INTHEBLACK August 2022 - Magazine - Page 59
Shokz’s OpenRun Pro transmit vibrations
through bones, bypassing the eardrum and
potentially providing clearer audio to
hearing-impaired people. Other headphones,
like Nuraphone, come with an app to provide
a personalised audio profile for people with
uneven or limited hearing.
Specialist input devices: There’s a huge
variety of input devices available, ranging
from keyboards with large or colourful keys
to large trackballs for those who lack fine
motor skills. Other options include foot mice,
braille devices and eye-tracking systems
from the likes of Tobii Dynavox.
Virtual assistants: Apple’s Siri, Google
Assistant and Microsoft’s Cortana, among
others, respond intelligently to voice
commands and questions on computers and
mobile devices.
Conferencing captions: Zoom, Microsoft
Teams and other conferencing apps support
captions to help those with hearing loss
participate in meetings. Also, tools such as
Otter.ai can automatically transcribe
meetings and presentations.
Soundscape: Currently in beta for iOS, this
Microsoft app creates a virtual 3D
soundscape via headphones for people with
low or no vision. For example, it can describe
your current location and the direction you
are facing.
Literacy apps: Apps such as Read&Write
help people without strong literacy skills by
reading text out loud, explaining unfamiliar
words and proofing written work.
Above: Shokz’s OpenRun Pro and other headphones that use
bone-conduction technology can help people with hearing
difficulties.
Above: Apple’s iOS accessibility
options include Sound
Recognition, which listens for
certain sounds, such as a
doorbell, and provides a
notification.
Left: Quantum’s
large-print mini
keyboards can help the
vision-impaired use
Windows computers,
Macs and iPads.
Left: Trackball mice like
Kensington’s SlimBlade
Trackball can be easier
to use than regular
mice for those who lack
fine motor skills.
ENSURE YOUR DOCUMENTS ARE
ACCESSIBLE
Do your Word documents use heading
styles? Do your PowerPoint slides have
enough contrast between text and the
background? Do pictures in your Outlook
emails have alternative text (alt text)? Do
your Excel sheet tabs have meaningful
names? There’s a lot to consider when
ensuring Microsoft 365 documents and
messages can be read by colleagues and
clients with disabilities. Accessibility Checker
makes this easy by identifying these and
several other issues that may cause problems.
REMOTE WORKING TOOLS
Catering for workers with limited mobility
can require an office fit-out that might be
costly or difficult due to office lease terms.
In that case, a better option could be to
provide employees with the technology they
need to work from home – also saving them
the chore of commuting.
That starts with messaging apps such as
Microsoft Teams, Zoom or Slack and file-
Left: Google Assistant
supports voice
commands to find and
read out web pages.
Above: The Nuraphone profiles
your hearing, then sonically
shapes the audio based on that
profile.
sharing apps such as Dropbox or OneDrive.
Supporting a hybrid workforce – enabling
employees to work from the office or home
– can be a significant undertaking, but it is
vital to give all employees access to the digital
tools they need and keep them engaged.
ENSURE YOUR WEBSITE IS ACCESSIBLE
About one billion people – or 15 per cent of
the world’s population – have disabilities,
according to the World Health Organization.
That’s well worth remembering when
building, revamping and adding content
to your website.
However, not all web developers and
designers prioritise accessibility, so ask this
before hiring them. There are also several
simple ways you can cater for people with
disabilities when adding content to a website
– from ensuring you use the correct heading
tags for headlines and subheads to using alt
text with pictures.
To test this magazine’s accessibility features, click the wheelchair icon in the top navigation
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au August 2022 59