Assistive Technology

Assistive Technology

The use of Assistive technology software will allow students with disabilities to have equal opportunity “level the playing field” for their academic success.

The Office of Disability Services (ODS), will provide assistive technology to students who have registered with the office with a documented disability. It is the students’ responsibility to inform their Disability Specialist what their specific technology request is and the justification for the use of this software.

Assistive Technology Training

The ODS offers trainings on assistive technologies. Please contact your Disability Specialist for assistance at 217-206-6666.

UIS provides qualified students with access to a variety of appropriate forms of assistive technology. Some of these technologies include: JAWS, Read & Write Gold, ZoomText, and Dragon Naturally Speaking.

A student can setup an assistive technology training by contacting their disability services Disability Specialist in the Office of Disability Services.

JAWS: Introduction

JAWS is a screen reader application that is primarily used by blind individuals. It is considered to be the industry standard, and a demonstration version of this product can be obtained from Freedom Scientific.

ZoomText

ZoomText Magnifier & Reader enlarges, enhances and reads information displayed on a computer screen, making all applications easy to access. It is a product of Ai Squired.

Read & Write Gold

Read & Write Gold is a speech to text product that can read embedded text in web sites, e-mails and text based documents. In addition to reading text, Read & Write Gold has a built in dictionary, thesaurus, note-taking tools, text summary and highlighting tools, and a built in web based visual mapping application. Get a better understanding of the product here.

Dragon Naturally Speaking

Dragon Naturally Speaking is a product by Nuance Communications that facilitates using one’s voice to dictate text into computer programs. It can also control aspects of the computer that would ordinarily require use of hands.