Voice Dream Writer: Word Processing Plus a Whole Lot More

Voice Dream has become a well-known name in the assistive technology community because of Voice Dream Reader: a text-to-speech reader available for iOS devices. Now the developer has released a new app called Voice Dream Writer which aims to support writers with special needs. Voice Dream Writer has features that can benefit people with a wide range of needs including people with dyslexia and people who are blind or visually impaired. People without disabilities can also benefit from the app. For example, english language learners could benefit from spoken feedback and other features offered by Voice Dream Writer. 

The text-to-speech feedback is designed to help writers find mistakes in their writing. The style of text-to-speech reading can even be changed to help writers focus either on spelling and grammar, or on content and organization. The app also offers easy access to an outline view that can help with organizing a document. Other features allow users to look up words phonetically or look up words by its meaning. 

The text-to-speech feedback can be accessed as users type so they can verify that a word or sentence was entered as they intended. This helps writers identify words or phrases that looked correct, but upon hearing them read aloud sound incorrect. The app will also read back text that has been dictated to help users insure that their voice was transcribed correctly.

When it is time to review a document, Voice Dream Writer includes some very thoughtful features for editing. The app includes two customizable proof reading modes that use text-to-speech to help with the editing process. The first is designed to help writers edit the content of their document. In this mode words are read back using text-to-speech sound natural and smooth: as they would when reading a book with Voice Dream Reader. This allows writers to focus on the content and organization of their document. 

The second mode reads text back in a somewhat choppy manner which allows users to focus their document at the micro level. This mode is ideal for editing spelling a grammar because the lack of flow with the text-to-speech voice makes it easier to focus on each word rather than the overall content of the text.

Each proofreading mode is customizable with options to announce misspelled words, spell homophones, and speak punctuation and capitalization.

Similar to Voice Dream Reader, Voice Dream Writer includes the ability to change the visual style of the app. Font size, character and line spacing, margins, text color, and background color can all be changed. Additionally, users can change the text to speech voice and speaking rate to match their preferences. Text-to-speech voices purchased in Voice Dream Reader are available in the Writer without an additional purchase. The pronunciation dictionary also syncs between the Writer and the Reader if both are installed on the same device.

Text files can be imported from iCloud Drive or supported third party services such as Google Drive or Dropbox. Unfortunately, users can only import text files and not Microsoft Word files. Documents can be exported as HTML, RTF, Microsoft Word, or Apple Pages format.

Click read more below to continue to read the review of Voice Dream Writer. Some of the most innovative and helpful features will be described below.

Some of Voice Dream Writers most helpful features can be found in the right sidebar menu. First is a dictionary which can read back the definitions of a word (This feature is currently not available in Voice Dream Reader without using VoiceOver). The second tool allows users to enter a word spelled phonetically to find the correctly spelled option.  For example, if I typed "receat," it   might suggest the word "receipt," as an option. Unlike some other apps, these suggestions are not made based on the context of the surrounding text. Users can tap on each suggestion to hear the word spoken aloud. This feature is extremely helpful for poor spellers, especially when they are in a situation where using dictation would be inappropriate or unavailable. 

The last feature on the right sidebar is the option to look up a word by meaning. For example, if I was writing about organizations which donate money to charities, but could not think of the word "philanthropic" I could search "donate money" and "philanthropic" would be one of the suggestions. This can help reduce instances of a word being at the tip of your tong, but you can quite think of the word.

In the left sidebar menu is an outline view. Users can select to view an outline of their document by heading, paragraph, or sentence. Users can then simply rearrange paragraphs or headings by dragging and dropping. This is helpful for the planning stages of writing as users can plan different paragraphs and fill in the content after they are finished planning.

All formatting in Voice Dream Writer is done using markdown. This means that all editing is done in plain text, but symbols inserted before or after words cause the words to be formatted when the file is exported. For example, adding a # or * before a word will cause that word to be formatted as a heading or as italic font when exported. This system has some positives and some negatives over conventional formatting that is found in Microsoft Word and Apple's Pages. 

For blind users this system can be helpful because the special characters such as # and * will be spoken allowing them to quickly recognize when a portion of text is bold or italics. In other word processors italics and bold text may be read normally making it more difficult for blind users to determine how the document is formatted. However, for sighted users this system may be unfamiliar and therefore more difficult. It would be nice if Voice Dream Writer had both the option of using markdown and for editing in rich text and allowed the users to decide which option worked best for their needs.

Finally, Voice Dream Writer includes a new innovation which improves the text selection and cursor movement process for VoiceOver users. These tasks are normally difficult for VoiceOver users. VoiceOver is a built in screen reader available on iOS devices that allows blind and visually impaired users to use gestures in order to use their device. When VoiceOver is enabled, Voice Dream Writer automatically adds three buttons to the bottom left of the screen. The first button controls the cursor and accepts a combination of multi-figure taps and swipes to move the cursor forward and backwards through the document. The second button adjusts how much the cursor moves with each swipe of the first button. This button allows the cursor to move letter-by-letter, word-by-word, sentence-by-sentence or paragraph-by-paragraph. The third button allows users to easily select text and then copy or cut that text. This system of selecting text and moving the cursor with VoiceOver is much faster than the method used in other apps and is a major benefit of Voice Dream Writer for VoiceOver users.

