The notes for a demo I gave to the LondonWeb meetup on 17th October 2013. During the demo I showed attendees Dragon Naturally Speaking and NVDA screen reader. I also did quick demos of Voiceover (screen reader for iPhone and iPad) and Talkback (the Android equivalent). I have some of the useful keyboard and gesture commands used with each of the screen readers.

1. Assistive Technology Demo
Graham Armfield
Web Accessibility Consultant
WordPress Developer
graham.armfield@coolfields.co.uk
@coolfields
Coolfields Consulting
www.coolfields.co.uk
@coolfields

2. What I’m going to cover
Some major AT - as used by those with
disabilities and impairments
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Dragon Naturally Speaking
NVDA
Voiceover
Talkback
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3. Dragon Naturally Speaking
Speech Recognition software for
Windows and Mac
Coolfields Consulting
www.coolfields.co.uk
@coolfields

4. Dragon Naturally Speaking
• Primarily used by those with motor
impairments
• Control your whole PC – not just for
browsing the web.
• That said, I do use it to write documents
now
• Lots of voice commands to learn
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5. Dragon Demo
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Dealing with applications
Dictating text and punctuation
Correcting mistakes and formatting
Browsing the web
Following links
Emulating the mouse
Internet forms
Drag and drop
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6. NVDA
Open source screen reader
Coolfields Consulting
www.coolfields.co.uk
@coolfields

7. NVDA
• Used by those with blindness and other sight
impairments
• But also used by some with cognitive
impairments
• Reads aloud what it finds on the page
• Can be used with all applications not just
browser
• Lots of keystrokes to learn
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8. NVDA Demo
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Initial page load – speed
Using the tab key
Skip links
Dropdown navigation
List links/headings/regions
Forms
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9. Some Useful NVDA Keystrokes
The ‘NVDA’ key is the Insert key by default on Windows. It
can be changed in settings.
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NVDA + Q – Close NVDA
NVDA + F7 – List links, headings, regions
Ctrl + NVDA + down or Ctrl + NVDA + up – change speed
H – Next heading
K – Next link
Alt + down – open select box
NVDA + down – start reading from here
Ctrl + left/right – prev/next word
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10. Voiceover
Screen reader for iOS devices
Coolfields Consulting
www.coolfields.co.uk
@coolfields

11. Voiceover
• Used by those with blindness and other
sight impairments
• Reads aloud what it finds on the screen, or
under your finger
• Can be used with all apps not just browser
• Controlled by a series of gestures
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12. Voiceover Demo
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Switching it on
Reading what on the screen – apps
Changing to next home screen
Actioning apps and links
Read on from here
Page up/down
The ‘Rotor’
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13. Some Voiceover Gestures
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Move finger – voices app, link, text under finger
Swipe right/left – next/previous item
One finger double tap – select item with focus
Two finger swipe down – read from current point
Two finger swipe up – read entire page
Three finger swipe left/right – next home screen
Three finger swipe up/down – page up/down
Two finger twist – rotor switch
Single finger swipe up/down – previous/next item as
specified by rotor
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14. Talkback
Screen reader for Android devices
Coolfields Consulting
www.coolfields.co.uk
@coolfields

15. Talkback
• Used by those with blindness and other
sight impairments
• Reads aloud what it finds on the screen, or
under your finger
• Can be used with all apps not just browser
• Controlled by gestures
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16. Talkback Demo
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Switching it on
Reading what’s on the screen – apps
Changing to next home screen
Actioning apps and links
Page up/down
Shortcuts
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17. Some Useful Talkback Gestures
• Drag one finger - explore screen and hear audible feedback for
what is being touched
• Double-tap anywhere on the screen - opens or activates the item
that you last touched.
• Swipe up or down using two fingers - scroll lists and pages.
• Swipe left or right using two fingers - change pages and screens.
• Swipe right (or down) using one finger - move to the next item.
• Swipe left (or up) using one finger - move to the previous item.
• Up then right - open local context menu
• Up then left - home button
• Down then right - open global context menu
• Down then left - back button
• Right then down - open notifications
• Left then up - recent apps button
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18. Thanks for listening
Any questions?
graham.armfield@coolfields.co.uk
@coolfields
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