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Web/Mobile Accessibility Assistance

Friday, April 19, 2024

UA-PTC Website / Blackboard Accessibility Features

The college website and our Blackboard platform offers Blackboard Ally as a tool for users to have the option to retrieve website content in different accessibility formats. To access this tool, select the black “A” icon on the right hand side of any page. An example of this icon is below.

Blackboard Ally icon

When this tool is selected, users can download different accessibility formats such as an electronic braille, mp3 audio for listening, and a beeline reader for retrieving website content. When using a mobile device, formats that are compatible with your mobile device will only appear.

How to Change Your Browser's Text Size

Most web browsers allow the user to make the text larger or smaller. The UA-PTC website has been carefully designed to cooperate with this feature at all times. Here are some instructions on how to change your text size in various browsers.

Google Chrome/Microsoft Edge/Mozilla Firefox

Resizing the browser text in these programs is extremely easy and effective. Load any website and then simply press CTRL and - (minus) or + (plus) keys to reduce or enlarge the text on the site.

Internet Explorer 5.0 and higher

Load any website and then simply press CTRL and the - (minus) or + (plus) keys to reduce or enlarge the text on the site.

The support for adjusting the text size in Internet Explorer is limited. To access it, use the top menu and select View > Text Size. There are only five options. Experiment with them to find a size that you like.

If this selector has no effect, you may wish to go into another menu and modify some settings. Use the top menu and select Tools > Options. Then select the button labeled Accessibility. A window will appear with options. (see picture below)

Accessibility Internet Explorer Menu

Options Appearing:

  • Ignore colors specified on Web pages - allows you to set all text to black (or another color you specify.
  • Ignore font styles specified on Web pages - allows you to set the font (typeface) you prefer.
  • Ignore font sizes specified on Web pages - allows you to over-ride a website's font sizes. Check this box if necessary.
  • Format documents using my style sheet - a feature for advanced technical users that allows the appearance of pages to be radically changed.

Opera

Opera offers what may be the best options for individuals with low vision, because it allows the user to increase not only the text on the page, but the images too in the same proportion. To access this feature, go to View > Zoom, and then select the best option for your needs. To make easy adjustments from the keyboard, just use the - key for a 10% reduction or the + key for a 10% increase.

K-Meleon

K-Meleon offers two ways to adjust the font: using the mouse or keyboard. Using the mouse, select View > Increase Font or View > Decrease Font. Or use the keyboard for the same effect: press CTRL and the - (minus) or + (plus) keys to reduce or enlarge the text on the site.

Safari for Mac OS X

To increase or decrease the magnification of a web page in Safari, press Apple and + (plus) to zoom in, or Apple and - (minus) to zoom out. To return the text to its original size, press Apple + (plus) 0. You can also do this via the menu bar, as shown below.

Safari Accessibility Menu

Click on View, or press CTRL + (plus) F2 to highlight the menu bar and press the right arrow key to open the View drop-down menu. If you want to only change the text size rather than everything on the web page, make sure Zoom Text Only is ticked. You can tick or untick it by clicking on it, or use the arrow keys to highlight it and then press Enter.

Click Zoom In to increase the text size, or Zoom Out to decrease the text size. Alternatively, use the arrow keys to highlight one of the size options and then press Enter. (In older versions of Safari, you need to choose either Make Text Bigger or Make Text Smaller).

How to Make Text Larger on Your Mobile Phone and Tablet

iOS devices

On your iOS device, you can make many of the same adjustments you have access to on your laptop or desktop machine. You can invert colors, adjust text contrast, zoom or enlarge text.

To display larger text in various apps: Go to General > Settings > Accessibility > Larger Text, then turn on Larger Accessibility Sizes. You can also drag the slider on that page to adjust the overall font size. Under Accessibility, you can toggle on and off Bold Text or Increase Contrast to reduce transparency and darken colors, all of which may make reading the screen easier on your eyes.

To invert the colors: go to > General > Settings >Accessibility > Display Accommodations, and select Invert Colors.

To reduce the brightness of the colors: (don’t confuse this with screen brightness) Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Display Accommodations, and turn on Reduce White Point. From there, you can reduce the intensity of bright colors from 25 percent to 100 percent.

To magnify your entire screen: Use the Zoom function located under General > Settings > Accessibility > Zoom. Once you’ve enabled Zoom, you can double-tap three fingers to zoom, drag three fingers to move around the screen, or double-tap with three fingers and drag to change zoom.

Not large enough? Adjust the maximum zoom level anywhere from 1.2x to 15x. To adjust the zoom region, select between Full Screen Zoom and Window Zoom. To zoom on text or a text insertion point while typing, turn on Follow Focus. The area immediately around the area you select will become magnified while the keyboard remains visible. Tip: Unlike Touch Bar, you can use Zoom with VoiceOver.

Android phones and tablets

On Android devices, you can adjust the font size, enlarge a screen or adjust the contrast level.

To change the font size: Go to Settings > Accessibility > Font Size, and adjust the slider on the screen.

To change the display size of your screen: Go to Settings > Accessibility > Display Size, and adjust the slider on the screen.

To make your text easier to read with contrast or inverted colors: Go to Settings > Accessibility > High contrast text or Color Inversion. Android lists these as an experimental feature, so they may not work well across your device’s apps.

To magnify the screen: Go to Settings > Accessibility > Magnification gestures, and toggle it on or off. To zoom on your entire screen, triple-tap anywhere. From there, drag two fingers to pan across the screen, pinch two fingers open or closed to zoom in or out, or triple-tap the screen to zoom out entirely.

If you prefer to temporarily magnify the screen, triple-tap and hold anywhere on your screen. To pan across the screen, drag your finger without releasing. Then lift your finger to stop magnifying the screen. Tip: Be patient. When magnification is enabled, single taps take a little longer to process, to ensure the tap isn’t part of a double- or triple-tap gesture.

Chromebooks

If you’re using Chromebook, turn on accessibility features by selecting Settings > Show advanced settings > Accessibility. Then toggle on or off various features, including Show large mouse cursor, Use high contrast mode and Enable screen magnifier.

JAWS Screen Reader Software

Job Access With Speech (JAWS), is a computer screen reader program developed for computer users whose vision loss prevents them from seeing screen content or navigating with a mouse. JAWS provides speech and Braille output for the most popular computer applications on your computer. JAWS users will be able to navigate the Internet, write a document, read an email and create presentations with use of this software. JAWS is available at no charge on designated computers in our public computer labs and in our open public areas on campus. The computer designated with the JAWS software will have a JAWS screen reader accessible on this machine label on the monitor as pictured below. For browser use, JAWS works with all Internet browsers but Google Chrome is preferred.

JAWS