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Assistive Technology Toolkit

Technology plays a fundamental part in teaching and learning at SNMCI for all students. Assistive Technology (AT) allows individuals to perform tasks they might otherwise be unable to complete and to improve tasks like reading and writing.

I have special needs and would like to find additional support. What are my resources at St. Nicholas?

  • Audrey Johnston is our Learner Support Officer. You should feel free to reach out to her during your time at St. Nicholas regarding help with study skills and learner support issues: audrey.johnston[at]smsi.ie
  • Steve Welsh is our Instructional Designer. After consulting with the Learner Support Officer, if you’d like assistance with any specific assistive technologies, feel free to reach out to steve.welsh[at]smsi.ie

Below, we have gathered some resources to support you in using assistive technologies for study.

You may also wish to consult our “Strategies for Effective Study” guide, which lists some study techniques that are useful to all students.

What is Assistive Technology?

Assistive Technology is any tool that enhances an individual’s independence. This can include:

  • Text-to-Speech Software 
  • Mind mapping software
  • Dictation Software
  • Recording Software/ Digital Dictaphones
  • Screen Reading/Magnification Software
  • Adaptive Keyboards and mice

Discover what Assistive Technologies might be most appropriate for your needs at AHEAD.ie’s Assistive Technology interactive resource: ahead.ie/Discover-your-AT.

Accessibility Features in Moodle

On every page in your Moodle modules, you will see the accessibility menu. This feature allows you to customise Moodle to their visual needs. It supports changing of text sizes and colour schemes to make the page more readable.

If you launch the ATBar (Accessibility Toolkit Bar), you can also use the text-to-speech feature, and change the appearance of the text and colours on the page to better suit your preferences. 

This brief tutorial walks you through using the accessibility features in Moodle.

What is Text-to-Speech and Speech-to-Text? And how do I use these features?

Text-to-Speech software (also known as TTS software) is software that converts text into audible form – in other words, it will read digital text aloud. TTS can be used to read aloud PDFs, word docs, websites, or basically anywhere that you find digital text. 

Conversely, many applications you use for composing text (like Google Docs or Microsoft Word) also have Speech-to-Text features that will convert your spoken words into digital text. This is also called dictation. Dictation software can come in handy particularly if you have difficulty typing. 

We’ve compiled a handy Text-to-Speech Support Guide for students on this page that walks you through the best options for your technology and needs: smsi.ie/tts-guide