During my senior year of high school in 2015, I was selected as one of three students to give a presentation on educational technology in front of several faculty and staff members in my school district. The technology specialist for my school had asked me to select five Android and iPad apps that help students with low vision in classroom settings, and how I used these apps in my various in-person and online classes.
I still use some of the same apps from my presentation today in 2025, and have continued to use other apps to support compensatory skills like reading large print, keeping my notes organized, and accessing information in the classroom. While I would likely include different apps if I was giving this presentation today, I decided to keep my original recommendations mostly intact as I update this post to include more thoughts and alternatives to apps that are no longer available. Originally written in 2015, here are five apps that help students with low vision in the classroom, from the perspective of a high school student with low vision.
Notability: Complete assignments and annotate documents
I have low vision and dysgraphia, which makes it challenging for me to write information by hand as well as read my own notes or answers. I started using Notability after my school technology specialist recommended it for annotating documents and making it easier for me to enlarge documents in fixed layouts with pinch-to-zoom. With Notability, I can type, draw, use dictation, write with a finger or stylus, and use strategies like color-coding and digital ink to make it easier to read content. Another helpful feature is the ability to upload/download documents from cloud storage or access a shared folder with my instructor, making it easier to submit assignments.
I used Notability in several classes, though I found it especially useful for math and science classes because I could easily hold the iPad close to my face or position it under the bifocal in my classes. I also found it easier to write and zoom in on the touch screen, especially when it came to reading small print like subscripts/superscripts or circling answers on multiple choice tests with images.
Notability is free to download, with an additional paid subscription available— I personally don’t use any of the subscription features. It is only available for iPad/iOS.
Related links
- Notability and Low Vision
- Implementing Shared Folders For Accessible Materials
- Five Apps I Use In The Science Classroom As A Low Vision Student
- File Formats For Low Vision and Print Disabilities
- How I Use The Apple Pencil With Low Vision
- How I Use Microsoft OneNote With Low Vision
- Assistive Technology For Dysgraphia
myScript Calculator: Basic calculator without buttons
I often have trouble seeing buttons and screens on calculators, so for years I went without using calculators in my math and science classes. This changed when I learned about the myScript calculator app, which uses drawing or handwriting input as an alternative to pressing buttons or using a keyboard. Calculations are displayed in large print and match the size of the handwritten input, making it easier to read details like exponents and symbols that are typically in small print.
I used the myScript calculator on my personal iPad for the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) standardized exams, as well as the SAT and ACT. Guided Access was enabled to prevent access to other apps or internet access. I have continued to use myScript for college classes that permit basic calculators.
The myScript calculator app is available for iOS and Android for a one-time purchase of $2.99 USD. There is also another app that offers graphing functionality called myScript Math ($7.99 USD/year) from the same developer, though this was not available when I was a student.
Related links
- Five Accessible Calculator Apps For Low Vision
- How To Create An Accessible Formula Sheet
- Adapting Math Symbols: Math Problems and Low Vision
- How To Use Guided Access For Testing And Exams
- My Favorite Free Math Websites For Low Vision
PicsArt and Canva: Photo editing and graphics
Photo editing apps like PicsArt and Canva are a great tool for students with visual impairments to have, though I primarily recommend Canva now since it offers more keyboard shortcuts. Examples of how I use photo editing apps as a student with low vision include:
- Designing digital trifolds, posters, and other class projects instead of drawing things by hand.
- Removing backgrounds from images to make them easier to see.
- Cropping images or placing them on a larger canvas so I can use magnification more effectively— if I am having trouble enlarging the edges of an image, I add the image to a larger canvas to make it easier to zoom in.
- Creating drawings and diagrams.
- Adding a colored overlay or changing colors of an image.
- Stitching together multiple images on one page.
- Using retouching tools on blurry or low-resolution images so they are easier to see.
- Editing images to simulate my visual impairment.
Both PicsArt and Canva offer free plans and free iOS/Android applications, as well as annual premium subscriptions— PicsArt is around $60 USD per year and Canva is around $120 USD per year. Of the two applications, I use premium features in Canva more often for creating website graphics and putting together school projects.
Related links
- Using PicsArt To Simulate Low Vision
- Adapting Accessible Trifold Posters For Low Vision
- Using The iPad Markup Tool With Low Vision
- How To Create High Resolution Images For Low Vision
- How To Modify Accessible Anatomy Graphics For Low Vision
- How To Modify An Instrument Fingering Chart For Low Vision
- How To Create Accessible Diagrams For Low Vision
Clips and audio narrated images: Additional image description
Audio narrated images combine voice recordings/audio, images, and digital annotations to provide additional descriptions for visual content. I previously recommended the Clarisketch app for audio narrated images, however this app is no longer in development. There are several free alternatives though for creating audio narrated images, including Clips, Canva, and even PowerPoint.
When used with high-contrast ink colors, audio narrated images are a super helpful strategy for providing explanations of different visual concepts or descriptions of elements of an image. In high school, I used this tool to explain the steps of a chemistry equation to my instructor, and for another assignment that involved explaining how to use a school website.
Related links
- Creating Audio Narrated Images For Low Vision
- How To Create Accessible Videos and Narrated Images With Clips
- Recording Video Lectures For Visually Impaired Students
- Choosing A Tutor For Low Vision Students
- Using Digital 3D Models With Low Vision
Amazon Kindle and eReading applications: Read textbooks and sideload content
I started using the free Amazon Kindle app to read a science textbook during my senior year of high school, and was very excited to have the option to resize text in large print as well as zoom in on images. However, my favorite functionality of eReading applications is the option to sideload content to read it in another application— the Send-to-Kindle feature has been awesome for loading copies of class readings and opening them in large print on my iPad. I also use the Barnes and Noble Nook app for sideloading content like cookbooks from Bookshare.
I prefer reading EPUBs with responsive layouts over fixed-layout PDFs because I can enlarge text without having to horizontally scroll to read an entire line or without having to pinch-to-zoom to read individual letters. While there are situations where I use fixed-layout pages and I have learned to navigate both types of documents, I will almost always choose a responsive or reflowable EPUB, HTML, or DOCX file over a fixed layout.
Related links
- A to Z of Assistive Technology for Reading Digital Text
- How I Use Send-To-Kindle With Low Vision
- Amazon Kindle App and Low Vision Accessibility
- Ten Questions To Ask When Buying Digital Textbooks
- Mainstream eReader Apps and Low Vision Accessibility
- Sideloading and Low Vision
More apps that help students with low vision in the classroom
- Simplified Reading Displays and Low Vision
- Free Accessible Periodic Tables For Low Vision
- How I Access PowerPoints with Microsoft Sway
- How I Use Microsoft Whiteboard With Low Vision
- iOS Magnifier and Low Vision Accessibility
- How To Describe Science Experiments For Visually Impaired Students
- ScanMarker Air: OCR Scanner Pen for Low Vision
- Instapaper Accessibility For Visual Impairment
Published November 14, 2016. Updated September 2025