I started using Chegg eTextbooks and their eReader application when I had to rent a digital book for a lab class and couldn’t find it from any other websites that would also support adjustable font sizes for reading- a must-have feature for someone with low…

While a lot of people associate dysgraphia with illegible or hard-to-read handwriting, dysgraphia can often extend to difficulties with typing and other types of written expression as well. Even though I type all of my notes and assignments for my online classes, my dysgraphia doesn’t…

In recent years, I have collected multiple library cards for digital content so that I can access books and media I am interested in without having to leave the house. My local library has a ton of awesome online services, but I’ve been able to…

Even though I have trouble seeing in all my classes (and outside of my classes for that matter), my math test accommodations for low vision look a bit different than the testing accommodations for my other classes. This is because in math, every letter, number,…

This semester, I noticed a new tool within my online classes called Blackboard Ally that could transform the way that I access materials as a student with low vision that fluctuates frequently. I’ve been using Blackboard Ally for about a week and a half now,…

Recently, I received a message from a Teacher of the Visually Impaired asking about the most common tech skills for virtual classes that I use in college, as they were helping to prepare their students for taking online and hybrid classes in college by giving…

Over the last five years, I have had the opportunity to take two different online English classes and was able to earn high grades in both of them. While I naturally enjoy reading and writing, one of the challenges I had to overcome in taking…

There are a few websites I visit daily or multiple times a week, such as my WordPress dashboard, school website, and digital services from my public library. Instead of having a bunch of tiny icons crammed onto my Favorites tab, I wanted to find more…

I use screensharing tools frequently for my job and also for my virtual classes, and over the last few months have learned several different strategies for effective screensharing with low vision, both as a presenter and  as an audience member. A lot of traditional screensharing…

Instead of traveling to the Disability Services testing center on-campus or taking exams in a traditional classroom environment, many of my professors and professional certification exams provide students with remote testing options that allow them to take exams from home with their own technology. My…

In my current math class, the professor assigns homework and quiz questions using a tool called ALEKS so that students can practice skills outside of class. Once I found out that we would be using ALEKS, I started researching ALEKS accessibility and playing around with…

As a student with low vision, I am used to requesting and explaining disability accommodations in my college classes and in other testing environments. However, one of the things that surprised me when I started taking primarily virtual classes and exams is that I needed…

Fun fact- all of the history classes that I have taken since ninth grade have been online history classes. I took my first online history class shortly before starting tenth grade because of a scheduling issue, and while I hadn’t planned on taking additional online…

Recently, I was on a video call where someone had enabled a custom video background that was designed to make it easier to concentrate on the speaker but ended up being very distracting for me as someone with low vision. The dim lighting conditions for…

Recently, I received a question from a teacher who was nervous about having their student (who has an unidentified disability) taking virtual classes, as they do not know a lot about troubleshooting assistive technology or supporting students with technical issues. They were wondering what the…