EquatIO – Technology Accessibility | The University of Alabama

Change to Texthelp Software Licensing

October 16th, 2020
in UA11y News

UA’s enterprise license agreement for the Texthelp suite of tools will not be renewed in FY21.

After conversations with campus partners, we determined that we did not have a user basis to justify an enterprise-level agreement for the product. The good news is that Texthelp offers free premium subscriptions of Read&Write and EquatIO for educators! These tools can be accessed on the Texthelp website. Additionally, one alternative to the Texthelp suite of tools are the Learning Tools offered by Microsoft 365.

If you, or users in your area, have any need beyond the scope of the free tools, please contact us. We will be happy to make arrangements to provide the tools that you need to succeed.

Texthelp Higher Education Summer Camp

June 9th, 2020
in Training, UA11y News

The Texthelp tools freely available to all UA students, faculty and staff are: Read&Write, a literacy support toolbar with supports for reading, writing, research, and studying; EquatIO, an application you can use to type, handwrite, or speak to create equations, formulas, and other math and chemistry expressions; and Snapverter, an easy to use add-on for Read&Write for Google Chrome and iOS app that transforms papers and files into readable PDF documents.

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From Texthelp:

Join us for a summer full of learning, new ideas, and useful strategies! During our seven week series, we’ll focus on the key features within Read&Write and EquatIO, while leaving you with practical strategies when working with students. Be sure to invite campus partners, administrators, instructional designers, or peers who might need to brush up on their knowledge, explore applicability on campus, or to help support the transition to online learning. Both beginners new to the products and experienced users wanting review will take away tidbits to add to their toolboxes.

Texthelp tools for remote learning and working

March 23rd, 2020
in UA11y News

Texthelp offers a collection of Mac and PC desktop software, Google Chrome apps and extensions, and iOS and Android apps that support reading, writing, language learning and STEM subjects. Texthelp tools freely available to all UA students, faculty and staff include: Read&Write, a literacy support toolbar with supports for reading, writing, research, and studying; EquatIO, an application you can use to type, handwrite, or speak to create equations, formulas, and other math and chemistry expressions; and Snapverter, an easy to use add-on for Read&Write for Google Chrome and iOS app that transforms papers and files into readable PDF documents.

Here are some tips on how to use Texthelp tools to enhance remote learning and working, from the Texthelp blog:

Texthelp tool access for personal Google accounts

November 11th, 2019
in UA11y News

UA users of Texthelp tools are able to access Read&Write, EquatIO, and Snapverter by signing in with a Crimson Mail account (“Sign in with Google”) or a @ua.edu Office 365 account (“Sign in with Microsoft”). Some users previously granted authorization for an email address connected to a different Google or Microsoft account may have lost this access in a recent update. If you are unable to log into the Texthelp tools with a non-UA email address for which you had previously received authorization, please contact us.

Updated Texthelp tools

July 29th, 2019
in UA11y News

Updated versions of two Texthelp tools, Read&Write and EquatIO, are now available on the OIT website, along with updated installation instructions: Texthelp in the OIT software catalog

Texthelp offers a collection of Mac and PC desktop software, Google Chrome apps and extensions, and iOS and Android apps that support reading, writing, language learning and STEM subjects. Texthelp tools freely available to all UA students, faculty and staff include: Read&Write, a literacy support toolbar with supports for reading, writing, research, and studying; EquatIO, an application you can use to type, handwrite, or speak to create equations, formulas, and other math and chemistry expressions; and Snapverter, an easy to use add-on for Read&Write for Google Chrome and iOS app that transforms papers and files into readable PDF documents.

Video: Introduction to using Read&Write at University

Video: Introducing EquatIO® – Make Math Digital. Make Math Together

Video: Introduction to Snapverter – An Add-On for Read&Write

Texthelp expert-led EquatIO and Read&Write training for UA users—you’re invited!

September 6th, 2018
in Training, UA11y News

The Faculty Resource Center’s Emerging Technology and Accessibility team invites you to participate in upcoming opportunities to learn more about Texthelp tools for reading, writing, language learning and STEM subjects. These tools are free to all UA students, faculty, and staff. They are particularly beneficial for English language learners, students with learning disabilities, and students who can benefit from writing supports, but are useful to all. Please consider joining us for these events and sharing this post with others who may wish to attend.

Mid- 2018 Accessibility Initiative Update

August 14th, 2018
in UA11y News

The Emerging Technology and Accessibility team, now part of UA’s Faculty Resource Center (FRC), housed in the Office of Information Technology (OIT), continues to lead the initiative to provide our technology users, including those with disabilities, a functional and accessible technology experience with our web presence and our instructional and emerging technologies. An annual audit of campus college and division web sites reflects that many campus areas continue to improve in their accessibility status.

