I have been using Apple computers for close to ten years but have not given much thought to the assistive technology that comes as part of the Mac OS (currently I am running Yosemite). Assistive technologies are features or tools that can help a user overcome a variety of difficulties (Roblyer, 2016). For the purpose of this article, I will be focussing on features that come built in with Apple computers that help to ensure that all users can use their device. Apple has a plethora of features and I encourage you to look at their website for additional information. For the purposes of this article I will highlight a few of the technologies that can assist people with cognitive, physical, or sensory disabilities.
Many of the assistive features on a Mac are found
Cognitive Disabilities:
Cognitive disabilities are those which impact the mental processing abilities of a person (Roblyer, p. 410, 2016). For users with cognitive disabilities Apple has several features including predictive text and dictionary which can be beneficial for users with dyslexia (Marshell, p. 184, 2013). For predictive text, when you start typing a word a user can press the esc key to bring up a list of suggestions for the completed word. A user with dyslexia can benefit from this because the word list contains words that are spelled correctly, thereby eliminating time later on deal with spelling errors.
Another neat feature that can benefit users with cognitive disabilities, is the dictation capabilities of the computer. This allows users to speak into their computer and have it converted into text. This feature can not only help those with dyslexia but other cognitive and physical disabilities by removing the need to type in words.
Physical Disabilities:
Physical disabilities are those which impact the movement of a person (Roblyer, p. 412, 2016). Apple provides several neat features for those with movement difficulties particularly focused on issues with hand/arm control. One of the features is sticky keys, which had always confused me. Sticky keys alters the way key commands need to be entered by switching from simultaneous button push for commands to allowing for sequential button pushing. In other words instead of pushing Command + C at the same time for copy, a user would first push Command followed by C. This change makes it easier for individuals who have difficulty pushing two keys at the same time.
Switch control is another neat feature which brings up a keyboard on the screen that can be controlled by a mouse. This is useful for users who have difficulty operating a keyboard but are able to control a mouse.
Sensory Disabilities:
Sensory disabilities often refer to disabilities which impact the hearing or vision of a user (Roblyer, p. 413, 2016). Apple has built in several neat features to help users with hearing or vision impairments.
For users who have difficulty hearing Apple has a screen flash feature which works like an alarm or sound for when an app needs to get your attention. For example, if you are downloading something normally there is a sound effect that indicates that it has finished but with screen flash a visual cue will prompt you. Apple has partnered with Purple which offers translation services for communication between the deaf and hearing communities. The only disadvantage is that this service focuses their translations on ASL which could be problematic for users who sign in a different format or language.
Users who have a vision impairment can turn to the Mac for a host of built in features including voiceover (a service which will read what is on the screen), zoom (for enlarging parts of the screen), and cursor size. These services make it easier for those whose sight poses a problem. For users whose vision impairments involve colour, like colour blindness, Mac computers allow you to alter the contrast of your screen thereby enabling you to choose the best colour settings for your vision.
Before undertaking this exercise, I knew that Apple computers came with a host of features to assist people in using their device. However, I did not expect it to be this extensive. I think it is great that users are able to customize their experience with Mac OS like this because it enables more users access to not only powerful devices but also to the world.
As I played around with the features, I found some that I enjoyed and will probably experiment with further to see if I might prefer to use them, specifically dictation. In the classroom the features can help to ensure that all of my students are able to access the tools that we are using to help them learn.
Resources
Apple. (n.d.). Accessibility. Retrieved from http://www.apple.com/accessibility/.
Marshell, A. (2013). The everything parents guide to dyslexia. USA: Adams Media.
Roblyer, M. D. (2016). Integrating educational technology into teaching (7th ed). United States: Pearson Education, Inc.
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