"Assistive technology (AT) tools and resources were once meant for students with learning disabilities, but there is clear, documented proof that these tools are beneficial to everyone. This session introduced staff to the various AT that can be used by both students and staff to support academic study including dictation, mind mapping and narration technologies. In addition, some useful learning resources, developed within the CIT Disability Office, were shared that can be used to support all students not just those with disabilities."

The aim of 'AT Hive' is to guide you through various technologies that can help people with disabilities in many different ways. If you are a student or employee then you may require a technology to assist you to learn or work effectively. Technologies designed to support people with disabilities are called Assistive Technologies (AT) and can also be referred to as Inclusive Technologies too. AT sometimes refers to technologies that are specifically designed for people with disabilities, but increasingly, the term also describes accessibility features in mainstream products like Microsoft Office. Either way, AT can empower people with disabilities to reach to their fullest potential and give them an opportunity to work and learn on their own terms.

SensusAccess is a file conversion tool which uses a simple webform. SensusAccess allows you to convert files into the format which is most accessible and useful to you. This might be lecture notes into an mp3 to listen to on the go, scanned book pages into searchable PDFs to be used with text to speech software, or lecture slides into text to be read and adjusted on an E-Reader. SensusAccess supports text in multiple languages and can be a great resource for language learning - you can even listen along to your readings.

In this interactive guide, you'll see how inclusive classroom tools from Microsoft can help students read more effectively, improve focus, and work independently at their own pace.

MTU Teaching & Learning Unit