Voice Dream Writer is available for all iOS devices running iOS 8 and higher. While iPhone support is certainly convenient when writing a quick email, the iPad's large screen seems best suited for longer writing. Users who want to use the app for writing long pieces will probably wish to use a Bluetooth keyboard for faster typing. People using Bluetooth keyboards will also enjoy the ability to use keyboard shortcuts with the app. More keyboard shortcuts will be added in future versions as well. For example, in the future users with Bluetooth keyboards will be able to enter a key combination to quickly find all misspelled words.

In all Voice Dream Writer has many superb features that can help writers with a wide variety of needs. Hopefully rich text editing and the ability to import Word documents will be added in a future version. Voice Dream Writer seems like it would also make a great Mac app and hopefully someday people will be able to use these features on their Macs. Even without rich text editing and Mac support, Voice Dream Writer seems amazingly polished and well thought through for a version 1.0 app. To purchase Voice Dream Writer for $10 on the App Store click here. The app will be on sale for $8 until Sunday, February 1, 2015.

If you’re still unsure about the apps features watch the video below in which Winston Chen, the developer of Voice Dream Reader and Voice Dream Writer, walks viewers through his latest app.

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Keeble Keyboard for iPad: Flexible Text Input for Users with Special Needs

Keeble is a virtual keyboard for iPad made by AssistiveWare. The app is only available in English for iPads running iOS 8 and above. As a result of new features available in iOS 8 the Keeble keyboard can be used in almost every app on the iPad including mail, Safari, and messages. Keeble gives users a number of customization options to make text input easier for users with special needs such as motor challenges, dyslexia, and other disabilities.

One option available is the ability to change the appearance of the keyboard. Users can change the color of the keyboard which could be helpful for users with visual impairments. The higher contrast colors can be more easily seen compared to the white and gray colors of the default iOS keyboard. The layout can be change from a QWERTY layout to an ABC layout if desired.

Keeble also includes word predication to speed up typing; especially for Switch Control users. The word predication features is slightly more advanced than iOS 8's built-in word prediction. Keeble allows users to change the number of predictions offered above the three offered by the default iOS 8 keyboard.

Keeble also allows users to change how the keys respond to taps and presses. This is especially useful for users with motor challenges that may cause accidental taps or presses on unwanted keys. Hold duration can be set to change how long a key must be held before that character is entered. With this option enabled, quick accidental taps will not be registered. Additionally, the backspace repeat can be customized to avoid accidentally deleting text. A "select on release" option is also available which will enter text on release of a key instead when the key is pressed.

The last customization option allows users to turn on spoken feedback of the text they type. Feedback can be given letter by letter, word by word, and/or sentence by sentence. This feature allows people with dyslexia or poor spellers to confirm that what they words they think entered are the words that they hear being spoken back to them using text-to-speech. While this feature is useful it can only be enabled and disabled via the apps settings. If there was an option to turn on and off auditory feedback directly, it would be much easier to access the feature when needed and disable the feature when not needed. Users can totally turn off the iPad's speakers but this will also mute all other audio output. There is space on the bottom right of the number and symbol entry keyboard where quick access to this setting could be added.

The Keeble app costs $15 on the App Store. To download the app click here. Click read more below to view screenshots of the Keeble keyboard.

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KNFB Reader App: Amazingly Fast and Accurate

The KNFB Reader is a text recognition app that is shockingly fast. Take a picture of a newspaper article or practically any printed text and within a couple of seconds the app will be reading the text back to you. A "couple of seconds" is no exaggeration, the KNFB Reader app is that fast. For people who are visually impaired or have difficulty reading, the KNFB Reader is perfect for accessing printed text.

Once a document is properly framed, only one more step is necessary to start reading the document. Simply press the take picture button and within seconds the app will recognize the text within the document using optical character recognition (OCR) and begin reading it with text-to-speech. No need to crop or adjust the image, once the picture is taken the app does all the work. All recognition is done locally on the device so personal data is never transmitted over the internet.

The KNFB Reader app has a number of features that help users capture images of text. For users who are blind and visually impaired the app offers a "field of view report" which offers spoken feedback to help frame the document in the view finder. This feature will let a users know how many corners of the document are within the field of view and if the document is tilted. In addition, the app offers automatic picture taking mode which will automatically snap a picture of a document when it is properly framed.  The app also includes the ability to capture multi-page documents with batch mode. The field of view feature worked well with loose paper documents, but I did not have success using the automatic capture feature with books.

In addition to using the device's built in camera to capture images, users can also import image based PDF documents and JPG files to be recognized with the app. For example, using the "open in" feature of Google Drive will allow a user to import an image to be recognized and read with KNFB Reader.

