Well done to Tourism NI this week who have further enhanced their section 75 offering by implementing digital assistive tech into their websites
Tourism NI has recently launched ‘BrowseAloud’ on both its consumer (discovernorthernireland.com) and industry (tourismni.com) websites.
‘BrowseAloud’ is assistive technology software that adds speech, reading, and translation functionality to websites in order to make them easily accessible to people with dyslexia, reading difficulties, visual impairments and English Language Learners. It is designed by Texthelp Ltd, a Northern Ireland based company that specialises in the design of assistive technology.
Assistive technology can be an item, piece of equipment, software or product system that is used to increase, maintain or improve the functional capabilities of persons with disabilities. Persons who have disabilities often have difficulty performing activities of daily living (ADLs) independently, or even with assistance. Having this facility on offer promotes greater independence by enabling people to perform tasks they were formerly unable to accomplish or had great difficulty accomplishing and gives visitors to the websites a better experience.
‘BrowseAloud’ adds speech and reading support tools to online content to extend the reach of websites for people who require reading support. The JavaScript-based tool adds a floating toolbar to the web page being visited. The service is free to website visitors.
