Assistive Technology Tools

What is Assistive Technology?

Assistive technology is any equipment, item, software, or technology that helps improve daily functioning for individuals living with disabilities. They can be used to help aid hearing, seeing, speaking, learning, writing, memory, and much more. The Goldman Center offers a wide variety of accommodations customized to fit each individuals needs. Learn more about the assistive technologies offered at the Goldman Center below.

Assistive Technology for Communication Access

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART), allows students across the spectrum of hearing loss to access the classroom environment through live captions. Students approved for this accommodation will work closely with the assistive technology coordinator in the Goldman Center for coordinating schedules and vendors. Professors of students with this approved accommodation will also work closely with the Goldman Center in providing this accommodation; professors can view this info sheet for reference in learning an overview of this accommodation.

Students approved for the American Sign Language accommodation communicate via sign. ASL speakers have a variety of backgrounds; some individuals maintain some level of hearing and some do not. Some individuals who sign may exclusively speak ASL and other may speak two or more language (ASL and English). Students who speak ASL will have an interpreter present with them in the classroom (in-person or online). 

Assistive Technology for Note Taking

Taking notes during a class lecture is a feat of mind, body, and brain. It involves multiple major systems including sensory, motor, and mental functions working in tandem to synthesize information in the moment it is happening. For students with disabilities, this is a difficult task for myriad reasons. The Goldman Center provides notetaking accommodations for access to class content and has created a skills-support document (available here) for promoting success in the academic environment. Students with notetaking accommodations are still expected to take their own notes and continue honing their notetaking skills throughout their time as a Tulane student. The Goldman Center offers the following assistive technologies for access to the class content at no-cost for students who are approved for the Notetaking Accommodation: Microsoft OneNote, Glean, Livescribe Pens, and Peer-based notetaking. 

Glean

Glean is an AI-powered assistive note taking technology, which allows students to create projects where they can record and upload class lectures. Within each project, students can create tags to highlight key topics and organize their thoughts. To get access to Glean, email goldmanAT@tulane.edu to express interest in an account. If you have already been approved to use Glean, login instructions can be found in your email. Instructions on how to use Glean can be found below.

  1. Sign up and log in to Glean. You will receive an email invitation from hello@glean.co with log in instructions.
  2. Create new events with the purple ‘New Event’ button located at the top left corner of your screen. You can choose to record the event from either your mic and/or screen.
  3. Label important moments using the lightening bolt icon located at the bottom right corner the website. You can label moments using 4 different reactions, to which you can add notes.
  4. Organizing your Glean is simple! Using the “Collections” tab on the left of your screen, you can create new groups to organize your events.
  5. Additional tutorials can be found on Glean’s website, as well as in the email from goldmanAT@tulane.edu that introduced you to Glean.

Kurzweil3000

Kurzweil3000 is a text-to-speech and speech-to-text technology aimed at increasing reading and writing access. Using Kurzweil, students can highlight and annotate any PDF while it is read aloud to them in a voice of their choosing. To access Kurzweil, go to kurzweil3000.com and select ‘Sign in with Microsoft.’ At the bottom, there should be a key icon labeled ‘Sign-in options,’ click this and then click ‘Sign in to an organization’ located at the bottom. Type ‘tulane.edu’ into the search bar and then click next. Now sign in with your Tulane credentials. To have Kurzweil read web-based material to you, search and download ‘Read the Web’ on Chrome. Instructions on how to use Kurzweil3000 can be found below.

  1. Sign up and log in to Kurzweil. Instructions are above.
  2. Upload content. In the Universal Library, upload content from Google Drive, OneDrive, Bookshare, or your computer. Files should be uploaded as PDFs.
    1. Uploading/opening documents. Navigate to the Universal Library and click Google Drive, Bookshare, Computer, or Upload, depending on where your file is located. After uploading the document, it will be located on the left side of your screen, where you can organize it
  3. Open the file by selecting it from the left side of your screen.
  4. Play the audio file by pressing the play button at the top of the screen. You can now customize the voice, speed, and size of text, as well as annotate and highlight the reading. Find more specific instructions on Kurzweil’s website.
    1. Reading PDFs/images. Open the content in your Universal Library & select pages you want read aloud. Click the play button in the top middle of your screen
    2. To modify the voice or speed at which your document is read, navigate to the settings button at the top left of the screen. To use the dictionary to see synonyms, get a definition, or translate words, see the book button in the top right of the screen
    3. To add a sticky note click the sticky note icon on the left of the screen, then click the plus button. You can also add a voice note by clicking the message button on the top of the screen. You can highlight and write on the page by clicking on the highlighter icon on the lefthand side of the screen.
  5. Save the file as .kes using the File>Save. This way, you can play back the audio recording and access your highlights and annotations.
    1. As .kef (Kurzweil format, includes audio). Click the document icon and click save
    2. As .pdf (normal document, no audio). Click the document icon on the top right. Select pdf (or pdf text only if theres no images) and check for download
  6. To read web content Download the Chrome web browser and navigate to the Google Chrome Store. Search and download “Read the Web." Click the Kurzweil icon on the top right corner of your chrome. Adjust the settings and press play on the pop-up buttons. 