Text is can be highlighted word-by-word or line-by-line as it is being read aloud by the text-to-speech voice. Users can adjust the layout and appearance of the text and change the speaking rate of the text-to-speech voice. Only the default iOS text-to-speech voice is available, so users hoping to use another voice will have to export the text to another app. The built-in text reader also lacks the ability to highlight or annotate the document, so once again users looking for this functionality will need to export the text to a different app.

While the KNFB Reader app is faster and more accurate than competing products such as Prizmo, Prizmo does include some useful features that KNFB Reader does not. Prizmo, which is significantly less expensive, includes the ability to export PDF documents. This means a user can take a picture of a document, have the text recognized and any images on the page retained by Prizmo, so that it looks identical to the printed page. KNFB reader, by contrast strips away images, and only retains the printed text. If PDF export is an important feature to you, Prizmo may be a better option. Click here to learn more about Prizmo. 

If you are looking for a text recognition app with great speed and accuracy, I think you will be quite pleased. If The KNFB reader fits your budget, you won't be disappointed. KNFB Reader costs $100, to download the app from the App Store click here. It is compatible with the iPhone 4S and newer and the iPod touch fifth generation. Click read more below to view screen shots of the app.

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New in iOS 8: Hands-Free Siri and Improved Dictation

Apple's voice activated features have received some new features as part of iOS 8. Siri is a virtual voice activated personal assistant that can answer your questions, call your friends, check the weather, and much more.  Now it can  be activated hands free by saying, "Hey, Siri." Previously, users would have to press and hold the home button to activate Siri.

The new feature will allow people with physical disabilities to easily activate Siri. The hands-free activation feature does have one major caveat: the device must be plugged in and charging. Users who need or want to access this feature on- the- go can purchase a battery case to utilize this feature. It is possible that future iOS devices will not require a power source to use the "Hey, Siri" feature.

In addition, when dictating a question to Siri or dictating text into an app the recognized words appear almost instantly after being spoken. To use dictation bring up the keyboard and then press the microphone icon next to the space key. With words appearing as you speak it is easier to identify mistakes which makes the dictation process faster. Dictation can be a useful feature for people who struggle with spelling and people who have difficulty using a keyboard. These features are available for devices running iOS 8.

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New in iOS 8: Greyscale Mode

iOS 8 includes a new greyscale mode that could benefit people with visual impairments. The new mode is included in addition to inverse color which was previously available. The new option will reduce the bright colors and possibly reduce glare to make the screen easier to see. Greyscale and inverse color can be enabled simultaneously for further visual changes. Even for people without visual impairments greyscale maybe made the screen slightly easier to view outdoors.

To enable greyscale navigate to Settings > General > Accessibility > Greyscale. Please note that the above screenshot is an altered colored screenshot.

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New in iOS 8: Improved Guided Access with Timers and Touch ID Integration

Guided Access is one of the many iOS features being enhanced in iOS 8. Guided Access is used to keep a someone on a single app using  a password. For example, if you want your child to read a book and not watch a video you can lock them into the reading app, eliminating the ability to navigate to other apps. With Guided Access enabled, a child or student will need a passcode in order to enter another app. To learn more about Guided Access click here.

One of the enhancement allows users to end a Guided Access session with their finger print using Touch ID. Similar to how third-party developers can implement Touch ID authentication, Guided Access will also take advantage of finger print reading technology. Instead of entering a passcode, users with a Touch ID enabled device will be able to end the session simply by placing their finger on the Touch ID sensor. This feature will simplify the processes of ending Guided Access and potentially eliminate the frustration resulting in forgotten passcodes.

The other enhancement allows students and parents to set a time limit. After the time expires the app will not respond until the correct passcode or finger print is entered. Periodically a small message appears showing how much time is remaining. This feature could be perfect for test taking by ensuring students stop answering questions after the allotted time expires, or for setting a time limit for playing games- when the time limit is reached, the app will not respond.

To enable Guided Access navigate to Settings > General > Accessibility > Guided Access.

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New in iOS 8: Built-in Braille Keyboard for Six-Dot Input

iOS 8 includes enhancements to VoiceOver, the built-in gesture based screen reader for people with visual impairments. One of the improvements is a new built-in Braille Keyboard for Six-Dot input. The new feature is similar to the BrailleTouch app released a few years ago with one major difference; the built-in option can be used to enter text into any app directly. The option can be enabled in the VoiceOver rotor. The Braille keyboard will offer VoiceOver users who are familiar with Braille an alternative, and possibly much faster text entry method. iOS 8 will also offers third-party keyboards such as Fleksy which could also offer significantly faster text input for VoiceOver users.

Once you turn the Braille keyboard on six positions will appear on screen representing the six Braille dots. When the device is held with the screen perpendicular to the floor it automatically enters screen away mode. When using this mode the user faces the screen away allowing three fingers from each hand to contact the screen. As the user begins to type the six virtual dots automatically reposition themselves to compensate for changes in your grip. The dots can also be recalibrated by holding down the three right hand fingers and then the three left hand fingers immediately after. This positions the dots directly under your fingers.

