Technology is advancing at an exponential rate. Not just for new apps or games but electronics that can read and speak to you.
Fanshawe College has an Accessibility Technology Lab that delves into tech for those that need extra help.
Ron Leblanc an Adaptive Technologist at Fanshawe College says, “We’re constantly adding new stuff.”
The lab consists of low vision work stations with 27-inch monitors, a braille printer, electronic enlargers, specialized keyboards and special scanning computers.
The Dragon Rooms, named for their purpose of using the Dragon-Naturally-Speaking program is designed to learn your speech.
Leblanc says, “It’s 95 per cent accurate,” adding, “It’s a little bit creepy really, it learns from you. It’s always listening to you, learning how you pronounce something or certain letters. It picks up and learns it over time. So, it actually gets more accurate the more you use it.”
The lab is available 24/7 throughout the year for students to use.
Staff at the Accessible Technology Lab are always staying up date with technology. They network with other sources, including schools, to have as much leading edge tech as possible.
On June 4th, staff will be attending the Assistant Technology Conference held at King’s University College at Western for finding more technology and other assisting programs to make learning even easier.
