Learning and Teaching Centre

Macquarie Accessibility Services

Partnerships

MQAS has formed a partnership with IBM in order to make IBM's Web Adaptation Technology available to its students.

Web Adaptation Technology

Grants for innovative Web Adaptation Technology, new software designed by IBM that makes the Internet more accessible to seniors and people with disabilities, have been awarded to nonprofit organizations that serve thousands of people in the United States, as well as internationally.

These awards represent a milestone in the development of easy-to-use technology that enables people to customise the Web in ways that work best for them. The technology, created by scientists at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, assists people with low vision by enabling them among other things, to magnify everything on a Web page, change the color of the text and background, turn off animation and sharpen images to greatly improve readability. People who have difficulty typing with accuracy - those with tremors, arthritis or recovering from a stroke - typically hold down keys too long or double-click letters. The IBM technology samples their typing, detects the errors and automatically adjusts the keyboard sensitivity to accommodate different typing styles.
You can read more about IBM's Web Adaptation Technology on the IBM website. More about IBM's Adaptation Technology.

System Requirements

To use the Web Adaptation Technology software, you will need the following:

  • A computer running Windows 98, ME, 2000, or XP.
  • The Microsoft Internet Explorer Web browser, version 5.5 or higher.
  • 125 MB Memory (256MB recommended for WinXP).
  • 10 MB free on your hard drive for the software.
  • An active Internet connection, and you must know how to get connected if it is not always on.
  • The software is optimized for a screen resolution of 800 x 600 pixels. It will also work well at higher resolutions (e.g., 1024 x 768 pixels). Lower resolutions (e.g., 640 x 480 pixels) are not supported, however, and some features of the software may not work properly at these lower resolutions

Two specific features of the software have additional requirements. These requirements are optional, depending on whether or not you wish to use these features.

  • If you want to use the Speak Text feature which allows you to hear the page spoken to you, you must:
    • Be able to hear sounds on your computer through either external or built-in speakers or headphones.
    • Have an additional 284 MB free on the hard drive.
  • If you want to use the Mouse Keys function which allows you to use the keyboard instead of a mouse, you will need a keyboard that has a separate "key pad" on the right side of the keyboard.

Access to this technology

Will I need to be a student of MQAS to get access to this technology?
No, any student will have access to the technology. Just contact us and we will arrange access for you.

What if I am not a student, can I still get access to this technology?
Yes, you just need to make contact with us and we will arrange access.

Can we organise training for the use of the technology?
Yes, contact us and we will work with you to arrange training

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