When the device is set on the table or another flat surface the Braille keyboard enters tabletop mode. This mode would seem to be ideal for an iPad can can also be used on smaller devices. It does take some care to ensure that the keyboard does not switch between tabletop and screen away mode accidentally. In both modes typing did seem difficult on the small screen, but some practice seemed to improve typing speed. This new option allows typing with contracted or uncontracted Braille. When typing a swipe right adds a space and a swipe left deletes the last character typed. This new method of typing is very sensitive a will likely require practice before mastering. If you use this feature frequently, it maybe helpful to purchase a case that boarders the screen to avoid trying to type on the bezel.

To enable the Braille keyboard go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Rotor > Braille Screen Input. Then, when VoiceOver is enabled, rotate the rotor until Braille screen input is selected. It exciting to see all the new third-party keyboard options for iOS 8, but for VoiceOver users, Apple's own Braille keyboard maybe the most exciting of all.

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New in iOS 8: Start Text-To-Speech Easily with Speak Screen

iOS 8 includes some new accessibility features and many improvements to existing features. One of the new features is called Speak Screen which allows users to quickly have text on the screen spoken aloud using text-to-speech. Speak Screen is included in addition to Speak Selection which allows users to highlight text and press speak to have content read aloud.

Unlike Speak Selection, which requires text to be highlighted first, before reading the text aloud,  Speak Screen does not require users to highlight the text they wish to have spoken. Especially for longer articles or emails, this highlighting process could be time consuming and frustrating.

Speak Screen solves the problem by speaking all text on the screen with a simple two-finger swipe down from the top of the screen. After swiping down with two fingers, text starts to be read aloud with text-to-speech, and the Speak Screen menu appears on top of your current app. This menu allows you to stop and start speech, adjust the text-to-speech speaking rate, and navigate through the text being spoken.  Instead of having to re-highlight text if you want to hear a paragraph again, Speak Screen offers simple navigation buttons. The menu can also be hidden to allow full view of the screen and accessed again through a small floating button. Just like Speak Selection, Speak Screen has the option to highlight text as it is spoken, making it easier for sighted readers to follow the text as it is being spoken.

Just like all of the accessibility features in iOS 8, Speak Screen can use the Alex text-to-speech voice which many users prefer. While Alex is a very high quality text-to-speech voice beware, it takes up almost one gigabyte of storage. Speak Screen can also be activated through Siri by saying "speak the screen." To enable Speak Screen on a device with iOS 8 go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Speech and then toggle on Speak Screen. Speak Screen is only available for devices running iOS 8 or higher.

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New in iOS 8: Vastly Improved Zoom

In previous versions of iOS, zoom was only  a simple full screen magnification. With iOS 8, Apple has vastly improved zoom with partial screen window zoom, filters, and smarter magnification options. Zoom is a vital feature for people with low vision and its new features in iOS 8 makes it even more useful.

One of the most noticeable enhancements is the ability to magnify certain areas of the screen while leaving the rest of the screen unmagnified. As opposed to full screen zoom, the zoom lens allows for more easy navigation while still allowing certain important areas to be magnified. Users can change the size of the magnified area and pan around the screen in order to magnify different areas. An option is available to add a zoom control to the screen which acts like a virtual joystick for controlling which areas of the screen are magnified.Within the magnified area, users can apply filters to make viewing easier.  The filters available are inverse colors, greyscale, low light, and greyscale inverse.

As pictured above, iOS 8 allows users to choose not to magnify the keyboard. This can make typing on software keyboards much easier while still allowing the text being entered to be enlarged. When the keyboard is magnified some keys are cut off requiring panning to type, iOS 8 eliminates this problem. Zoom also includes the ability to follow the VoiceOver cursor focus. Meaning when the VoiceOver cursor is focused on an app or button, that app or button will be enlarged in the zoom window.

These new zoom options are just one of many exciting accessibility enhancements included in iOS 8. The improved zoom will benefit many users with visual impairments and is a huge improvement over zoom in iOS 7. To enable zoom go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Zoom. For more screenshots of zoom in action click read more below.

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Apple Releases iOS 8 with Major Accessibility Improvements

Today, Apple released iOS 8 the latest software update for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. The new software, which is available for free, includes many new features and enhancements, including new accessibility features and tools that will allow developers to make the next generation of apps. Apple has not stood still in terms accessibility and as a result, iOS 8 is truly the most accessible and inclusive iOS version to date.

Some of the most exciting new accessibility features are included in iOS are ready to use right after updating. These features are developed by Apple, and most are found under Settings > General > Accessibility.

Speak Screen is one of the new accessibility features that allows users to quickly and easily have content on the screen read with text-to-speech with a simple two finger swipe down gesture. Unlike older versions of iOS which required users to highlight sections that they wished to be spoken, Speak Screen does not require any highlighting. Users can even ask Siri to “speak the screen” to start text-to-speech.

Apple’s highly acclaimed screen reader, VoiceOver, also received some substantial updates. Now, VoiceOver users can enter text using a system-wide virtual six-dot Braille keyboard. Zoom is also vastly improved with windowed magnification and filters. Guided Access and AssistiveTouch have seen smaller improvements.