OneNote

OneNote is an assistive note taking technology aimed at increasing reading and writing access. Using OneNote, students can create notebooks with various pages, within which they can link photos, videos, to do lists, sticky notes, and even files. Students can also utilize OneNote’s speech-to-text technology to take notes. All Tulane students have already been granted access to OneNote. To sign in, visit www.onenote.com and log in using your Tulane single sign-on (SSO) credentials. Instructions on how to use OneNote can be found below.

  1. Log in to OneNote. Instructions are above.
  2. Create a new notebook using the drop down menu next to the notebook icon at the top right of your screen. Click “Add Notebook” at the bottom.
  3. Creating new sections and pages. Notebooks hold sections, which hold pages. At the bottom left side of OneNote, you will see ‘Add section’ and ‘Add page’ buttons. Add sections to organize your pages, and use pages to take notes.
  4. Formatting your document is easy. To format text simply highlight it and use the pop up menu. To add images, files, and videos, go to the ‘Insert’ tab on the top left and select from the horizontal drop down menu.
  5. Writing notes. On your ipad, select ‘Insert’ and then the pen icon. You can now write on your iPad screen as you would with a piece for paper.
  6. Share your notes. Click the share button at the top right side of your screen to access your notebook’s custom link.

Immersive Reader

Immersive Reader is an assistive technology aimed at increasing reading access. It allows students to change the font, size, spacing, and background color of text. It also has functions to break text down into articles of speech, as well as translate text to other languages. Immersive Reader is a tool embedded within Microsoft Applications. Log in to the Microsoft Application of your choice, and click ‘View’ and then ‘Immersive Reader’ in the horizontal bar. Instructions on how to use Immersive Reader can be found below.

  1. Log in to Microsoft and click on the application of your choosing. Applications such as Word, Teams, and OneNote contain the Immersive Reader tool.
  2. Navigate to Immersive Reader by clicking ‘View’ in the horizontal bar at the top of your screen. Now click on the icon labeled ‘Immersive Reader.’
  3. Press the play button at the bottom middle of your screen. A voice will highlight each word as it reads your text aloud.
  4. Edit the voice settings by clicking on settings to the right of the play button. Here you can switch between male and female voices and change their speed.
  5. Edit your text or background by clicking the letters in the top right corner of your screen. Here you can alter the text size, font, spacing, or background color of your document.
  6. Discover additional tools such as the part of speech indicator located under the three-line icon, and the translator located within the book icon.

Livescribe

Livescribe is an assistive note taking technology aimed at helping students take better notes. Utilizing a Livescribe pen allows you to automatically upload a copy of your paper notes and classroom audio to your phone, with just the click of a button. If you have not yet been approved to use Livescribe. Head over to the Goldman Center’s website and request an initial meeting. If you are already registered with the Goldman Center and would like to discuss adding Livescribe as an accommodation, request a meeting with Goldman Assistive Technology through your portal. If you have already been approved to use Livescribe, you will receive instructions to pick up your pen from goldmanAT@tulane.edu shortly after your accommodation is approved. Instructions on how to use your Livescribe pen can be found below.

  1. Pick up your pen. Follow the instructions in your email. Charge the pen for 30 minutes-1 hour before use.
  2. Download Livescribe+ on your phone from the Apple or Google Play store.
  3. Pair your pen by opening the Livescribe pad of paper to the first page. Follow their instructions and click ‘Pair Pen’ on the Livescribe+ app. The button on your pen should be blue, indicating it is connected to bluetooth.
  4. Use your notebook. Tap the grey seal on the notebook cover with the pen to connect your notebook to your pen.
  5. Record audio. Tap the record button to start taking notes and record your spatial audio. You can pause the audio recording by pressing the pause button.
  6. Stop the recording by pressing the stop button. Replay your notes in the app!