Assistive technology and accessibility aren't just for students with disabilities! Any time we listen to an audiobook, use speech-to-text on our phones, or change a device into dark- or night- mode, we are taking advantage of assistive technology and accessibility.

Following the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), teachers can increase access and engagement for all students by designing course and classroom materials with accessibility in mind. Consider which assistive technologies and accessibility features would benefit your students regardless of their accommodations.

Impacts of Computing: Accessibility

As of Fall 2024, the Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Standards will be fully implemented. Within the Impacts of Computing band are Accessibility standards. These standards provide students with opportunity to discuss, use, and design accessible materials. 

See below for the standards and examples. (Note: the PDFs can be read by text-to-speech software.)

Listen to part of a page

To have only some text on a page read to you, turn on Select-to-speak.

Step 1: Turn on Select-to-speak

1. At the bottom right, select the time. Or press Alt + Shift + s.

2. Select Settings .

3. At the bottom, select Advanced.

4. In the "Accessibility" section, select Manage accessibility features.

5. Under "Text-to-Speech," turn on Enable select-to-speak.

Step 2: Select and hear text

1. To select what text you’d like to hear:

   • Press and hold the Search key  and select a line of text.

   • Press and hold the Search key  and drag the pointer over an area of the screen.

   • ​Highlight the text and press the Search key  + s.

   • Select Select-to-speak . Then select a line of text or drag the pointer over an area of the screen.

   • On a touchscreen: Tap Select-to-speak . Then tap a line of text or drag your finger over an area of the screen.

2. Your Chromebook will read the section aloud and each word will be highlighted.

3. To stop Select-to-speak while it’s reading, press Ctrl or the Search key . You can also select Stop .

Change the language or voice

1. At the bottom right, select the time. Or press Alt + Shift + s.

2. Select Settings .

3. At the bottom, select Advanced.

4. In the "Accessibility" section, select Manage accessibility features.

5. Under "Text-to-Speech," select Text-to-Speech voice settings.

6. Customize your text-to-speech voice:

   • Change the volume: Under the "Speech Properties" section, choose the loudness.

   • Change the language: In the "Preferred Voices" section, choose a language.

7. Choose the type of voice. By default, Chromebooks have 2 speech engines with voices: Chrome OS TTS and eSpeak. In the "Speech Engines" section, select Settings, then choose a voice.

   • Note: Chrome OS TTS voices have a more human-sounding quality and are very responsive when navigating. eSpeak voices have a more computer-generated sound and are available in a wider variety of languages.

Change the color of highlighted text

If you are using Select-to-speak, each word will be highlighted as it's spoken. You can turn off highlighting or change the color of the highlighted words.

1. At the bottom right, select the time. Or press Alt + Shift + s.

2. Select Settings .

3. At the bottom, select Advanced.

4. In the "Accessibility" section, select Manage accessibility features.

5. Under "Text-to-Speech," select Open select-to-speak settings.

6. Choose a color for highlighted words.

   • ​Optional: To get the strongest contrast, we recommend using green or pink, especially if you’re using high contrast mode.

7. Optional: To turn off highlighting, select Highlight each word as it is spoken.