This week is Deaf Awareness Week (3rd– 9th May), and to mark the week we are bringing together some of the freely available software and apps available to staff and students at Warwick which can support anyone who is D/deaf or hard of hearing. You can find out more about D/deaf awareness by reading the Disability Taskforces ‘Let’s talk about D/deaf awareness’ and the accompanying frequently asked questions.
Inbuilt Apple / Microsoft Accessibility Features
Smart phones and computers now have accessibility features as standard, but you may not realise all that your device can offer. Apple and Microsoft provide in depth guidance on how you can adapt your device, including visual alerts, video subtitles and captions, video calling, and headphone and hearing aid accommodations to support your hearing needs.
Find out more via the Apple Accessibility and Microsoft Accessibility webpages.
My Computer My Way
AbilityNet’s ‘My Computer My Way’ is a web-based tool which provides step by step guidance on how you can adjust your device to suit your individual needs. Furthermore, they provide a wealth of information and personalised support options to ensure even those with limited digital confidence can maximise the use of their devices.
Visit ‘My Computer My way- Hearing’ to find out more.
Otter AI
Otter AI is a live transcription and note-taking software which is available for free if you register for a basic plan. You can record audio such as conversations, meetings, interviews and lectures to produce live transcriptions, and recordings can be played back at a later date. You can even sync transcriptions with Otter Live Notes allowing you to highlight, edit and search text and organise to folders.
You can find out more about how to download and access via the Library Productivity Tools, and Otter AI provides a Quick Start Guide and FAQ’s to help you get started. For any technical support you can visit the Otter AI Help Center.
WhatsApp/Facetime/Google Hangouts
Video calling features are now a standard for most smart phones and devices, and can help improve communication. Phone calls alone remove visual cues such a facial expressions, body language, gestures and mouth movements for lip-reading. By using video calling, more visual information is available for all callers which can help improve communication.
Teams
We are all using Teams much more since the move to Online, but did you know there are built in accessibility functions?
Teams can provide live captions and additional accessibility functions, which can improve your online experience. Similarly to skype and other video calling applications, the use of video with speech improves communication with visual cues, and the use of the chat box.