I find that when I am trying to read very small sized text the free LED light app can be incredibly useful. It can act as a torch and also has a flashing option and SOS setting!. Just double tap the touch screen to turn it on providing you are not using VoiceOver – when you have select the icon first and then double tap. The menu items can be read back with voice. The battery drains pretty quickly if the light is used for too long.
Jane – Researcher
“I use the free university iPhone bus timetable and map app when I am in a hurry and need to find my way about. It also has my timetable and modules.”
Nicole – Engineering
“I have found Audio Notetaker very useful for gathering quotes from audio recordings when interviewing people as well as recording and making note from lectures. You can also see PowerPoint slides alongside the audio sections and jump to each section. It has saved so much time when I used to have to work through the recordings on my Olympus recorder”
“I keep a diary for appointments then I have a Calendar for committee stuff with reminders and I set alarms that all synchronise.”
Aiden – Oceanography
Google Sync for Mobile YouTube video
“I also use my glasses in lecturers so that I can lip read, but if the lecturer turns away from me I might as well give up! It bugs me not to be able to see clearly but it makes me even crosser when they forget that I depend on seeing their face not the back of their head! It was a much bigger issue with the larger groups up in York and ISVR has smaller groups so I can cope. But it would help if lecturers could remember to face the audience rather than talk to the board”
“If I can’t hear I just leave it, but it might be quite a good idea [to put audio versions of lectures on Blackboard]. If there’s something that you’re a bit confused about, you can go back and listen to it again in your own time.”
Sarah – ISVR
There are some examples of podcasts about different audiology topics which have been provided by the Medical University of South Carolina. They are all well laid out and have transcriptions.
“A problem of using a laptop in class can be the light given off by the laptop’s display. I found sitting at the back of the class stopped a lot of this unwanted attention, but this also had the disadvantage that you might not be able to see/hear what the lecturer was saying. Instead, I found a simple remedy which is free. 99% of laptops have the ability to dim the screen’s brightness, either by using the function keys (FN + F6 & F7 on some laptops) or from the graphics display properties available in control panel – under the display settings. Some laptops also offer dimming as part of the Power options in Windows.
Dim laptop screen
By dimming the screen you will reduce glare – reducing eyestrain, reduce unwanted attention and will also save your laptops batteries from being drained – advantages all round!”
Jim – Information Technology in Organisations