| Accessibility
through Technology |
| |
| Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Amendments
is part of the federal legislation |
| supporting the idea that "disability is a natural
part of the human experience and in no way |
| diminishes the right of individuals to enjoy full inclusion
and integration in the economic, |
| political, social, cultural, and educational mainstream
of American society." Section 508 |
| addresses electronic and information technology and helps
ensure that for people with |
| disabilities the "access to and use of information
and data that is comparable to the |
| access to and use of the information and data" for
people without disabilities. |
| |
| For some students with disabilities, technology is key
to their success. Students with visual |
| impairments or reading disabilities may use any of the
following technological resources |
| as accommodations. |
 JAWS, an acronym
for “Jobs Access With Speech,” is the most widely-used screen |
|
| ZoomText 9
allows the student to see and hear everything on the computer screen, |
| |
providing complete access to applications, documents,
e-mail and the internet. |
|
| Kurzweil 1000
is a system for scanning books and other printed material into a |
| |
computer and then speaking it aloud through a synthesizer. |
|
| |
