- Ethics and Compliance Office
- Technology Accessibility
- Assistive Technologies
Assistive Technologies

When technology is accessible to people using assistive technology, it is more usable to people using a variety of devices in different environments. Pictured above is a refreshable braille display.
Refreshable Braille Displays
A refreshable braille display uses software to convert content on the screen to braille. It displays the braille characters on a device using rounded pins that are raised and lowered to simulate printed braille.
Keyboard Alternatives
Alternative keyboards can have high contrast colors, big key labels, a choice of layouts, or customized keyboard overlays.
Mouse Alternatives
Head and mouth pointers typically consist of a stick with a rubber tip or clamp at one end. The user controls the stick with their mouth or head movement to perform many actions, like typing on a keyboard or navigating web pages.
Eye and head tracking technology measures the user’s eye movements or a sensor placed on the forehead (or another location), allowing them to control the computer with the movements of their eyes or head.
Screen Magnifier
Screen magnifiers increase everything on a screen up to 64 times the original size, and also make mouse and text cursors more visible, increase contrast and allow choice of color combinations.
Screen Reader
A screen reader is a text-to-speech system that converts digital text into spoken words. People who are blind or have a visual impairment use screen readers as well as people who benefit from hearing content.
Switch
Switches come in many shapes and sizes. They can be designed to respond to a touch, kick, squeeze or other interaction from the user. Switches controlled with breath use sip-and-puff technology.
Voice Control
Voice recognition technology can control a computer without a keyboard or mouse. Users can perform many functions by speaking commands, including dictating text, navigating to links and activating buttons.
Contact Us
Information TechnologyAccessibility Officer
Katy Whitelaw
Health Services 220
it-accessibility@niu.edu
Report an accessibility barrier