Staff Services
Ergonomic keyboards and mice
ITS has a range of specialist keyboards and mice/track balls which can be loaned to staff who are experiencing difficulty or pain using their computer. If the items prove helpful they can then be purchased by their Department or School. Assistive Technology Support may also be able to offer further help and advice on possible technical solutions.
Contact Assistive Technology Support, disit@bbk.ac.uk Tel: 020 079 0717.
Dyslexia software available for Staff
ITS has site licenses for software designed for people with Dyslexia, covering Malet Street and surrounding buildings. This means that the software can be installed on a member of staffs' work based PC. If you work at Stratford, contact Disability IT Support for more information. The software available is described below:
Inspiration mind mapping software
Mind maps are designed to help organise thoughts and ideas. Using a visual technique (containing ideas within thought bubbles) ideas can be added rapidly and then moved and sorted. Images and web-links can be used and the ideas linked to each other using arrows. A structure begins to develop, and once it has been refined Inspiration can automatically create a hierarchy of headings which can be imported into Word. Traditionally Inspiration is used to help structure essays, but it can be used as a planning tool, for brainstorming etc.
ClaroRead
ClaroRead is a reading and writing tool that reads documents, emails and web pages aloud. ClaroRead can be used with a scanner to scan printed material into a Word document - the text can then be read out loud and saved as a sound file for listening to later. ClaroRead also provides homophone and spell checking and dictionary facilities. ClaroView (part of the ClaroRead Extras) washes the screen in your preferred colour and ClaroCapture assists in collecting highlighted and selected text from the Internet or documents and automatically references the content.
To have Inspiration or ClaroRead installed on your PC please contact Assistive Technology Support, disit@bbk.ac.uk, Tel: 020 079 0717.
Access to Work - help with applications
Access to Work is a Government Scheme to help fund assistance required by a member of staff with a disability or dyslexia. It can include paying for taxis, initial funding towards a support worker, and a substantial contribution to any assistive technology required. Disability IT Support can help with advice on the technical aspects of your Access to Work application. Human Resources can also assist with Access to Work Applications and have prepared this Guide describing the scheme.
Advice on making Teaching Resources accessible
Disability IT Support can offer advice on how to make teaching resources accessible. This can include advice on how to produce accessible printed materials, how to make PDFs accessible, and what to think about when creating Word documents.
Useful Resources
- Design for All: Print is a Birkbeck document on how to produce accessible printed material.
- Design for All: Word 2003 Documents is a Birkbeck document on how to produce accessible Word 2003 documents.
- Design for All: Word 2007 Documents is a Birkbeck document on how to produce accessible Word 2007 documents.
- RNIB See It Right campaign offers advice on how to produce materials that are accessible to visually impaired people
- Making Your Word Documents Braille Ready is a step by step guide if you have a student requiring their documents in Braille hard copy.
- Southampton University have a useful web site offering advice for staff producing learning materials and for students using them. It includes bloggs, podcasts and wikis; colour; making presentations accessible and more.
Guides produced by the JISC TechDIS Service, the educational advisory service working in the fields of accessibility and inclusion:
- Making Electronic Documents more Readable
- Writing Accessible Electronic Documents with Microsoft Word
- Creating Accessible Presentations
- Making the Most of PDFs
For more help please contact:
Assistive Technology Support, disit@bbk.ac.uk Tel: 020 079 0717.