on Open access and library computers | Commercial Software |
|---|---|---|---|
| Browse Web | My Study Bar (ATbar) | Read&Write Gold | Read&Write Gold |
| Change Contrast | Ease of Access | Read&Write Gold and Ease of Access | Read&Write Gold and SuperNova |
| Converting File Formats | Robobraille | Microsoft WORD, Robobraille and Adobe Acrobat Professional | Microsoft WORD and Adobe Acrobat Professional |
| Converting image to text (OCR) | Robobraille | Robobraille and Adobe Acrobat Professional | Adobe Acrobat Professional |
| Dictate Text | Windows, Mac and Google | Dragon Naturally Speaking | |
| Dictionary | Internet Browser | Read&Write Gold and Internet Browser | Read&Write Gold |
| Magnify screen | Windows, Mac and My Study Bar | My Study Bar | ZoomText and SuperNova |
| Predictive Text | My Study Bar(Dicom) | Read&Write Gold and My Study Bar(Dicom) | Read&Write Gold |
| Read screen | Windows, Mac, My Study Bar (Thunder) and NVDA | My Study Bar (Thunder) and Read&Write Gold | Read&Write Gold, ZoomText, JAWS and SuperNova |
| Read pdf documents aloud | My Study Bar (ATBar) and NVDA | Adobe Acrobat Reader and Read&Write Gold | Read&Write Gold, ZoomText, JAWS and SuperNova |
| Read WORD documents aloud | My Study Bar (ATBar) and NVDA | Microsoft WORD and Read&Write Gold | Read&Write Gold, ZoomText, JAWS and SuperNova |
| Voice Commands | Windows and Mac | Dragon Naturally Speaking | |
| Use Windows Hot Keys | Windows Hot Keys | Windows Hot Keys |
Contact us
Assistive Technologies Team
Learning and Information Services
University of Chester
Email: assistive-technologies@chester.ac.uk