蓝莓视频

This week Canada is celebrating 鈥� an opportunity to highlight the work of the people and groups removing barriers and reflect on the work yet to do to make Canada a more accessible, inclusive home for all.

At the Libraries, our accessibility services team works continuously to improve the experiences of all students, faculty and researchers that use our spaces and resources. We have found great partners in the Ross and Doris Dixon Charitable Foundation.

Through the support of the Dixon Foundation, the Libraries have been able to upgrade and expand accessible hardware and software resources available to the campus community.

Dana Porter, Davis Centre and Musagetes Architecture Libraries now all have borrowable technology available to help support student success. Available directly from the Library Help Desk at each location, students have access to noise cancelling headphones, hand-held magnifiers, PocketTalkers and large format calculators with speech functions.

In addition to hardware, accessible software can be an ongoing expense to ensure the latest versions are available to support student learning. The Adaptive Technology Centre in the Dana Porter Library has recently updated to the latest versions of Fusion, ZoomText Magnifier/Reader and Dragon Professional, all of which will help students in the coming years.

We鈥檝e also been able to add new software to increase support for STEM students. EquatIO allows users to create, edit and interact with digital mathematical equations and formulas, improving accessibility for 蓝莓视频鈥檚 math students in particular.

The ongoing support of the Dixon Foundation made these upgrades possible. "The Dixon Foundation is pleased to support students and to make it easier for them to achieve their goals,鈥� says Steve Brown, President of the Dixon Foundation, 鈥淲e hope that our help in providing tools and resources through the Accessible Technology Centre will remove some of the difficulties that students may have in using technology in their course work."

Ensuring equitable access to resources for all is a core value of the Libraries and we鈥檙e delighted that the Dixon Foundation shares that vision. Accessibility needs are unique to each person, which requires the resources and expertise to provide tailored support. Working together means more students receive support to achieve their goals.

If you have questions about the Libraries鈥� accessibility services, please contact Michael Clark, accessibility specialist, at mr2clark@uwaterloo.ca.