Welcome to our May 2022 issue of the Accessibility Minute Newsletter! This newsletter is produced by the CU Boulder Digital Accessibility Office and covers one accessibility skill or topic per month. As always, thank you for taking a minute (or two!) to read.

What is Assistive Technology?

Assistive technology, or AT, is something that you are likely familiar with, although you may not recognize the term. It is defined as any item, piece of equipment, software, or product that can be used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of someone with a disability.

In the physical world, this might be eyeglasses that help you see with greater acuity, or a mobility aid like a wheelchair. However, assistive technology also exists in the digital world. Have you ever used a red light filter on your phone to reduce eye strain? Or used your browser’s zoom feature to enlarge small text on your screen? Your phone and laptop already contain a number of digital assistive technology tools with which you may or may not be familiar.

Here is a short, non-exhaustive list of some common types of assistive technology in the digital world:

  • Screen readers. This software reads aloud the content on a digital device, and also provides contextual information like whether something is a button, an image, a link, and more.
  • Screen magnifiers. This software enlarges visual content on a digital screen.
  • Text-to-speech (“read aloud”) software. This software reads aloud text content on a digital device. (It does not also read contextual or functional information like a screen reader does.)
  • Speech-to-text (“dictation”) software. Speech-to-text tools allow users to dictate text to be written and control their device with their voice.

What to Know About Assistive Technology

We’ve put together some tips and information for people who may not be familiar with digital assistive technology to review some important ideas and best practices.

1. Assistive technology can’t solve every accessibility problem.

If content is not built in an accessible way, then assistive technology may not be able to provide sufficient access to the content. For example, if you include an image in a document but do not provide accurate alt text to describe the image, then someone using a screen reader will just hear something like “image, filename.png”, which doesn’t tell them what information the image conveys. This is why accessibility is every content creator’s responsibility; assistive technology is not a magic bullet, and it can’t always provide access if the content isn’t created in an accessible way.

2. Don’t assume someone cannot accomplish a task with assistive technology.

Conversely, don’t assume someone can’t participate in a process or access information because of a disability they have or assistive technology they use. If you are uncertain whether a person with a disability can use a type of software or access a certain type of digital content, you can always ask that person (privately, and in advance of the time when they will need to use the technology.) You can also reach out to our office at DigitalAccessibility@colorado.edu for guidance about whether a particular type of software is accessible or not, or consult documentation about the accessibility of OIT services.

3. What works for one user of assistive technology may not work for another.

While two people may identify as having the same type of disability, each person’s lived experience of that disability may still be very different. As such, the assistive technology solutions that work for one individual may not work for someone else with the quote-unquote “same” disability. People with disabilities can consult with assistive technology specialists to identify what solutions may work for them; avoid unsolicited advice in this area.

4. Don’t ask people to change the assistive technology they use.

You wouldn’t suggest that people use different eyeglasses or a different wheelchair when they’re entering your workplace! Similarly, please do not ask digital assistive technology users to switch to a different screen reader or text-to-speech software just because the one they use is not supported by the technology used in your workplace. Software should be built in a way that allows anyone using assistive technology that has been built according to certain specifications to interact with it. If a vendor you are working with claims its platform only works with one particular brand of assistive technology software, ask them to provide more robust support for assistive technology and consider finding a vendor that provides better accessibility support.

Support At CU Boulder

If you would like to look into getting access to assistive technology for your own needs or know someone who may need support in this area, there are resources at CU Boulder that can help.

Any current students should reach out to Disability Services to schedule an information session at DSinfo@colorado.edu or by calling 303-492-8671. This includes students in Continuing Education, staff or faculty using their tuition benefit, and anyone officially auditing a course.

If you are a CU Boulder employee, you can schedule an information session with ADA Compliance at ADACoordinator@colorado.edu or fill out the ADA accommodation request form.

May Challenge

One type of assistive technology that everyone on campus has access to is automated captioning in Zoom. If you haven’t tried out this tool before, try enabling Zoom auto-captions in a Zoom meeting you are hosting.

If you'd like to increase your awareness about assistive technology further, check out one of the links in the Learn More section below!

Learn More

DAO News

We have upcoming DAO office hours happening on:

  • Monday, June 13 from 1-2pm MDT
  • Tuesday, June 28 from 1-2pm MDT

Your Thoughts

We want to hear from you about any questions or issues you run into while trying out this accessibility practice this month! Please send us your thoughts on this month’s topic.

If you have questions or comments, or would like support with accessibility, please contact us at DigitalAccessibility@Colorado.edu.