Assistive Technology

Campus-Wide Resources

Read & Write and orbitnote

Read&Write and OrbitNote are two tools that work in tandem to support reading, writing, and note taking. Among other features, these products provide text to speech and speech to text that integrates with our Google Suite for web pages, PDFs, ePubs, and more. These products have a variety of platform options including Chrome and Edge Extensions, iPad and Android Apps, and Windows and MacOS Desktop Apps.

To use Read&Write and OrbitNote, simply log in with your Hampshire credentials.

Download Read&Write

Access OrbitNote

Note: You can add the OrbitNote extension by clicking the “add extension” button at the bottom of the page once you have logged in.

Below are some resources that can support one’s use of these two products. As always, if you would like to walk through this product with someone and determine ways it can support your specific needs, contact Parker Farhting at pfAC@hampshire.edu

Kurzweil 3000 and the Kurzweil Web App

Hampshire College will no longer subscribe to Kurzweil 3000 or the Kurzweil Web App as of June 30, 2024. If you are a current Kurzweil user, Read&Write and Orbitnote can be used instead of Kurzweil. If you need support making the transition between these products, please contact Parker Farthing at pfAC@hampshire.edu.

Grackle

Grackle is a suite of Chrome extensions the College has subscribed to for use with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Grackle performs an accessibility scan and identifies issues to be fixed. Grackle has a built-in PDF generator.

Grackle Training Video

Online File Conversion Service

There are multiple ways to convert files into accessible formats. Two that are available to the entire Hampshire Community are OrbitNote and Roboraille. You can convert files while logged into OrbitNote or through Robobraille’s File Converter.

The Robobraille file converter is also available to the entire Hampshire community. It does a good job of converting documents into accessible formats with computer-readable text. It converts many different file types into a variety of formats: for example, from a PDF to a text-to-speech MP3 audio file.

Convert a File

The Brickfield Accessibility Toolkit

Owners of Moodle courses have access to The Brickfield Toolkit which is built into Moodle 4.11. You need to turn it on to scan a course to identify and fix accessibility issues.

Accommodation-related Technologies

If you are in need of specific assistive technology for a documented disability, please visit our disclosure and accommodation request page to learn more.

Hampshire College subscribes to a limited number of licenses to the below products for students with special support needs:

Glean

Glean is an electronic note-taking service designed to scaffold the learning process.

Bookshare

Bookshare is a an eBook service that provides accessible text for individuals with various reading barriers. You can customize your reading experience in ways that work for you.

Have Assistive Technology questions?

Contact Assistant Dean of Advising Parker Farthing by email at pfAC@hampshire.edu.

Email Parker