2017-2018 efforts include:

Working with campus stakeholders to develop a Web Resources Accessibility Policy that would adopt WCAG 2.0 AA to address the accessibility of public-facing web resources, campus-wide web resources, and web resources needed to conduct core University administrative and academic functions, including third-party tools and equal access and non-compliance plans.
Establishing technology accessibility liaisons for each college, school, and division. Appointed by campus deans and vice presidents, these liaisons serve as the area contact to address technology needs related to accessibility.
Compiling and distributing to liaisons the most complete and accurate list of UA web sites to date.
Acquiring and rolling out campus wide the Texthelp suite of literacy support tools. Texthelp tools freely available to all UA students, faculty and staff on campus and personal machines include Read&Write, a literacy support solution with tools for reading, writing, research and studying; EquatIO, an application you can use to type, handwrite or speak to create equations, formulas, and other math and chemistry expressions; and Snapverter, an easy to use add-on for Read&Write for Google Chrome and iOS app that transforms papers and files into readable PDF documents.
Assuming management of campus licensing for ZoomText, a screen magnification and reading program that enables users with low vision to see, hear, and use everything on the computer screen
Captioning and/or transcribing over 4000 minutes of media through UA captioning grants. Captioning grants may be used to caption and/or transcribe UA-owned video and audio that will be shared on public or campus-wide websites.
Offering new workshops covering accessibility best practices for various media as well as diversity in learners and learning style and how accessibility barriers affect users with diversity of ability.
Adding staff member Melissa Green. Melissa is a Technology Accessibility Specialist dedicated to technology accessibility training needs.
Resolving 255 tickets in the Helpspot customer service/support ticket system.
Running 3246 Accessibility Management Platform reports. Accessibility Management Platform (AMP) is a comprehensive accessibility and reporting tool freely available to members of the UA community.

Fall 2018 Technology Accessibility Workshops

July 19th, 2018
in Training, UA11y News

Emerging Technology and Accessibility invites you to enhance your technology accessibility skills by participating in these workshops during the Fall 2018 term:

AMP Office Hours
Get assistance with your Accessibility Management Platform (AMP) questions in this open help session.
Monday, Oct. 1, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Creating Accessible Content with Microsoft Office
Learn how to create Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, and Outlook emails accessible to users with disabilities.
Friday, Sept. 21, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Creating Accessible Content with Microsoft Office (webinar)
Learn how to create Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, and Outlook emails accessible to users with disabilities.
Thursday, Sept. 27, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Creating Accessible PDFs with Adobe Acrobat DC
Learn how to use Adobe Acrobat DC to create PDFs accessible to users with disabilities.
Friday, Oct. 12, 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Creating Accessible Social Media Content
Learn how to create social media content accessible to users with disabilities.
Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Creating Accessible Social Media Content (webinar)
Learn how to create social media content accessible to users with disabilities.
Tuesday, Nov. 6, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
How People with Disabilities Access Digital Content
Gain a fuller appreciation of technology accessibility by exploring technologies and methods people with disabilities use to access websites, documents, audio, video, and other digital content.
Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Introduction to AMP
Learn about UA’s Accessibility Management Platform (AMP), a comprehensive accessibility testing and reporting tool freely available to members of the UA community.
Friday, Sept. 14, 9:30-10:30 a.m.
Introduction to EquatIO (onsite webinar)
A comprehensive introduction to EquatIO and EquatIO mathspace, applications that let everyone create mathematical equations, formulas, graphs, and more on their computer or Chromebook.
Monday, Sept. 10, 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Introduction to Read&Write for Google Chrome
A comprehensive introduction to Read&Write for Google Chrome, a literacy support solution with tools for reading, writing, research and studying.
Wednesday, Oct. 17, 8:30-11:30 a.m.
Introduction to Read&Write for Windows
A comprehensive introduction to Read&Write for Windows, a literacy support solution with tools for reading, writing, research and studying.
Wednesday, Oct. 17, 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Introduction to Web Accessibility
Learn about laws and standards regarding accessibility in higher education, the University’s web accessibility guidelines, common accessibility challenges and solutions, and resources and strategies for creating accessible documents, images, audio, video, and web content.
Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Introduction to Web Accessibility (webinar)
Learn about laws and standards regarding accessibility in higher education, the University’s web accessibility guidelines, common accessibility challenges and solutions, and resources and strategies for creating accessible documents, images, audio, video, and web content.
Friday, Sept. 28, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Testing Web Content for Accessibility
Learn basic web accessibility evaluation techniques: using the WAVE accessibility evaluation tool; testing keyboard accessibility and content scaling; and manual checks for other common accessibility issues.
Wednesday, Oct. 10, 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Testing Web Content for Accessibility (webinar)
Learn basic web accessibility evaluation techniques: using the WAVE accessibility evaluation tool; testing keyboard accessibility and content scaling; and manual checks for other common accessibility issues.
Thursday, Nov. 1, 1:00-2:00 p.m.
Universal Design for Learning and Accessibility
Learn how to create inclusive, accessible learning opportunities by utilizing Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a set of curriculum development principles that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn.
Friday, Nov. 9, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Universal Design for Learning and Accessibility (webinar)
Learn how to create inclusive, accessible learning opportunities by utilizing Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a set of curriculum development principles that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn.
Wednesday, Oct. 30, 3:00-4:00 p.m.
WCAG in a Nutshell
Learn about Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 requirements (success criteria) and techniques, along with resources UA web professionals can use to meet these guidelines.
Friday, Oct. 26, 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

All classroom workshops are held in A232 Gordon Palmer. Registration is requested but not required.

