Intuitive by design, iPad comes with assistive features to complement each learner’s vision, hearing, motor skills, learning and literacy.
iPad includes built-in apps and accessibility features that support all learners. Here are some examples:
Zoom
Zoom is a built-in magnifier that works wherever you are on iOS. It’s great for learners who are low-to-medium sight-challenged. Turn Zoom on for full-screen or picture-in-picture mode, allowing you to see the zoomed area in a separate window while keeping the rest of the screen at its native size.
You can adjust the magnification between 100 and 1,500 per cent and access multiple filter options in either mode. And while you’re zoomed in, you can still use all the familiar gestures to navigate your device.
Siri & Dictation
For some students, typing can be a challenge. Siri, Apple’s built-in personal assistant, can help students do the things they do every day — just by asking. They can say “Remind me to hand in my history essay on Friday” or “Text Mum I’m staying after school”. Siri can help students who struggle with organisation by scheduling activities and setting reminders.
Dictation lets students talk where they would type. They can reply to an email, make a note, search the web or write a report using just their voice. Tap the microphone button and Dictation converts words (and numbers and characters) into text.
Assistive Touch
Allows learners to adapt the Multi-Touch screen of an iOS device to their unique physical needs. For learners who have difficulty with some gestures, like pinch, those gestures are now accessible with just a tap of a finger. It’s easy to create your own gesture and even customise the layout of the AssistiveTouch menu.
Touch Accommodations
Allows learners to adjust how the screen of an iPad responds to touch. You can control how long you touch before it’s recognised or whether repeat touches are ignored (you can put your finger down anywhere on the screen and move to the item you want without mistakenly performing an action). So, for a student with a tremor or other motor challenge that makes it difficult to control where they touch on the screen, now – by simply turning Touch Accommodations on in the Settings menu – they can better manage how the device responds.
Display Accommodations
Allows learners to adjust how colours are differentiated. This was developed specifically with the education market in mind and can be useful for learners with dyslexia, Irlen syndrome, or who are colourblind. Coloured overlays and filters that are specific to the individual can correct how the brain processes visual information and therefore improve reading and general learning results. With the colour filters in iOS, those affected no longer need to purchase expensive glasses.
Typing Feedback
In iOS, learners can control how their iPad gives feedback as they type as well as speak text corrections and word suggestions. Character Feedback lets iPad speak letters as you type. (Character Hints will speak the phonetic name of the letter.) With Speak Words iPad will speak a word as you type it. Speak Auto-text lets iPad speak auto-corrections and auto-capitalisations as they appear. With Hold to Speak Predictions, learners can touch and hold on to a word to hear text predictions as they type.
VoiceOver
Users who are blind or have low vision can use VoiceOver, a revolutionary screen reader that lets a learner know what’s happening on their device’s screen. With a simple touch or drag of a finger around the screen, VoiceOver describes aloud what’s there, from text in documents to menus, apps and more. Because VoiceOver is integrated into iOS, it works seamlessly with all the built-in apps and features (like Zoom and Siri) that come with every iPad.
Braille
VoiceOver also includes a system-wide braille keyboard that supports braille chords in 6-dot and 8-dot braille, enabling direct braille entry without a third-party physical braille keyboard. Available in the rotor, you can use it to type text, unlock your device, launch apps and more.
And for those who want to read braille, iOS devices are fully compatible with many refreshable braille displays. Software drivers for the most popular braille displays — over 50 models — are built into the operating system so blind users can set up their own braille device unassisted. Just pair your braille display with the device, and it starts working.