Ryan's Lab Software
Ryan's Lab Software
Thanks to Ryan's Dream, OLR has state-of-the-art assistive technology available for students to utilize for studying and testing accommodations. As technology has advanced and the way students access technology has changed, OLR now provides access to software on student's individual computers, computers in the Testing Center, and on computers in the library rather than in Ryan's Lab. Not only is Ryan's Dream alive in the Learning Teaching Center, but it continues to have a positive impact on the lives of many students.
OLR offers technical training for eligible students on specific programs as well as resources for select free and open-source technology.
Additionally, advanced assistive technology is available for hearing, physical, speech, and vision-related disabilities. Some of the equipment is available to use in Testing Center and some may be loaned to eligible students for one semester.
Software currently available is listed here. Other software and technology may be made available on a case-by-case basis, depending on your specific needs.
Dragon Naturally Speaking (Voice Recognition)
Dragon Naturally Speaking lets you talk to your computer instead of typing. As you talk, your words are transcribed onto your screen and into your documents or e-mail messages.
You can use Dragon for composing letters, memos, and e-mail; writing a report, article, or story; brainstorming out loud and capturing your thoughts on screen. Then edit by voice or mouse and keyboard.
You can use simple voice commands to revise and format text, move around your document, and control your computer. You can use your voice to start programs, open menus, click buttons, and browse the Web.
MindView (Visual Learning, Thinking, and Writing Skills)
In MindView, you think and learn visually. MindView has tools to create a picture of your ideas or concepts in the form of a diagram. For writing papers, brainstorm your ideas visually in MindView and it will covert the visual piece into an outline in a Microsoft Word document. MindView is an online tool, so there is no software to install!
NVDA (Screen Reading)
NVDA provides speech technology that works with the Windows operating system to provide access to popular software applications and the Internet for blind and visually-impaired computer users. NVDA works well with most modern Windows applications, works seamlessly with Braille displays, and is free!
Read and Write (Reading/Writing Literacy)
Read and Write is a reading, writing, and studying tool. Read and Write reads documents, e-mail, and internet text aloud, moving the cursor along as it reads. If you are eligible for alternative formats, you will use Read and Write to have you textbooks read out loud to you. With the built-in PDF reader, you can highlight important concepts in a textbook and export them to a Word document for easier studying later. Writing features are also available, including text prediction, "Sounds Like" and "Confessable Words," "Picture Dictionary," and more.
- To download Read and Write, visit the University of Dayton's software site.