Assistive Technology (AT)
The following assistive technology is available for use at any Houston Community College. The list is in two sections, software and hardware. To locate assistive technology on campus, contact the Disability Support Services office at your campus.
Software
NaturallySpeaking – this software allows the user to create and edit documents and E-mail, fill out forms and streamline workflow – all by speaking! Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional version is section 508 certified, and offers complete hands-free use of the PC for users with disabilities.
http://www.nuance.com
JAWS® for Windows® - the most popular screen reader worldwide works with your PC to provide access to today’s software applications and the Internet. With its internal software speech synthesizer and the computer’s sound card, information from the screen is read aloud, providing technology to access a wide variety of information, education and job related applications. JAWS also outputs to refreshable braille displays, providing unmatched braille support of any screen reader on the market.
http://www.freedomscientific.com/products/fs/jaws-product-page.asp
WYNN Wizard - our premier product, is scanning and reading software. It includes optical character recognition (OCR), the ability to scan printed pages and convert them into electronic text. Speech synthesis enables this scanned text to be read aloud. Additionally, WYNN Wizard can read word processing documents, Adobe Acrobat PDF files, text files, and the Internet.
WYNN Reader - includes all features of WYNN Wizard except OCR, or scanning capability. Additionally, files that have been previously scanned and saved using WYNN Wizard can be read with WYNN Reader.
http://www.freedomscientific.com/LSG/products/wynn.asp
ZoomText Magnifier/Reader -The world's best magnification and reading software for the vision impaired. Whether you're surfing the web, creating a document or mailing your friends, ZoomText lets you see, hear and use all of your applications easier than ever.
http://www.aisquared.com
Hardware
Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) - A closed-circuit television (CCTV) system uses a stand-mounted video camera to project a magnified image onto a video monitor or a television (TV) screen. A CCTV includes the following basic features: video camera with zoom lens; monitor or television (attached camera or external); provide enlarged image of material under camera; magnification range of 2X to 60X+; switchable polarity (black text/white background or white text/black background); controls for focus, magnification, brightness, contrast; X-Y viewing table for easy material movement.
Trackball – a trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball housed in a socket containing sensors to detect rotation of the ball. The user rolls the ball with the thumb, fingers, or the palm of the hand to move a cursor.
