What it covers
Assistive technology is anything that removes a barrier to reading, writing, hearing, seeing, focusing, or navigating coursework: screen readers, text-to-speech, speech-to-text (dictation), screen magnification, reading and focus tools, note-taking apps, live captioning, smart pens, alternative keyboards and mice, and accessible-format course materials.
Built into what you already have
A lot of it is free and already on your issued laptop and phone: the operating system's screen reader, magnifier, dictation, and reading mode; the university's productivity suite has built-in read-aloud, dictation, immersive reading, and live captions. Start here — an access coordinator or the tech help desk can turn on and tune these in a session.
Licensed and specialized tools
Beyond the built-ins, the university licenses specialized software (advanced text-to-speech and study tools, OCR for scanned readings, mind-mapping, more capable dictation) available to students who need them, on lab machines and often as a personal install. Hardware — smart pens, FM systems, dedicated recorders — can be borrowed or provided as an accommodation.
Getting it
If the tool is part of an approved accommodation, the accessibility office arranges access and licensing. If you just want to try the built-in tools, no accommodation is needed — ask the help desk or the office. Accessible-format materials (a readable PDF, a Braille or large-print version, an accessible textbook) are requested through the office, ideally before the term so they are ready week one.
Learning to use it well
Assistive technology has a learning curve, and adopting it mid-crisis is hard. The office offers training — a few sessions to get fluent with a screen reader or a dictation workflow before you rely on it for a paper. Give yourself a low-stakes assignment to practice on.
If a course tool is not accessible
If a required platform, a lab instrument interface, a video without captions, or a course document is not accessible, that is a barrier to report to the accessibility office. They work with the instructor and the vendor, and can provide an accessible alternative in the meantime.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. Every office, person, building, phone number and statistic on this page is invented; nothing here describes a real institution or a service you can actually contact.