In addition, all accessibility features that use speech will now be able to use the Alex text-to-speech voice that many Mac users enjoy. All of these features are included with the iOS 8 update. Stay tuned for in depth information about the features discussed above in the coming days and weeks.

With iOS 8, Apple has given developers tools to make the next generation of great apps. Hopefully, assistive app makers will be able to take advantage of these new features to help people with various needs. Developers can now make system wide keyboard apps. iOS keyboards will now be able to enter text into any app if the developer updates the app for iOS 8. For example, Fleksy and SwiftKey are expect to receive an update shortly to enable text entry into any app. Developers can also add the ability to unlock their app using Touch IDfinger print recognition for devices with Touch ID. Lastly, developers can create extensions to allow their app to perform functions within other apps. For example, a translation extension could be used within Safari to eliminate the need to switch apps.

These features open up a whole new world to app developers and it will be exciting to use some of the new apps that take advantage of these new developer features. While some apps have already been updated to take advantage of the new developer features in iOS, many have not been. Check back to read about some apps that are taking advantage of these new developer features in ways that can help people with disabilities.

iOS 8 is a free update that you can download now. Stay tuned to the Assistive Technology Blog to learn more about the new included accessibility features and about apps that take advantage of the new developer features.

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What a Larger Screen iPhone Means for Accessibility

The general consensus is that Apple will introduce new iPhones with larger screens in a few days. With many people with disabilities using Apple's flagship device for their accessibility needs a change can have a large impact on users. From a software prospective iOS 8 will offer many accessibility improvements, but hardware is also an important aspect of accessibility. The larger screen will certainly benefit some users with special needs, but may also cause problems for others.

Users with low vision may benefit the most from the larger viewing area. On current iPhones, with large text enabled, only a small amount of text is able to fit on screen. A larger screen will allow more text to fit on screen requiring less scrolling for users who prefer or require large text. The large screen will also give VoiceOver users more space to use three or four finger gestures.

On the other hand a larger screen iPhone may pose a challenge. Users with physical challenges may have a difficult time reaching all the controls. Also users who prefer using their phone in one hand and users who can only use one hand to operate their phone may find it difficult access all areas of the screen. It is possible that Apple will come up with a software solution to these possible challenges, making one handed use a breeze. 

When Apple introduced the iPhone 5 it claimed that the larger screen was a perfect size for one handed, use so it will be interesting to see how the next iPhone is marketed.

People who use Apple devices as assistive devices should be excited about the company's upcoming announcement. Regardless of any hardware changes Apple's iOS 8 includes unmatched accessibility features for people with a variety of needs. The potentially larger screen size will likely benefit most users. The benefits and trade-offs of larger screen phones has been explored with Android phones for years, and hopefully Apple has been able to iron out any lasting challenges. Aside from the form factor, Apple may introduce new software or hardware features that impact people with disabilities at their event. Stay tuned for information about how Apple's announcements impact accessibility.

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How Apple Could Improve the App Store for VoiceOver Users

Potential  Feature for App Store

Would you buy a song that may or may not play, a car that may or may not fit in your garage, or a remote that could or could not work with your TV? Probably not, but a similar problem is facing VoiceOver users (and users of other built-in accessibility features) every time they look for a new app on the App Store. This user base is growing quickly due to high quality accessibility features that Apple builds into every iOS device. Currently, the App Store offers no way for users to know if the app will be accessible before hitting the buy button. For VoiceOver users, this means throwing away money if the app turns out to be inaccessible. While the issue of app accessibility has been getting a lot of buzz lately, hopefully Apple can implement some solutions to the problem before and until app accessibility is virtually ubiquitous.

One way to help users know if an app is accessible before hitting the buy button is to add an accessibility report to the apps App Store page. Just as App Store pages prominently displays if an app is compatible with Game Center. This report could be generated during Apple's app review process and consist of a simple rating scale to help users determine if the app is accessible for their needs. As Rene Ritchie of iMore.com suggested, maybe Apple would decide not to recommend any apps that are not fully accessible.

There are other solutions such as allowing developers to create an app accessibility preview alongside the full blown app previews coming with iOS 8. Developers could walk users through how the app interacts with VoiceOver or other accessibility features directly in the App Store using audio and video.

Hopefully Apple and app developers continue to keep in mind when updating their products.

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Happy Birthday VoiceOver

Five years ago, Apple did what seemed impossible; making the smooth glass of the iPhone touch screen accessible to the blind. A seemingly impossible task made possible by one of Apple's greatest software innovations; at least in my mind and the minds of millions of others with disabilities. Apple's solution was VoiceOver, a screen reader like no other before. VoiceOveruses touch gestures instead of keyboard shortcuts and other more desktop friendly inputs that had been used before. Simply put, VoiceOver allowed millions of blind and visually impaired users to experience the magic that was iPhone. In some ways, VoiceOver is to accessibility as the Model T was to transportation: both brought new opportunities to the masses.

