SEEING EYE COMPUTERS

SEEING EYE COMPUTERS

Jessica Porter

Community College of Baltimore County

Abstract

In today’s world being able to get around the internet is just as important as navigating real world streets.  For visually impaired people this would be impossible without innovated screen readers being developed by Google and Apple.   Here we will look at the top two screen reader software and how they are impacting lives.

Due to the extreme explosion of new technologies in our everyday lives developers are creating more and more assistive technologies to accommodate people with disabilities.  Google is a major developer who just recently released an updated version of TalkBack for the visually impaired people.  TalkBack allows a person to touch their device’s screen and hear what is under their finger via spoken feedback and sounds.  With this new software available visually impaired individuals will be able to navigate the web as easily as they navigate the real world with seeing eye dogs.  By slowly dragging one’s finger around a computer screen a whole new world has been opened up for this group of people.

TalkBack although very up to date is not the only screen reader on the market for visually impaired individuals.  Apple also has screen reader software called VoiceOver.  VoiceOver which is installed in every Apple product is also very innovative.  It is very similar to TalkBack but rather having a person touch a screen VoiceOver immediately begins to read the words on the screen outloud.  It also can walk a person through actions like selecting a menu option or activating a button using the keyboard.  Although reviews for both of these screen readers are very high more people enjoy having more control that TalkBack offers rather than waiting for VoiceOver to give them directions.

In conclusion this is just the beginning for screen reader software. Developers will continue to build off and prefect from these types of software available today.  Which is extremely exciting news for the visually impaired.  What was just a black hole of nothingness is slowly coming alive by hearing.  Navigating the internet is becoming just as important as navigating the real world with every passing day software like the two previously mentioned is changing lives for the better.

References

TalkBack [Computer Software]. Android Acessibility Help. Touch Exploration in TalkBack. (2015). Mountain View, CA. web: https://support.google.com/accessibility/android/ answers/6006598?hl=en

VoiceOver [Computer Software]. Apple Acessibility. VoiceOver for OS X. A Feature That Speaks For Itself. (2015). Cupertin, CA. web: https;//www.apple.com/accessibility/osx/

Voiceover/