Focus on champions
The TechAbility Champions had their first meeting back after the summer, welcoming four new champions from Karten Centres and Natspec Colleges. Kellie Mote as special guest outlined the support that JISC offered, for member and non-members, key updates were given by TechAbility and excitingly Director of Policy Connect’s ATech Policy Lab: Robert McClaren will be special guest at the November meeting, date to be confirmed.
All Karten members have the opportunity to nominate a champion at their centre to receive peer support, TechAbility support, to offer opportunities for free software and special guests. Interested? Get in touch with Neil Harrod-Beck
Windows 11 updates
Microsoft has updated Windows 11. It includes live captions to generate captions on any content that has audio which will be helpful for those with hearing impairments and concentration issues. Voice access can let anyone control a PC with just their voice and is much improved from the previous Windows versions. The updates also includes some improvements to the focus and “do not disturb” modes.
There’s a new do not disturb button in the notification panel that can silence notifications if you want to focus on work, and you can even go one step further by creating a 30-minute focus session here that will remove the badge icons you see on the taskbar. In busy work or study environments this could be really helpful. You can read more on this article from Tom Warren, at the Verge: “Windows 11’s 2022 Update has something new for everyone”
Focus on apps
It’s a great time to share the Envision AI App as it has become free for all! It is a free smartphone app that articulates everyday visual information into speech and is available on both Android and iOS.
You can use it to read text in the world around you, scan documents to turn them into digital text, describe surroundings and objects, and even tell you who’s nearby. It’s available in 60 languages and is useful for people with visual impairments but also learning disabilities or any other print disabilities for that matter.
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- Featured in the Karten Autumn 2022 Newsletter
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