VoiceOver has come preinstalled on every iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch for the past five years. Blind and visually impaired users can purchase a device off the shelf and have access almost immediately. Apple often says “built-in, not bolted on” when talking about accessibility which is definitely accurate in respect to VoiceOver. Thanks to VoiceOver blind and visually impaired users were as much a part of the smartphone revolution as any other user group. Over the past five years Apple has refined and updated VoiceOver and has added new accessibility features to help users with a wide variety of disabilities. Apple devices pushed the entire smartphone and tablet market to become more accessibile to more people.

The inclusion of VoiceOver and other built-in accessibility features has allowed the App Store to boom with assistive apps to help the needs of people with disabilities. Not only did VoiceOver show that accessibility was possible on a touch screen phone, it gave developers a foundation to build great accessible apps. Basically, VoiceOver created a customer base for apps that helped the blind, which drove demand and increased the supply of great accessible apps. Another app gold-rush of sorts, but this time with apps tailored to people with disabilities. These apps are opening up new possibilities for disabled iOS users.

On this fifth birthday of VoiceOver, Apple continues improve its accessibility offerings. Apple Keynote events routinely focus on a person with a disability being aided by an Apple product; it is clear that Apple cares about accessibility. New accessibility features come with every release of iOS, allowing users with different needs to get the most out of their device. However, no software is bug free and users are encouraged to email accessibility@apple.com with suggestions or comments. And a many developers still do not support accessibility features in their apps. It can go a long way for users to tweet or email a developer asking for enhanced accessibility features. With Apple releasing “new product categories” within the year as CEO Tim Cook is often heard saying, hopefully accessibility remains at the forefront. VoiceOver has opened doors for millions of blind and low vision users, what other five-year-old can say that?

Happy birthday VoiceOver!

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Apple Begins Hosting Free Accessibility Workshops

Recently, select Apple Retail Stores have started hosting free accessibility workshops. The hour long sessions are instructed by Apple Store employees and cover various accessibility features included in iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks. Workshops are divided based on the user's needs and include hearing, vision, and physical and motor skills. These workshops will presumably cover features such as VoiceOver, Assistive Touch, Switch Control, and more.

These workshops are a great way for Apple customers to learn about helpful accessibility features that are already built into their devices. The workshops will also offer users of Apple's accessibility features an opportunity to get their questions answered in person. The training of the workshop instructors will be key to a successful experience. Hopefully, these workshops will be offered in all Apple Stores in the near future. While accessibility specific workshops may not help Apple's bottom line, they demonstrate Apple continued commitment to accessibility.

Click read more below to view descriptions of the available sessions.

Below are the workshops titles and descriptions reported by AccessiQ.org.

Hearing in iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks

Discover the many built-in accessibility features in iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. From enjoying your favourite content with closed captioning to communicating in sign language with FaceTime, you’ll see how easy it is to get the most out of your iPad, iPhone or Mac.

Physical and Motor Skills with iOS 7 

Come and learn about the innovative technologies in iOS 7 that make the Multi-Touch screen easily accessible to people who find it hard to tap or use gestures. We’ll show you features and shortcuts that let you do everything from control the device with your voice to adapt the screen controls to your unique needs.  

Physical and Motor Skills with OS X Mavericks

Let us show you the many ways OS X technologies can help you navigate the Mac if you have difficulty using a keyboard, mouse or trackpad. You’ll learn how to navigate using switches with Switch Control and make keyboard and mouse gestures easier with features like Slow Keys, Sticky Keys and Mouse Keys, and even see how to control the computer with your voice.

 Vision with iOS 7

In this workshop, you’ll learn about the accessibility features in iOS 7 that help people who are blind or have low vision use iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Find out how VoiceOver — a revolutionary advanced screen reader — and features like Siri and Dictation help you type, launch apps, send messages, read your calendar and so much more. 

Vision with OS X Mavericks 

This workshop will introduce you to the assistive technologies in OS X Mavericks that help people who are blind or have low vision use the Mac. You’ll discover VoiceOver, an advanced screen reader that converts text to speech, and Dictation, which converts your speech to text, as well as other great features like screen magnification and high-contrast settings.

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Apple Announces WWDC 2014: Will Accessibility Enhancements Take Center Stage Once Again?

Apple announced that their World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) will take place from June 2nd - 6th in San Francisco, California. At the event, Apple will preview the future versions of iOS and OS X. It is unknown what these changes will entail, but if history is any indication Apple will preview iOS 8 and OS X 10.10. Consistently, over the past few years Apple has steadily improved the accessibility features of both iOS, which runs the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch and OS X, which runs on Mac computers. Last year with OS X 10.9 Mavericks, Apple added Switch Control, large text, VoiceOver enhancements, customizable closed captioning, and enhanced dictation. iOS 7 added Switch Control, improved Siri, and ability for developers to utilize system text-to-speech voices.

At WWDC 2012, Apple devoted precious time during their Keynote to detail improved accessibility features found in iOS 6. With millions of users any accessibility improvements can have a dramatic impact on many users. Hopefully, Apple can continue to improve their current accessibility options while continuing to insure that any possible future devices are also accessible to people with all abilities. For attendees, the venue is fully ADA compliant.

