There are many school resources available to students with disabilities. Here you will find general information that will help you navigate disability services at a collegiate level.
Note-Taking Options
Note-taking options can help those with short-term memory deficits or those who want a more efficient way to capture lecture or meeting content. These are often applications that allow you to:
- Transcribe or record audio
- Search functions to locate specific words or topics
- Input diagrams, drawings, typed or written text
- Categorize recordings for easy retrieval
- Send and share notes and recordings
- Use cloud storage across devices
AudioNote: An application for Mac and iOS. Notes are linked to specific parts of the audio recording, allowing you to tap on a note to jump to the corresponding audio. The application is not free but it has a trial version with limited features.
Canva and Miro: Free digital whiteboards for note taking and organization with template options for presentations and diagrams.
Glean: Provides tools for visually organizing and annotating audio clips in-person or online. Individual subscriptions are pricey; however, schools sometimes have a subscription for student use.
OneNote: Tools for recording audio and video, and inserting drawings, spreadsheets and typed notes. Available on Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. Included with Microsoft 365; however, without this subscription, there may be a cost for purchase.
OrbitNote: Allows you to edit PDFs and read text aloud. Schools may provide a subscription to students.
Otter.ai: This application transcribes text and provides automatic summarizes of recordings. It also can identify when different individuals are speaking.
Otter Pilot: Provides automated meeting summaries and transcription. Available on Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams.
Read&Write: Browser extension and application that reads text out loud. It has built-in voice dictation and offers a wide variety of vocabulary tools for students with learning disabilities and English language learners.
Reading
Dolphin Computer Access: Free application and website with downloadable books that have customizable accessibility features such as reading text aloud and adjusting text settings for low-vision and dyslexia.
Math
If a student struggles with accessing a calculator or writing math equations, some solutions include an on-screen keyboard and drawing pad. Simply use a stylus to draw or write on a tablet or use the mouse to select symbols and numbers on the screen. Some options we use include Desmos and Google Docs extensions such as MATH Keys. Equatio is a good choice for those who want to dictate equations aloud instead of using an on-screen keyboard.
See our Computer Access Resources page for more information on speech recognition, mouse options and other accessibility features.
The Tech Lab offers these resources for educational purposes and does not endorse any products, including those mentioned on this site. Many others are available. Please check online for additional manufacturers, products and user reviews.