{"id":8144,"date":"2020-04-28T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-28T08:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/?p=8144"},"modified":"2020-04-23T10:15:31","modified_gmt":"2020-04-23T09:15:31","slug":"accessibility-tips-digital-accessibility-tools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2020\/04\/28\/accessibility-tips-digital-accessibility-tools\/","title":{"rendered":"Accessibility tips: Digital accessibility tools"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2020\/01\/My-Post-1024x683.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8145\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2020\/01\/My-Post-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2020\/01\/My-Post-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2020\/01\/My-Post-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2020\/01\/My-Post-100x67.png 100w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2020\/01\/My-Post-150x100.png 150w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2020\/01\/My-Post-200x133.png 200w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2020\/01\/My-Post-450x300.png 450w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2020\/01\/My-Post-600x400.png 600w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2020\/01\/My-Post-900x600.png 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>When teaching and learning is happening online the accessibility of digital materials and activities is more important than ever. This post is part of a series of Accessibility Tips to help you make your digital materials accessible. There are more great tips in our <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/accessibility\">Digital Accessibility Toolkit<\/a>. Previous posts in this series look at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2020\/03\/03\/accessibility-tips-inclusive-design\/\">Inclusive design<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2020\/03\/06\/accessibility-tips-creating-accessible-resources\/\">Creating accessible resources<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2020\/03\/10\/accessibility-tips-check-accessibility\/\">Checking accessibility<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2020\/03\/17\/accessibility-tips-mobile-accessibility\/\">Mobile accessibility<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This post focuses on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/accessibility\/accessibility-tools\">list of tools<\/a> in the  <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/accessibility\">Digital Accessibility Toolkit<\/a> which can be used by students with specific learning differences.  Many of the listed tools would be useful to anyone and the majority have free versions. You can filter the list to find the right tools for your needs, based on the device(s) you want to use and the cost.  A more exhaustive list of tools is available on the <a href=\"http:\/\/diversityandability.com\">DnA (diversity and ability)<\/a> website.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"594\" height=\"310\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2020\/01\/2020-01-14_1428.png\" alt=\"screenshot of the filters showing Platform, Purpose and Cost.\" class=\"wp-image-8147\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2020\/01\/2020-01-14_1428.png 594w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2020\/01\/2020-01-14_1428-300x157.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2020\/01\/2020-01-14_1428-100x52.png 100w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2020\/01\/2020-01-14_1428-150x78.png 150w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2020\/01\/2020-01-14_1428-200x104.png 200w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2020\/01\/2020-01-14_1428-450x235.png 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2>Organisation and planning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You can help keep your work on track and reduce your stress levels by using a to-do app such as <a href=\"https:\/\/trello.com\/en-GB\">Trello<\/a> for organising tasks and mind mapping software like <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/its\/services\/software\/list?filter=pc_staff&amp;id=349\">Mindview<\/a> for notes, planning and more. You can read more about these two digital tools in our post \u2018<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2019\/05\/28\/the-organisational-tools-i-rely-on\/\">The organisational tools I rely on<\/a>\u2019. Trello has a free version that would be enough for most users and the university provides Mindview to all staff and students.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Reading<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Students and staff will spend considerable amounts of time reading, and there are some great tools to help. To modify your screen\u2019s display to reduce eye-strain, try <a href=\"https:\/\/justgetflux.com\/\">F.lux<\/a> which will adjust the display colour temperature according to location and time of day. Students and staff at Sussex can also use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/library\/using-the-library\/reformat\">Sensus Access<\/a> to automatically convert documents into a range of alternate media.You can read more about this in our post <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2019\/11\/26\/alternative-formats-made-easy-with-sensusacesss\/\">Alternative formats made easy with SensusAccess<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Writing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Microsoft and Google both allow you to speak your writing. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/its\/services\/software\/owncomputer\/office\">Office 365<\/a>, which is provided free to all staff and students at Sussex, lets you <a href=\"https:\/\/support.office.com\/en-us\/article\/dictate-your-documents-d4fd296e-8f15-4168-afec-1f95b13a6408\">dictate into Word, OneNote, and PowerPoint<\/a>. Google Docs allows users to <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/docs\/answer\/4492226?hl=en\">create text using voice commands<\/a> with a free Google account.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Tools you have to pay for<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are other tools that are not free, but which are very useful for a range of needs. Some funding is available for paid-for tools through the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/disabled-students-allowances-dsas\">Disabled Student Allowance (DSA)<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarosoftware.com\/\">Claroread<\/a> can read any on-screen text out loud to help students to read, write, study, and sit exams, while the <a href=\"https:\/\/chrome.google.com\/webstore\/detail\/readwrite-for-google-chro\/inoeonmfapjbbkmdafoankkfajkcphgd?hl=en\">Read &amp; Write<\/a> Chrome extension offers a range of support tools to help users gain confidence with reading, writing, studying and research.&nbsp;For note-taking and writing <a href=\"https:\/\/sonocent.com\/audio-notetaker\">Audio Notetaker (Sonoscent)<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nuance.com\/dragon\/dragon-for-pc\/home-edition.html\">Dragon (Dictate)<\/a> are worth looking at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Students can get more advice and guidance on selecting and using assistive and accessible learning technologies from the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/srac\/\">Sussex Regional Access Centre<\/a> and staff wanting advice on making their teaching materials accessible can contact <a href=\"mailto:tel@sussex.ac.uk\">tel@sussex.ac.uk<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon sd-sharing\"><h3 class=\"sd-title\">Share this:<\/h3><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-twitter\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-twitter-8144\" class=\"share-twitter sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2020\/04\/28\/accessibility-tips-digital-accessibility-tools\/?share=twitter\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Twitter\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-facebook\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-facebook-8144\" class=\"share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2020\/04\/28\/accessibility-tips-digital-accessibility-tools\/?share=facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Facebook\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-tumblr\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-tumblr sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2020\/04\/28\/accessibility-tips-digital-accessibility-tools\/?share=tumblr\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Tumblr\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-print\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-print sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2020\/04\/28\/accessibility-tips-digital-accessibility-tools\/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to print\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to print (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-pinterest\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-pinterest-8144\" class=\"share-pinterest sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2020\/04\/28\/accessibility-tips-digital-accessibility-tools\/?share=pinterest\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Pinterest\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-pocket\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-pocket sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2020\/04\/28\/accessibility-tips-digital-accessibility-tools\/?share=pocket\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Pocket\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When teaching and learning is happening online the accessibility of digital materials and activities is more important than ever. This post is part of a series of Accessibility Tips to help you make your digital materials accessible. There are more<span class=\"ellipsis\">&hellip;<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2020\/04\/28\/accessibility-tips-digital-accessibility-tools\/\">Read more &#8250;<\/a><\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon sd-sharing\"><h3 class=\"sd-title\">Share this:<\/h3><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-twitter\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-twitter-8144\" class=\"share-twitter sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2020\/04\/28\/accessibility-tips-digital-accessibility-tools\/?share=twitter\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Twitter\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-facebook\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-facebook-8144\" class=\"share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2020\/04\/28\/accessibility-tips-digital-accessibility-tools\/?share=facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Facebook\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-tumblr\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-tumblr sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2020\/04\/28\/accessibility-tips-digital-accessibility-tools\/?share=tumblr\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Tumblr\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-print\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-print sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2020\/04\/28\/accessibility-tips-digital-accessibility-tools\/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to print\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to print (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-pinterest\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-pinterest-8144\" class=\"share-pinterest sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2020\/04\/28\/accessibility-tips-digital-accessibility-tools\/?share=pinterest\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Pinterest\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-pocket\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-pocket sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2020\/04\/28\/accessibility-tips-digital-accessibility-tools\/?share=pocket\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Pocket\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[36,1],"tags":[36,157044,157038,98320],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4IWEK-27m","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8248,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2020\/03\/10\/accessibility-tips-check-accessibility\/","url_meta":{"origin":8144,"position":0},"title":"Accessibility tips: Check accessibility","date":"10th March 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"In the latest of our \u2018Accessibility Tips\u2019 blog posts I will be looking at some quick and easy ways that you can check that the digital materials you produce\u00a0meet the\u202flegislation requirements\u202fand provide an improved learning environment for all. You can read more about digital accessibility in the\u00a0Digital Accessibility toolkit.\u00a0 Use\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Accessibility&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2020\/02\/2020-02-28_1117.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4453,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2016\/07\/26\/developing-accessible-web-content\/","url_meta":{"origin":8144,"position":1},"title":"Developing accessible web content","date":"26th July 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"In our recent post Making learning accessible through technology, Tab Betts (@MrTabKey) took us through some valuable tools that promote inclusivity, productivity and help overcome what are for some significant barriers to learning. A growing range of free content creation tools (e.g. Wordpress) and intuitive social media platforms (e.g Facebook)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Accessibility&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2016\/07\/drdavidsloan-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8313,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2020\/05\/19\/accessibility-tips-considering-user-needs\/","url_meta":{"origin":8144,"position":2},"title":"Accessibility tips: considering user needs","date":"19th May 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Students may have a range of different accessibility needs, so it\u2019s important to be aware of these varying needs and some of the key considerations to ensure that all students have access. This can include the teaching materials you produce, how you organise and run seminars \/ lectures and how\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Accessibility&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2020\/05\/My_Post-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8748,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2021\/06\/22\/the-top-tel-blog-posts-in-2020-21\/","url_meta":{"origin":8144,"position":3},"title":"The top TEL blog posts in 2020\/21","date":"22nd June 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s been a year (plus) like no other, but now the academic year is ending there\u2019s a chance for some reflection. I was interested to see whether the number of views of posts on the TEL blog could tell us anything about what has been interesting to our readers in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology Enhanced Learning&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7831,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2019\/06\/25\/getting-ready-for-september-with-tel\/","url_meta":{"origin":8144,"position":4},"title":"Getting ready for September with TEL","date":"25th June 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Summer is here, but before we know it students will be arriving to begin the 2019-20 academic year. Before then, teaching staff will want to prepare their Canvas modules and related materials. To support staff during this process Technology Enhanced Learning have created two new sets of resources and are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Accessibility&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2019\/06\/thought-catalog-214785-unsplash.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8228,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2020\/03\/06\/accessibility-tips-creating-accessible-resources\/","url_meta":{"origin":8144,"position":5},"title":"Accessibility Tips: Creating accessible resources","date":"6th March 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"It might feel daunting to create an accessible document from scratch. Luckily with just a few good design principles you can create wonderfully accessible documents in just a few simple steps. Making documents accessible isn\u2019t about making everything the same and restricting creativity, it\u2019s about creating a document that is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Accessibility&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2020\/02\/unnamed.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8144"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8144"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8298,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8144\/revisions\/8298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}