YouTube clip (1hr 20mins)
Take-Aways from the Video
- Natural Reader :– https://www.naturalreaders.com/ upload text or documents to be read back or played on an mp3 player
- Audible on Alexa – ” Play my book” command will play any audible book that is published on Kindle app.
- Easy Reader app – https://yourdolphin.com/en-gb/products/individuals/easyreader-app
- vBookz – PDF reader in 17 languages ! https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/vbookz-pdf-voice-reader/id489447533
- ReadWrite (by TextHelp) – https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/readwrite-for-google-chro/inoeonmfapjbbkmdafoankkfajkcphgd
- My Email (Alexa Skill) – use your voice to write emails
- “The Smyles Podcast” – http://smyles.podbean.com
Useful Websites
http://abilitynet.org.uk – AbilityNet helping elderly and disabled people
http://bataonline.org – British Assistive Technology Association
Tip 1
Get organised – lots of tools out there that can help you work more efficiently – more collaboratively.
Having trouble remembering that password? Go to your emails and search for the item by its title and find out what email address you used. Then search for your joining up email, Then you can either see the password or have a reset of it.
Google stores passwords ( if you want it too) and you can then search and access them ( with your google account password) so that you can see the password you set.
Alternatively keep a hidden file on passwords or use 1Password
Trello – is a project tool that helps you collaborate and inform on products.
1Password – is a subscription based password storing tool on iOS, Android, Windows,MAC. It will store your passwords and with biometrics keeps your passwords secure
Tip 2
Use the assistive technology that is under your nose! ( well, not literally your nose but near to hand)
Google has some great tools for making your computer more easier to use. Use your bookmarks and bookmark bar on google to keep the most frequent sites available to you. Managing the information flow is a key 21st Century skill so having folders that you organise and keep information is essential to a tidy desktop and tidy mind.
Google Docs has voice typing so you don’t even have to type you can use the voice
Oh, and what’s that mike icon in the search window on google for? That’s right voice searching. A boom to dyslexics.
Microsoft Word on Microsoft 365 and Office 2016 and 2019 have the immersive reader on the View Tab and the dictate button on the Home Tab. The later lets you input with your voice, Did you know using your voice is 50% faster than typing? And the former has text to speech that reads it back to you.
Question : How do you change Word’s languages?
Screenshots of where to find the language tools
Tip 3
Do the job once and share it many times and in many ways!
What do you mean do the job once. I see people writing out by hand and then typing it in laboriously. If you uses software like Sticky Notes or Post-it Notes ( there is a delightful app for that) then you can save it as a Jpeg (picture), PDF ( a book) or something else. You might need a mobile or tablet to do this. But I use sticky notes to have my agenda handy for when I am delivering a talk or need to minute something or remind me to do something.
Having hyperlinks in your documents or on a website can make it easier for people to find what you are talking about.
Oh, and it saves time rather than doing a separate task like taking a photo or screenshot then putting it into a word document that you save as a PDF. In word you can do that and make your wonderful information accessible on any machine. That leads to Tip 4….
Tip 4
Use browser bookmarks to pass on information quickly to others.
It’s quicker to click on a link than try to remember the website. You can copy and paste and popin an email.
Sharing videos? Don’t use an email attachment. They are often failing as the file size is too great, No use Google Drive or Dropbox or OneDrive and store your videos, photographs there and post a link. Remember to make a shareable link that doesn’t require a login to access. Test the link first. It’s amazing how much time and frustration that tip saves!
Tip 5
Plan your social media – it’s not about your events, activities. It’s about engaging with others on topics of concern and getting your name( brand) known.
Most people, myself included just thought that social media was a way to get people to look at your website, your event you are putting on, etc.
No, the main thing is to push your name out there by doing all the above but also doing the following:-
- entering into conversations via twitter about what you think or your company thinks about topics of concern. This gets you known
- drip, drip little items of interest from your website on a regular basis
- answer tweets, and use hashtags #useyourhashtag so that you can follow the conversation others are also having and relate to them.
In other words – you get what you put in and an occasional tweet or Facebook post just isn’t going to make cut it!
There are more things but do follow me on LinkedIN where professionals are going to have those kind of conversations. Alternatively, if you want to know more about Assistive Technology going to my Facebook page.
Finally, if there is one thing you might have picked up from this short little blogpost is the power of hyperlinks and the hashtag #longlivetheashtag!
AccessAbility Solutions 