If you are one of the nearly 50 million people with a disability in the United States, odds are you’re familiar with the wide range of technological tools available to help you navigate your personal life more easily. As technology has continued to advance, tech-oriented assistance is branching into the workplace as well. Read on for a few tech tools that you might find useful in your professional life.
Conversation Captioning
For people who are deaf or hard of hearing, meetings and group conversations in the office can be a challenge to follow and participate in. An app called Ava can help with that. This technology provides real-time captioning so that you can easily keep track of who’s saying what when you are in a group setting
What’s more, it’s ultra-convenient to use. The app can be downloaded to both your own smartphone and your co-workers’ smartphones; from there, the microphones pick up what each person is saying and transcribe the conversation so that you can read what people are saying in real time. Ava also offers Ava Pro, a professional system that your workplace can install so that every meeting and event is transcribed and accessible.
Similar to Ava, Rogervoice is a live-captioning app — only this one is designed for use during phone calls. It’s hard to get around the occasional need to make a professional call, but if you have problems hearing, this task can be difficult or impossible. With Rogervoice, you can call any phone number — even international — and the call will be transcribed in real time on your screen. You can reply either by speaking or typing; if you choose to type, the person on the other end will hear the message you send.
Wireless Headphones
Comfortable, convenient, and tailored to your needs, Nuheara IQbuds are wireless earbuds that enhance hearing in loud places. You can select how much sound comes in from the world around you and make adjustments if you have better hearing in one ear than the other. They are comfortable and secure and offer up to 32 hours of battery life.
SuperVision+ Magnifier
If you are blind or visually impaired, AppleVissays SuperVision+ Magnifier may be helpful in the workplace. This app, which was highlighted by the American Foundation for the Blind, serves as a microscope and magnifying glass with built-in stabilization to prevent a shaky image. If you are struggling to read print, or you need to see a sign that is far away, SuperVision+ Magnifier can provide you with a clear, highly magnified image. This makes it easier to read documents at work, preventing you from missing important details. The app also allows you to save magnified images, so that you can examine them more closely without holding your phone still over the document in question.
NotNav GPS Accessibility
Designed by blind people for blind people, NotNav is a GPS app to help you find your way around when you’re walking. This app is ideal for those days when you need to leave the office for a lunch meeting but aren’t quite sure where you need to go. The app offers you continuous updates on the nearest street signs, every nearby cross street, and your compass heading, as well as any important waypoints. It works without your phone screen needing to be on, meaning that you can set it up and then simply tuck your phone safely in your pocket or bag. Additionally, NotNav is designed to have easily intelligible speech that doesn’t interrupt itself or get bogged down in updates.
An Up-To-Date Smartphone
Technology works best on the most up-to-date equipment. If you’re engaging your phone’s GPS or running other apps, you might require an upgrade for seamless integration. One suggestion is to consider the iPhone XS Max. It has not only the power and memory you need, but is durable, has a large screen, is water-resistant, and can be unlocked using face recognition.
If you prefer to use an Android, you might enjoy the Samsung Galaxy Note 10. This phone can be charged in just 30 minutes and has plenty of storage to ensure you have room for every app you want.
Nowadays, technology plays a major role in the workplace, and those with disabilities can benefit. Sort through tools that can help advance your career. There is a tech-oriented solution out there for everyone!