Stay tuned to the Assistive Technology Blog to learn all about how the WWDC 2014 announcements impact accessibility.

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Voice Dream Reader Updated to Version 3.0: Read PDFs in Original Layout and More

Voice Dream Reader is an app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch that supports people who prefer reading in different ways. Voice Dream can read documents from a number of sources with multiple high quality text-to-speech voices. Users can import PDFs, Word documents, text files, webpages, and even Bookshare books into the app. Once the text is loaded into the app you can listen to it using text-to-speech, highlight the text, search for a specific words or phrases, and get definitions for unknown words. Among many other uses, Voice Dream Reader is a terrific Bookshare book reader for students. Voice Dream also works very well with VoiceOver. Now, with newly released Voice Dream Reader version 3.0, new features have been added that makes the app even more useful.

Up until yesterday evening, Voice Dream only supported text. All images and formatting associated with a file were stripped away. With version 3.0 images and formatting within PDF files are retained. Now you can read a PDF in its original layout. Voice Dream still highlights each word as it is read aloud. It is easy to switch between layout view and text view depending on your preferences. Version 3.0 also includes more customization options. Users now have more control over the colors of the highlighting and spacing of the text. An improved web browser has been added that makes adding text from the web quicker and easier. New Ivona text-to-speech voices are also available for purchase in version 3.0.

With large PDF files page loading is slightly slow, but this problem only occur with very large files and does not effect text view performance.

In future updates image support maybe added for Bookshare books or other document types. I also hope iCloud sync will be added in a future update. At school I read my books on my iPhone and make new annotations, but when I get home and start reading on my iPad the annotations are stuck on the iPhone and I must search for the page that I left off on. iCloud sync would make this process much more seamless.

Voice Dream Reader is a must have app for iOS users with print disabilities or anyone who could benefit from reading with text-to-speech. Voice Dream Reader's well developed features make loading, reading, and annotating text easy. Knowing that the app has a developer that is open to feedback and actively developing new features is an added benefit. Voice Dream Reader costs $9.99 on the App Store. Click here to download the app. There is also a lite version of Voice Dream Reader that allows you to try it before you buy.

Click read more to view screenshots of Voice Dream Reader.

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Apple Releases iOS 7.1 with Numerous Accessibility Tweaks

Today, Apple released iOS 7.1 with numerous accessibility improvements. While these features are not as exciting as the accessibility features added in major releases of iOS they still offer advantages for many users. Most of the improvements focus on making the new iOS interface easier to see for people with visual impairments. Turning on bold text now makes the keyboard, calculator, and in app icons bold in addition to text. A new option found under the accessibility menu allows users to turn on button shapes which makes it easier to distinguish text from buttons. In addition to limiting the parallax effect, reduce motion now limits multitasking animations and animations in the weather and messages apps. iOS 7.1 also allows users to darken colors used in apps to make them easier to view and increase the white point of the display to cut down on glare.

Button Shapes

iOS 7.1 also includes a number of VoiceOver bug fixes, but some are still present in iOS 7.1. In addition to accessibility improvements iOS 7.1 includes an important stability improvement that limits a crashing issue that was present in iOS 7. Among other improvements, Touch ID finger print scanning accuracy is also improved for iPhone 5s users.

Users can download iOS 7.1 by going to settings > general > software update.

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What's on my iPad? Assistive Apps I Use as a Dyslexic Student

As a dyslexic high school student my iPad, with a number of assistive apps, has become a very valuable tool. With my iPad I can read and fill out a PDF using text-to-speech, read a book with Voice Dream Reader, or map out my ideas with Inspiration Maps. The iPad mini is a perfect size for my needs allowing me to read sitting up, or reclining comfortably while listening to a book. Before I got the iPad I would either be tied to a computer to read using text-to-speech, or reading on the tiny screen of my iPhone. Here's a list of my favorite iPad apps and how I use them to help me both in and out of the classroom.

Voice Dream Reader - $9.99

Voice Dream Reader is a text-to-speech reading app that allows users to read a wide variety of files through the app. The app includes the ability to buy very high quality text-to-speech voices for use with the app. Voice Dream Reader allows you to highlight  important parts of a passage as you read along.. One of my favorite features is the ability to download and read Bookshare books from within the app. Currently  Voice Dream Reader does not support  Bookshare books with images, but hopefully will add that feature in the near future. In all Voice Dream Reader is a must have for anyone who prefers reading with text-to-speech.

Click here to read a full review of Voice Dream Reader.

Read2Go - $19.99

Read2Go is another app for reading Bookshare books. Bookshare provides accessible digital books to members. Using Read2Go users to keep their books at their finger tips all the time. The app has a choice of two text-to-speech voices. While Read2Go does not have as many features as Voice Dream Reader the support it has for books with images is a plus.

Click here to read more about Read2Go.

Learning Ally Audio - Free

The free Learning Ally Audio app allows Learning Ally members to download and listen to their audio books on the go. The app has useful features such as bookmarking and playback is easy to control and customize. Learning Ally is starting to add digital text to some of their books so users can follow along with the text while listening to the human narrated audio book.

