Accessibility Technology

There is a wealth of accessible technology available to help you maintain your independence and live life as you want to. We can help you find out more about how technology can work for you.

large text mobile phone

 

The Mobile Technology Peer Support Group has been set up to bring interested MySight York members together on a regular basis, so that they can:

 

  • Find out about different pieces of available mobile technology by sharing their knowledge and experience with other members and learning from each other

 

  • Feel confident in being able to use these pieces of mobile technology in different situations by having the chance to have a go

 

  • Give their views / feedback on how these different pieces of mobile technology did / did not make a difference to removing barriers in their day-to-day activities.

 

One of the members of the group is also able to offer one-to-one sessions on Apple products. Contact us on 01904 636269 for more information.

 

Hints and Tips

RNIB Podcast

The RNIB produce a Tech Talk podcast with useful information about accessible technology

 

Voiceover

Voiceover is Apple’s accessibility option which allows you to hear what is written on the screen.

The Hadley Institute for the Blind have an excellent series of instructional lessons online on many aspects of using VoiceOver here

This is a useful podcast to get you started

Or for an introduction to Voiceover click here

There are a couple of books: There’s Anna Dresner’s book, “Getting Started with the iPhone”

or

“iOS Access for All” by Shelly Brisbane available from itunes

Alternatively you can  learn using an app

New Apps

Be My Eyes: Bringing Sight to Blind and Low-vision People

If you haven’t already downloaded the Be My Eyes app, you definitely should. The free app – available on both iOS and Android devices – pairs you with a sighted volunteer through a live video connection. The volunteer can help you with anything that requires sighted assistance – just point your camera towards the subject of your call.

Be My Eyes was founded in Denmark by Hans Jørgen Wiberg, who is visually impaired himself. Through his work for the Danish Association of the Blind, he got the idea of using video technology for sighted assistance combined with a network of sighted volunteers. More than 1.5 million volunteers comprise the global network of the Be My Eyes app. They are able to assist in more than 180 languages and are available whenever you want and as often as you need. Be My Eyes is great for reading labels on food items, organizing belongings, finding lost items and even trickier tasks like navigating through a new place or choosing an outfit to wear. You can learn a lot more about Be My Eyes, how to use it, and how to get started in their getting started guide.

 

iDentifi

There is a great free app called “iDentifi” available for iPhone or iPad which uses the camera to recognise text (letters or a page from a book) or objects. To download the app tap on this link: iDentifi- Object Recognition for Visually Impaired by Anmol Tukrel click here for information.

 

When you open the app, it suggests you should have Voiceover turned on but you can use the app without doing so.

 

Tap on the top right coloured box to hear instructions.

 

Tap the top left box to go into the app Settings to select whether you want to recognise Text or objects – and then tap “Done” at top right.

 

Then tap the coloured oblong on the lower right to get the camera – if you are scanning a letter or page of text, place iPhone/iPad camera down in middle of page then lift iPhone vertically about a foot and tap on camera button at bottom of screen.

 

Wait while the app uses your wifi or mobile data to process the text (perhaps 20 seconds).

 

The app will then read the text out to you!!

 

If you want to scan multi-column text or multiple pages and save the text, get a paid app called KNFB Reader KNFB Reader Enterprise by Sensotec nv then click here.

 

Top Tips

How to use the Magnifier on iPhone

Your iPhone has a magnifier which can be turned in in Settings. To turn it on:

Access Settings by either tapping it open or asking Siri to “Open Settings”

Go to General, select it then tap the “Accessibility” tab

From the General screen go to Magnifier and slide the button to enable it

Once turned on you can click the Home button 3 times to launch the Magnifier

You can then zoom into text using a finger slide or you can use the shutter button to take a still photograph of a document then move it around on screen for a clearer view