Assistive technologies

What are ‘assistive technologies’?

Assistive technologies are digital tools, specialist software and equipment that can help you increase your productivity when studying. Examples:

  • Text to speech tools that read text aloud.
  • Font and colour options to match your vision.

Looking for a specific tool?

Our recommended resource is Ability Net’s My Computer My Way which provides simple ‘how to’ guides to make your device easier to use. 

Built-in features

Your operating system

Use your operating system’s settings to ensure your device is set-up correctly for you. All devices have options relating to the display, keyboard, voice control and more.

Your internet browser

Tools for PDFs

Acrobat Reader has accessibility features including a Read Aloud feature and an option to change the background colour when reading a PDF. See: Adobe Acrobat Accessibility Features

Some browsers accessibility features also work with PDFs. For example, if you open a PDF in Microsoft Edge, you can use its Read Aloud function.

Using PowerPoint files

PowerPoint files provided as part of your course should be digitally accessible, but you may want to adjust them for your own viewing preference.

Other free tools

There are many free and paid-for assistive technologies. We aren’t endorsing these specific tools but you may like to explore their free versions: 

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