Click here for more information about Learning Ally Audio app.

Click read more below to learn about many more great apps.

PDF Expert 5 - $9.99

PDF Expert 5 is a new addition to my iPad home screen. The app includes polished annotation, editing, and management with easy to use built in text-to-speech. Using the app I am able to read a PDF worksheet with text-to-speech and complete the worksheet with the annotation features. PDF Expert can also connect to your Google Drive or Dropbox for easy upload and download.

Click here for a complete look at PDF Expert 5 from Readdle.

Inspiration Maps - $9.99

Inspiration Maps is a mind mapping app perfect for pre-writing and getting your ideas out onto paper. Inspiration Maps makes it easy to make great looking webs and outlines on the go. I like using Inspiration Maps to get my ideas flowing when I have to write about a difficult topic. Inspiration Maps also has a more kid friendly version called Kidspiration Maps.

Click here to learn more about Inspiration Maps.

Prizmo - $9.99

Prizmo is one of my all time favorite apps. With Prizmo you can take a picture of text in a document and Prizmo will recognize the text using optical character recognition (OCR) then the app can read the text back to you using text-to-speech. Prizmo also is a great scanner allowing you to snap a picture of a document and save or share it as a PDF.

Click here if you want to learn more about Prizmo.

Apple iWork (Pages, Numbers, Keynote) - Free with new device

Apple's iWork suit is the Apple equivalent of Microsoft Office for the iPad. While Microsoft Office has more features iWork has everything you need to complete basic tasks. These apps allow you to use your iPad for productivity and adds a lot of functionality to your device.

Apple Podcasts - Free

Podcasts is an app for managing and listening to Podcasts. Podcasts are audio or video shows from a number of provides. Podcasts can be put out by well known news organizations such as NPR, New York Times, ABC News, CNN, and many other lesser know sources. As an auditory learner I enjoy listening to Podcasts to learn more about topics that interest me.

Click here for more information about Podcasts.

Apple iTunes U - Free

iTunes U is another Apple app that allows you to explore and follow classes from various institutions that interest you. You can follow a history class at Yale or a computer science class an Stanford. Once you subscribe to a course you can view videos of the lectures, PDFs of the slide shows, and other course material. iTunes U is an easy way to learn new things from home on the iPad.

Click here for more on the iTunes U app.

Apple iBooks - Free

iBooks is reading app from Apple. The app is somewhat sparse in terms of accessibility features so I tend to use it sparingly. Unfortunately, iBooks is difficult to use for people who prefer text-to-speech with synchronized highlighting. Speak Selection allows iBooks users to read one page at a time with text-to-speech and synchronized highlighting, but users must highlight each page manually in order to have Speak Selection read it. VoiceOver is another option for text-to-speech within iBooks, but it does not include the synchronized highlighting that is helpful to many with dyslexia. 

Apple Reminders - Included

Reminders is an app that comes included with the iPad. It is a simple way to keep track of my homework assignments and other tasks. With Reminders I can enter a homework assignment on my iPhone and it appears on my computer and iPad as well. 

Quizlet - Free

Quizlet is a website where users can create, share, and study flashcards. Users can make a study set on the internet and then study them on a computer or using the free Quizlet iOS app. Teachers can also make a study sets for their classes. Quizlet also offers pre-made flashcard sets for popular vocabulary books, SAT vocabulary, and more. Flashcards can also include images to aid in studying. Once the study set is open you can view the terms in list mode or in flashcard mode. Quizlet includes text-to-speech allowing users to hear the content of their flashcards. The text-to-speech helps me learn my vocabulary words more quickly and also helps me pronounce the words correctly.

Learn more about Quizlet by clicking here.

WolframAlpha - $2.99

WolframAlpha is a powerful reference services that can answer complex queries as well as provide useful graphs and visuals. I like using WolframAlpha to double check my math calculations and to research interesting topics. You can also use WolframAlpha from a web browser by visiting WolframAlpha.com.

Click here for more information about WolframAlpha.

Livescribe+ - Free

The Livescribe+ app is the brains of the Livescribe 3 smartpen. The pen sends your notes to the app over Bluetooth and then processes the handwriting and turns it into digital text. The app makes it easy to review notes in a page view or list view. Because the app turns handwriting into digital text, it is simple and fast to search through your notebook. You can search by keyword and easily find all associated notes. Once your handwriting has been converted to digital text you can use the built in iOS Speak Selection feature to have your note read aloud with text-to-speech.

Click here to learn all about the Livescribe 3 Smartpen.

Kurzweil 3000-firefly - Free

Kurzweil 3000-firefly is a app that allows you to view and read Kurzweil documents that you store online. The app is free for users that have a Kurzweil 3000-firefly licence. Users can save a Kurzweil document to firefly from their computers and then view and read the document using text-to-speech. The service is helpful for people that use Kurzweil frequently and want to read documents while on the go. Firefly can also make sharing Kurzweil documents to multiple people much easier.

Click here to read more about Kurzweil 3000-firefly.

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