This page provides a current listing of publicly available Assistive Technology (AT) at NC State. NC State integrates assistive technology into all environments to the extent possible and maintains two centralized AT labs: the DSO AT Lab located in the Disability Services Office , and the Assistive Technologies Center (ATC) in Room 1402 on the mezzanine of the DH Hill Library. The Laundry Lab, a public Unity Lab, also contains an extensively equipped AT station, and is located in Room 109 of the Laundry Building, which is on the corner of Stinson and Current Drive.

The ATC houses technologies to facilitate library research and alternate format access to library materials for users with a variety of vision, hearing, and/or mobility related disabilities. The ATC is available at all times when DH Hill Library is open. The facility is kept locked for security reasons. With a valid NC State ID, a key to the room can be borrowed from the Express Circulation Desk, the Main Circulation Desk, or the Reserve Desk, and visitors may ask to be let in. Staff at the Reference Desk can provide general assistance in the use of ATC equipment and can help in selecting and using library resources. Library users who do not know how to operate the assistive technology in the ATC (particularly first-time users) can call in advance to schedule an appointment with a member of the Research and Information Services Department (515-2936) for an orientation to the ATC. Contact David DeFoor, the Computing Consultant for the ATC (513-3961), if you have specific questions. For more information about the ATC and the equipment available for use in the ATC, please visit the web site. Information about other services provided to library patrons with disabilities is also provided on this web site.

The following comprehensive list includes AT that is available on campus. Due to the fluid nature of Assistive and Information Technologies and our continual work to deploy AT solutions on the NC State campus, some information on this page may be out of date. If you notice incorrect information on this page, or have questions about NC State's assistive technologies that are available, please contact Ricky Lee, the Coordinator of Assistive Technology.

Screen Readers and Refreshable Braille Displays
Braille Embossers
Screen Magnification Software
Reading, Writing, & Scanning Solutions
Large Monitors
CCTV's
Assistive Listening Systems
Video & IP Relay Service
Speech Recognition
Accessible workstations (adjustable table height)
Alternative Keyboards
Alternative Pointing Devices
Classroom access technology for persons with blindness or low vision
Classroom Notetaking Devices
EEG Neurofeedback
Other miscellaneous AT products

Screen Readers
JAWS for Windows is installed in the following locations:

JAWS 7.0 is the version of JAWS currently deployed on campus. If you encounter an older version of JAWS or know of a location where JAWS might be needed, please contact Ricky Lee. Please see Installing JAWS 7.0.

NC State has a number of licenses for IBM Home Page Reader. Home Page Reader is available on all Unity computers from the Novell Application Launcher.

Emacspeak, a screen reader for Linux and Unix (it interfaces with Emacs), is currently installed on all Engineering Realm Linux computers running RedHat Linux WS3, and is installed in a locker for the Solaris platform. See the Eos Guide: Labs and Platforms and the NC State Emacspeak help document for specific locations. Emacspeak requires that you use a DoubleTalk hardware sysnthesizer. Please contact Ricky Lee to checkout a DoubleTalk synthesizer. Emacspeak is also available in the DSO AT Lab.

Gnopernicus, a screen reader for the Gnome desktop, is available on the Solaris 10 platform in the Assistive Technology lab at the DSO.

The Assistive Technologies Center, 1402 DH Hill, also has the following web readers available:

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Braille Embossers
A Braille Embosser with Duxbury Braille Translation Software version 10.5 is available in the following locations:

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Screen Magnification Software
The NC State University Kiosks are based on Mac OSX and the operating system has inherit magnification. To zoom in, press the option-control-plus keys simultaneously. To zoom out, press the option-control-minus keys simultaneoulsy. The Macintosh workstations available in the Unity Labs also have this feature, and magnification is activated in the same way. See also: MAC OS X Universal Access features.

Zoomtext and/or MAGic is installed in the following locations (upgrades are ongoing):

NC State has a site license for ZoomText, and it can be installed on any university-owned computer running Windows. Please contact Ricky Lee for more information.

