Assistive Technology and Software

The Office of Disability Services offers the following assistive technology and software to assist registered students with approved accommodations to meet their academic needs as necessary:

Dragon Naturally Speaking

Dragon Naturally Speaking is speech recognition software that enables individuals who use the software to interact with his/her PC by voice. Users can say words and they appear on their computer screen, three times faster than typing with up to 99% accuracy.

Dragon Naturally Speaking assists students in modifying documents, spreadsheets, presentations and it manages e-mail. Dragon Naturally Speaking is available in the Office of Disability Services located at 220 Bailey Library.

Training or assistance with this software can be scheduled by making an appointment with a graduate assistant or professional staff member in the Office of Disability Services.

Equipment Support

The Office of Disability Services offers both specialized equipment and/or software to assist students with visual and hearing impairments in addition to learning disabilities. To inquire about the equipment/software that is available for use to students, please contact:

Office of Disability Services
Phone: 724.738.4877
Location: 220 Bailey Library
Email: disabilityservices@sru.edu

The following equipment is available for students with visual, hearing and learning needs:

Apple iPads
Apple iPad Pros each with an Apple Pencil
Apple iMac Computers
Canon Image FORMULA Scanners
Clear View 500 CCTV
Dell Computers equipped with the Kurzweil reading program and Zoom Text
Dell Color Laser Printers
Document Stand
Easy Pocket Magnifier (16D/4X)
Epson Perfection Scanners
Headsets with Microphones
Intel Reader and Capture Station
Livescribe Smart Pens, Aegir and Echo models
Logitech Headphones
Ntouch VP
Reading Pens, Advanced Edition
Sony/Panasonic Digital Recorders
Sony Headphones
Targus stylus for iPad and Tablets
Texas Instruments and Casio Scientific Calculators
ONYX Freedom Scientific Swing Arm PC Edition with Eye Merge Software
Zoom Text Large Print Keyboard

The Office of Disability Services is happy to meet and discuss your assistive technology needs. Please make an appointment with staff if you have specific questions.

Kurzweil 3000 Reading Program

Slippery Rock University has an institutional membership with Kurzweil reading software. Through Kurzweil, students are given the ability to upload text files which can then be read aloud. Kurzweil not only allows for text reading but also may assist students in preparing written documents, taking tests and quizzes, and enhancing study skills.

Students can order digital copies of their textbooks to use with Kurzweil through the Office of Disability Services. To order the digital books, students must complete an Alternative Format textbook request using the Accommodate system. The Alternative Format textbook request can be found under the Accommodation tab of the student's Accommodate home page. When completing this task, the student must provide the following required information:

The title of the textbook
The author of the textbook
The publisher of the book
The ISBN number (International Standard Book Number). This is typically a 13-digit number that identifies a book. You can find the ISBN number on the copyright page or on the back cover of the book near the publisher's barcode. Newer barcodes begin with the numbers "978".
The price of the book
The CRN for the course, listed on the student's concise schedule
A receipt or proof of purchase for the textbook, in a format that you can upload online with your request

Training or assistance with this process can be scheduled by making an appointment with a graduate assistant or professional staff member in the Office of Disability Services.

Please refer to the documents below, which are also available under the Resources tab in Accommodate, to guide you through this process:

Otter

Slippery Rock University has an institutional membership with Otter.ai. Through Otter, students are given the opportunity to:

Record lectures via a web browser on a laptop or an app on a smart phone
Get real-time streaming transcripts and within minutes, have searchable notes with text, audio, images, speaker ID, and key phrases
Import or sync previously recorded audio recordings
Highlight parts of a lecture that are important or need to be re-listened to later
Refer to key phrases that are identified via the recording
Take images of visual information in the classroom to be entered directly into the recording
Playback the recorded material at a slower or faster pace, skip silences, pause the recording as notes are taken, and/or export the notes into a PDF or DOC file

Students are approved for the use of Otter on a case-by-case basis through the Office of Disability Services. To ensure protection of lecture materials and classroom discussions, students with this accommodation must sign a Student Agreement for Audio Recordings and Use of Technology in the Classroom Agreement as well as an Otter Agreement.

Training or assistance with using Otter is typically completed when the accommodation is granted, and the appropriate paperwork is completed. If further assistance is needed, students are welcome to set up an appointment with one of our professional staff members or graduate assistants.

Please refer to the following information and resources for assistance with Otter:

ZoomText Magnifier/Reader

Description:
ZoomText Magnifer/Reader is a fully integrated magnification and reading program tailored for low-vision users. Magnifier/Reader enlarges and enhances everything on your computer screen, echoes your typing and essential program activity, and automatically reads documents, web pages, and email.

ZoomText offers a variety of features that include, but are not limited to, the following:

Flexible magnification with a full range of magnification levels up to 36x
xFont magnification that utilizes xFont technology to display high-definition text
Reads aloud in natural sounding voices
Complete screen reading by automatically speaking all program controls, including menus, dialogs, list views and messages
Full internet accessibility

All student computers within the Office of Disability Services at 220 Bailey Library have ZoomText available to student users during our regular office hours. Additional computers hosting the ZoomText software can be found on the first floor of Bailey Library.

Training or assistance with this program can be scheduled by making an appointment with a graduate assistant or professional staff member in the Office of Disability Services.

Services for Students with Disabilities

Assistive Technology and Software

Services for Students with Disabilities

Contact Information