Renton Technical College, through a special demonstration grant from the Department of Education-Office of Post Secondary Education, is providing a variety of assistive technology to help students be more successful learners. The following are some of the assistive technology located in the Learning Resource Center.
Dragon Naturally Speaking
software which allows you to speak into the computer rather than typing. This software requires training the computer to understand your voice. As you train it over time, it learns your vocabulary! If you hate to type but need to prepare papers, email, etc., this tool is for you!
Zoom Text
enlarges text and graphics. Provides magnification of up to 16x with a variety of view and contrast settings. This can help anyone who may have trouble seeing smaller graphics or print. It can be used with any of your other applications.
Wynn Wizard/Wynn Reader
Scans (digitizes) materials into the computer with an optical character reader so that it can be represented in multiple formats. You are able to scan in pages from text books or handouts and have the information read to you or you can look up words on the dictionary, highlight main topics, create sub-lists, add in other notes, and more. This is a great tool to use if you have to learn information or study from written materials.
TestTalker
Software solution designed to help individuals be more successful with test taking, worksheet completion, and study materials. It also aids completion of electronic forms. TestTalker provides a computerized version of a test, worksheet, or other form that can talk.
Inspiration
Software which allows the student to represent ideas in graphic format and convert easily to text. This software improves visual learning and provides support for critical thinking, comprehension, planning and organizing. If you like to organize your study notes or write with charts and pictures, this is the tool for you.
TextHelp Read and Write
Gives the student assistance with word prediction, grammar and vocabulary support. As you type, Read and Write predicts words for the sentence even if you don't know how to spell them . This tool is great for proof reading. It also reads aloud to you, which is great for students who want to improve their English skills.
Homepage Reader
Helps the student hear as well as see when exploring the World Wide Web . Homepage Reader assists in web page reading, changing font size, color and background of pages.
RTC Access Services
In addition, there are standing/sitting work stations, magnifiers, specialized keyboards, mouse and other assistive devices available through the Disability Resource Services.