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The University of Southampton
Student Disability & WellbeingPart of Student Services

Remote Access to Assistive Technology

Find out below what assistive technology is available and how to access this from home. 

Student using a laptop

Accessibility tools and checkers


Microsoft package accessibility checkers 

Microsoft Office has accessibility checkers to make sure your content is easy for people of all abilities to read and edit.

On Word and PowerPoint, the accessibility tracker is found under Review, then Check Accessibility. If you don't see the Check Accessibility option on the Review tab, you might have an older version of the app. If this is the case, select File / Info then select Check for issues which will give you the Check Accessibility option.

To ensure your email content is accessible, select New Email or open your email response in a new window.  The accessibility tracker is found under Review, then Check Accessibility.

Student with a laptop

Software for students with a Specific Learning Difference (SpLD), such as Dyslexia

Our assistive software packages are being uploaded to the download site with priority access for students registered for the Assistive Technology suite.  Students should contact Serviceline if they are unable to access assistive software essential for their learning. Please see our guide 'Requesting Remote Access to Assistive Technology' in the 'Useful Downloads' section below, for a step-by-step instructions.

 

Glean

Glean is a note taking tool designed to improve your learning and productivity. It is an online software, so can be used on both Windows and Mac computers.

How to access Glean: If you think you would benefit from using Glean then please raise a request through ServiceLine and your request will be reviewed.

Please note: Students who request access to Glean must be a registered user of the Assistive Technology Suite (ATS).

From December 1st 2020, Glean will replace Sonocent Audio Note taker. If you have previously used Sonocent Audio Notetaker, please request access to Glean via ServiceLine

Claro

Claro provide a suite of software for people with disabilities such as print and reading difference like Dyslexia.

Claro is currently offering a range of free apps. Please visit https://www.clarosoftware.com/cloud-web-apps/ for more details.

Claro Read Plus

For Windows and Mac computers, please request access to Claro via ServiceLine

 

Mindjet MindManager

Available from software download site. For Mac computers, please request access via ServiceLine

 

Visual Thesaurus

It is an online software, so can be used on both Windows and Mac computers. Contact ServiceLine for access.

This is an interactive word map that you can use as a dictionary or thesaurus.

Two students with a laptop

Software for Visually Impaired Students

Software which may benefit visually impaired students is listed below alongside key features.  Our assistive software packages are being uploaded to the download site with priority access for students registered for the Assistive Technology suite.  Students should contact Serviceline if they are unable to access assistive software essential for their learning. Please see our guide 'Requesting Remote Access to Assitive Technology' in the 'Useful Downloads' section below, for a step-by-step instructions.

 

Claro Read Plus

Claro is currently offering a range of free apps. Please visit https://www.clarosoftware.com/cloud-web-apps/  for more details.

 For Windows and Mac computers, please request access to Claro via ServiceLine.

 

Texthelp read & write

Available on Windows and Mac computers. Please raise a request through ServiceLine.

 

Dragon Naturally Speaking

Available on University of Southampton PCs, including the AT Suite. This software  is available on Windows PCs only.

At present this is not available for home use. Please contact Student Disability and Inclusion if you require information on how to access Dragon dictation software.

 

AT software for students with recommended access:

JAWS ("Job Access With Speech")

Contact Service Line for access. This software is available on Windows PCs only.

A computer screen reader program for visually impaired and blind users to read the screen either with a text-to-speech output or by a refreshable Braille display. Whilst compatible with most software, please note it is not compatible with FPSS often used by geographers.

Many providers of software for the visually impaired are also providing extended free trials. 

Two students with a laptop

Software for Hearing Impaired Students

Many audio and video-based software offer automation speech recognition or captioning. 

 

Panopto Lecture Capture improvements

To access automatic speech recognition in Panopto, view the following guide.

 

Microsoft Teams Captioning

To use live captions in a meeting, go to your meeting controls and select ‘More options’ then,  ‘Turn on live captions’.

Please see our guide 'Requesting Remote Access to Assistive Technology' in the section below. If you have a questions about accessing assistive technology from home, please email studenthub@soton.ac.uk. To speak to a member of the team, call 02380 599 599.

Requesting Remote Access to Assistive Technology
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