Whenever somebody asks me about my favorite free resources for people with visual impairments, I always love to talk about Bookshare and how much I benefit from using the service as a college student with low vision. My Bookshare membership will be turning eight years…

Over the years, I have taken several different English classes and have had many teachers and professors ask me for tips to make proofreading feedback accessible for low vision. This is because they would often notice that I would accidentally ignore some of their corrections…

The other day, one of my friends texted me with an urgent question asking how to request accessible textbooks in college. Their professor had just announced they would be using a new textbook for the rest of the semester, and they had no idea how…

The other day, I was having a conversation with a teacher of the visually impaired about paper and document sizes for people with low vision. They were wondering how I would choose what documents would be on what size paper, and how I would store…

Magnifying glasses are perhaps the most iconic assistive technology for low vision and vision loss, as they help to make everything bigger and make objects and text easier to see. I have several types of magnifying glasses for low vision in my assistive technology collection…

Recently, I was talking to a faculty mentor about interesting reading apps for kids, and the app Novel Effect came up as a great way to encourage students to read books, stories, and poems out loud. While I’ve always felt fairly comfortable with reading text…

When I was visiting Palo Alto, I had the opportunity to tour Bookshare headquarters and learn more about how Bookshare books come to life. As someone who has used the service for over eight years, it was fascinating for me to see all of the…

Before one of my close friends moved to another country for two years, they gave me a handwritten card that is filled with all sorts of memories and inside jokes about our friendship. Shortly after they handed me the card, my friend asked me if…

As a student with low vision, I use several different file formats for creating and accessing accessible materials. Sometimes, I will convert files from one format to another to make them easier for me to use, or I will download content in multiple formats so…

Using free assistive technology resources to make primary sources accessible for vision impairment

Learn more about dyslexia and low vision friendly fonts for accessible materials

I started using the Capti Voice Narrator app several years ago when looking for a way to listen to files or Bookshare books on a more portable device. While I prefer to read materials in large print whenever possible, I was interested in finding a…

One of my all-time favorite tools for reading digital content with low vision is a simplified reading display, which applies a consistent font size, font style, and background color to digital text. This makes it easier to read content without having to zoom in on…

How to improve readability and make it easier to see whiteboards, document cameras, and computer projectors.

How to use the Amazon Echo with Amazon Alexa to read- great for users with vision impairments and print disabilities.