Additionally, the university has a site license for MAGic available for installation on university computers. Please see information on the MAGic Network Client.

For Linux, gmag is installed in an AFS locker and is therefore available from any NCSU Linux Realmkit (this includes all Linux machines installed in labs). For help using gmag, please refer to the NC State gmag help document.

The Assistive Technologies Center also has pwWebSpeak PLUS 2.5.14 (voice web browser) which has some screen magnification capabilities.

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Reading, Writing, & Scannning Solutions

A good article about the utility of Kurzweil 3000 in the higher education environment was published in Syllabus magazine, December 2002. This article is available online at http://www.syllabus.com/article.asp?id=6995.

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Large Monitors
Large computer monitors are available in the following locations:

Additional large monitors (20 inch LCDs) are available for loan to departments who need them to accommodate students with disabilities. Please contact Ricky Lee for more information or to request a monitor.

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Magnification Equipment
D.H. Hill Library has the following CCTV equipment:

Disability Services for Students, 1900 Student Health Center, has the following CCTV and other magnification equipment:

CCTVs are also available for student use in the following locations on campus:

The following CCTVs are available for loan to departments for accommodating students with disabilities or for installation in student-used facilities on campus. Many of these CCTVs are also used by student with disabilities in the classroom as part of their academic accommodations. Please contact Ricky Lee for more information.

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Assistive Listening Systems and Devices
For a list of classrooms equipped with assistive listening systems, see the Assisted Listening Systems @ NC State web page.

The Disability Service for Students office also has a number of portable Assistive Listening Devices available to departments and students for loan as a part of students' academic accommodations. Contact the DSO for questions or requests concerning Assistive Listening Devices at NC State.

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Video & IP Relay Service
A Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000 is available at the kiosk in the DSO and in the Assistive Technology Lab for use with North Carolina Video Relay Service. Video Relay Service is a supplement to traditional TTY relay service, which offers American Sign Language Users opportunity to communicate by video conferencing.

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Speech Recognition
Speech Recognition software is available in the following locations:

Multiple licenses of Dragon Naturally Speaking 7.0 (for Windows) and IBM Via Voice 10.0 (for Windows, Mac or Linux) are available for local installations around campus. Silencers are also available for loan to students to facilitate inconspicuous speech input in public labs. Please contact Ricky Lee for more information.

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Accessible workstations (adjustable table height)
Motorized dual surface adjustable workstations are available in the following locations:

Additional electronic dual surface adjustable workstations are currently being installed in computer labs across campus. Others are available for loan to departments who need them to accommodate students with disabilities. Please contact Ricky Lee for more information.

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Alternative Keyboards
Disability Services has the following alternative keyboards available for loan to students or for installation on university-owned computers:

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Alternative Pointing Devices
A Kensington Expert Mouse Trackball is presently available in the Assistive Technologies Center, 1402 DH Hill. Mouse-Trak Professional track balls are available across campus on various Windows, Sun and Macintosh computers. Please contact Ricky Lee for specific locations or to request a specific location.

Disability Services for Students also has a number of other Alternative Pointing Devices available for student use either in the DSO Assistive Technology Lab or for loan as part of a student's academic accommodations, including the Zero Tension Mouse, the Rocket Mouse, and the Roller II Joystick.

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Classroom access products for persons with blindness or low vision
The DSO also has the following equipment available for individual students to check out for use in their courses:

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Classroom Notetaking Devices
The DSO has the following classroom notetaking devices for eligible students:

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EEG Neurofeedback
The DSO has a Smart BrainGames system. This system provides neurofeedback using an EEG (Electroencephalogram) to a person while they are focusing on playing a video game. Please visit the Smart BrainGames website to learn more about this system, and view videos and research about this system.

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Other miscellaneous AT products
Disability Services for Students has a variety of products available for checkout. Contact the DSO (515-7653) to discuss your specific needs.

The Assistive Technologies Center also has products other than those mentioned on this page. For more information, see Assistive Technologies in the ATC.

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