Accessibility Tools & Resources

1. Explore accessibility options through your phone, computer, or tablet via 'settings' then 'accessibility'.
2. Adobe "How to use OCR software for PDF's".
3. Adobe "PDF Accessibility Overview".
4. Cheatsheets, The National Center on Disability and Access to Education (NCDAE) provides many resources to help make your content accessible.
5. Guide to Captioning YouTube Videos, NCDAE cheat sheet on YouTube captioning.
6. Microsoft Outlook Email Accessibility, offers clear steps to make your email messages accessible to everyone. Learn to use the Accessibility Checker, add alt texts to images for screen reader users, and enhance inclusiveness with fonts, colors, and styles.
7. YouTube Automatic Captioning, information on how to use automatic captioning on YouTube.
8. WebAIM, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving accessibility to online learning materials.
9. W3 accessibility guidelines, which explains the reasons behind each guideline.
10. W3 accessibility checklist, a busy developer's guide to accessibility.
11. W3 Complex Images, complex images hold a lot of information that can't be explained in just a few words. To learn more, explore graphs, charts, diagrams, illustrations, and maps, which help share detailed data and spatial information.
12. U.S. Federal Government Section 508 accessibility guidelines.
13. Accessibility Requirements Tool (ART), helps you find the important accessibility rules in the Revised 508 Standards.
14. Zoom Accessibility, captioning and transcription options on Zoom.

Given that the resources listed below are external websites, our priority is transparency and providing you with essential information. Kindly refer to the respective member agreement, privacy policy, and terms of service outlined in each respective website below.

1. Fusion, accessibility tool for schools, agencies, and businesses supporting those with vision loss. It combines ZoomText for magnification and visual enhancements with the screen reading power of JAWS, offering both individually or together in one easy-to-use solution.
2. JAWS, a screen reader and navigator for Windows. A time-limited, downloadable demo is available.
3. Opera, a visual browser with many accessibility-related features, including text zooming, user stylesheets, image toggle. A free downloadable version is available. Compatible with Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and several other operating systems.
4. Kurzweil 1000, a powerful reading tool for the blind or visually impaired. It uses OCR and synthetic speech to convert printed text into speech, offering ease for beginners and flexibility for advanced users at home, school, or work.
5. Kurzweil 3000 firefly, offers built-in tools for reading, writing, study skills and test taking deliver a multisensory approach to learning, helping students who struggle, such as those with dyslexia and English Language Learners, become independent learners. Write to ds@westfield.ma.edu for more information on obtaining access.
6. NVDA screen reader, freely available for download to ensure access to computers for all.
7. ScanTailor, cleans up scans, straightens pages, split pages, and removes dark margins.
8. ZoomText, a magnification and screen reading program that enlarges, enhances and reads aloud everything on the computer screen.

1. Design Science MathPlayer™, empowers Internet Explorer to showcase mathematical notation on web pages using MathML technology. It's compatible with Internet Explorer for Windows versions 6.0 and beyond. 
2. HTML Validator, a free service for checking that web pages conform to published HTML standards.
3. Web Page Backward Compatibility Viewer, a tool for viewing your web pages without a variety of modern browser features.
4. For assistance with PLATO online courses, please reach out to the Center for Instructional Technology at citaccessibility@westfield.ma.edu.