Changing lives one person at a time with assistive technology
Yes, just a few more weeks before speaking at The Dyslexia Show event on “The use of assistive technology in the classroom and the workplace” on Friday 24th March at 12:00pm. I have a few announcements to make that are really exciting as well. I can’t say too much now, but it involves a couple of projects I have been working on over the past few months. So why not come along? There are a multitude of speakers and opportunities to learn and network at the event. Click here to register
I am looking forward to attending this important event that was such a success last year. Especially as we were just coming out of COVID then. I can truly recommend the show which is free to attend but sessions will be charged for.
My subject will be :-
“The use of Assistive Technology in the Classroom and the Workplace”
It’s a wide ranging topic and will cover both what hardware and software is being used as well as what might be useful to consider to put into practice. Free and costing apps and software will be showed and demonstrated.
So why not book your place now at https://dyslexiashow.co.uk
If you want to listen to content on the days then please use this Spotify link
I am speaking at this event on Friday 13th January 2023 at 1:00pm. Contact https://www.dyslexialondon.org/contact-us/ to book your place.
Up to now I have not taken much attention to Dark Themes for my devices. I first encountered them on Android devices where you can turn the whole device from a white background to black fonts to black backgrounds with white fonts over the whole system.
Microsoft have introduced this to Microsoft 365 . To turn your device PC or other devices into a dark theme for Microsoft Office 365 go to Options and select Dark under themes. This doesn’t turn the whole PC into a dark theme but will do this for any Microsoft product. And it does it across all the apps instantly. If you don’t like the effect then you can switch it off easily enough by reversing the process.
Effect on Visual Impairment
Quite by chance whilst working with visual impaired clients I found that adding this feature reduced headaches and made the text clearer to navigate than the traditional white background . If this is the case its worth trying with your visually impaired clients yourself.
What’s the cost?
Nothing. It’s part of your Microsoft 365 package. It might be worth trying for other types of need such as Dyslexia. Does it help with their need? Let me know on this blog post.
Many people believe they should run only the latest software on a new laptop. I had a client who was running Offcie 2013 on their new Windows 11 laptop. It’s been running for months now with no hiccups today where the machine got into a pickle and stopped loading Office 2013. It was showing there was no word running so after a search on the internet I did get lucky and found this article which solved the problem. The registry was giving false information so removing the date using this method enbale the program to run again. You have to log back into Microsoft 2013 and then it will run again.
Here are the instructions for all versions of Word:-
To delete the Word Data registry subkey, follow these steps:
If Word starts and works correctly, you have resolved the problem (a damaged Word Data registry key). You may now have to change several settings to restore your favorite options in Word.
If the problem is not resolved, restore the original Word Data registry subkey, and then try the next option.
NB Do not try this if you are not confident or not sure that is the problem
Synapptics provide assistive technology for the blind and partially sighted. They have revamped their website and on it is a large selection of training materials in different formats for the blind. I include a link here do take a look especially if you know anyone who is a user of the software,
A feature of Windows 11 that may not be well known is that Vocie Access in Accessiblity . It does not require internet which is a great help to schools using Microsoft Word and struggle with a consistent internet connection or using voice input in exams. A stripped down Word can then be used with voice input at no additional cost.
AccessAbility Solutions 