We are also happy to offer private training sessions on these and other accessibility-related topics to members of the University community. Please contact us if we can help with your technology accessibility needs.

Introducing EquatIO’s Screenshot Reader

May 31st, 2018
in UA11y News

There’s a new addition to the Texthelp tools freely available to UA students, faculty, staff, and departments! With Screenshot Reader, the latest premium feature of EquatIO for Google, you can now turn any equation on the web into readable, editable math.

To learn more, check out How to Make Math Accessible on the Web on the Texthelp blog or watch the demo video to see Screenshot Reader in action.

Video: EquatIO® for Google: How to use Screenshot Reader

Spring 2018 Technology Accessibility Workshops

March 20th, 2018
in Training, UA11y News

Emerging Technology and Accessibility invites you to enhance your technology accessibility skills by participating in these workshops during the latter half of the Spring 2018 term:

Texthelp Tools for Reading, Writing, Language Learning, and STEM
This hands-on workshop offers an introduction to the Texthelp tools freely available to all UA students, faculty, and staff: Read&Write, a literacy support solution with tools for reading, writing, research, and studying; EquatIO, an application that lets everyone create mathematical equations, formulas, Desmos graphs, and more on their computer or Chromebook; and Snapverter, a Google Chrome app that converts printed documents and inaccessible digital files into readable PDF files for easy sharing and reading aloud.
Wednesday, March 28, 2:00-3:00 p.m. in Gordon Palmer Room A232
Introduction to Accessibility Management Platform (AMP)
For all UA users, learn about UA’s Accessibility Management Platform and how it can help evaluate web sites for accessibility.
Friday, March 30, 2:00-3:00 p.m. in Gordon Palmer Room A232
Accessible Content and Inclusive Learning with Microsoft Office
This demonstration session introduces general principles for creating accessible content with Microsoft Office products and free Microsoft Learning Tools that provide support for reading and writing Office documents.
Tuesday, April 3, 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. in Gordon Palmer Room A232
Accessibility Management Platform (AMP) Office Hours
This open help session is an opportunity to get assistance with your Accessibility Management Platform (AMP) questions.
Friday, April 6, 10:00-11 a.m. in Gordon Palmer Room A232
Creating Accessible Emails
Whether you’re sending a note to just a few contacts or crafting a campaign for broad distribution, it’s important to make sure your email messages are accessible to people with disabilities. This hands-on workshop will cover how to create accessible emails: composing messages, improving image accessibility, and adding accessible tables and lists. Participants will use Microsoft Outlook to create accessible messages, learning practices they can also apply to other email programs and marketing tools such as MailChimp.
Tuesday, April 10, 2:00-3:00 p.m. in Gordon Palmer Room A232
How People with Disabilities Access Digital Content
Participants in this session will gain a fuller appreciation of technology accessibility by exploring the user perspective: technologies and methods people with disabilities use to access websites, documents, audio, video, and other digital content, and barriers created by inaccessible design. This session includes demonstrations of assistive technology such as screen readers and magnifiers, alternate input devices, and the accessibility features built into the Mac and Windows operating systems.
Friday, April 13, 10:00-11:00 a.m. in Gordon Palmer Room A232
Introduction to Web Accessibility
The University of Alabama is committed to providing our technology users, including those with disabilities, a functional and accessible technology experience with our web presence and our instructional and emerging technologies. This session will provide an introduction to web accessibility: laws and standards regarding accessibility in higher education, the University’s web accessibility guidelines, common accessibility challenges and solutions, and resources and strategies for creating accessible documents, images, audio, video, and web content.
Wednesday, April 18, 2:00-3:00 p.m. in Gordon Palmer Room A232
Accessibility Management Platform (AMP) Office Hours
This open help session is an opportunity to get assistance with your Accessibility Management Platform (AMP) questions.
Friday, April 20, 2:00-3:00 p.m. in Gordon Palmer Room A232
Creating Accessible Digital Stories with Microsoft Sway
Microsoft Sway is a digital storytelling app that helps you quickly create professional, interactive designs for your images, text, videos and other media; it is also a more accessible alternative than Adobe Spark. This hands-on workshop offers an introduction to Sway with a focus on accessibility. Participants will learn best practices to make their Sways accessible; use the Accessibility Checker to identify and fix potential accessibility issues; and play their finished creations in Accessibility view.
Tuesday, April 24, 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. in Gordon Palmer Room A232

Registration is requested but not required.

We are also happy to offer private training sessions on these and other accessibility-related topics to members of the University community. Please contact us if we can help with your technology accessibility needs.

Tag: EquatIO

Tag: EquatIO