iPads, MakerEd and More in Education

Students who are blind rarely major in math or science, and Emily Schlenker understands why, from personal experience.

A pre-med major at Wichita State University, Schlenker was born without sight. But that hasn’t slowed down her fascination with organic chemistry. What has repeatedly snagged her ability to study it, however, has been when homework assignments include charts and graphs that her screen-reading software can’t process.

“If I went around to every single wheelchair ramp on campus and broke part of it, there would be an absolute riot,” she says. “The equivalent for me is going to a class and not being able to study the textbook. No sighted person would ever do organic chemistry with no homework—they wouldn’t stand for it—but I was supposed to do that, apparently.”

"The onscreen keyboard on the iPhone 4S and iPad (3rd Generation) has a new feature, Voice Dictation. This will provide speech recognition capabilities integrated right there via the keyboard."

Using your voice to ask Alexa questions can be very convenient, just ask her a question and get the answer. With thousands of skills Alexa is a very powerful tech tool that can be used with merely the sound of your voice.

But the power of Alexa can’t be used when communicating by speech isn’t an option. Members of the deaf community and those with speech impediments have been left behind by Alexa so far.

Apple has long been a trailblazer down the path to accessibility with such features as VoiceOver; it originated on the Mac back in 2007, and is now on every device the company makes. In recent years, Apple has been highlighting the importance of including accessibility features in new technologies and sharing its work with the world. It's incredible, the things Apple has accomplished in working toward an inclusive and supportive range of devices that anyone and everyone can use, no matter what their level of ability is.

Apple isn't the only one doing these things. There are lots of tech companies that include accessibility features on there devices and in their software programs, and even more app developers that provide incredible help to those that need it. More companies should be spotlighting what they do to advance accessibility technologies and proudly share their successes with the world. The competition to see who is the best at it could produce some amazing and revolutionary results.