Better Access from Microsoft Means Success for All
by
on
on
Microsoft last month announced a new five-year commitment to help bridge the “Disability Divide” the gap in societal inclusion for people with disabilities. Given the impact of the pandemic on people with disabilities, the commitments focus on talent development (employment and education), workplace culture (hiring), and accessible technology. On this episode of EdTech Today, Mike Tholfsen details Microsoft’s efforts and speculates the effects post-pandemic.
Some of these efforts include:
- Artificial intelligence (AI) in Microsoft Word will detect and convert to heading styles crucial for blind and low vision readers; new AI for Accessibility Low-Cost Assistive Technology Fund to help those who can’t currently afford it, use assistive technology.
- A new Excel navigation pane designed for screen readers will help people easily discover and navigate objects in a spreadsheet.
- Expanding Immersive Reader, used by 35 million people every month, to help with the comprehension of PowerPoint slides and notes.
- In Teams, high-contrast mode can be used to access shared content using PowerPoint Live and live closed captioning for people in the U.S. who are deaf or hard of hearing will reduce eye strain and accommodate light sensitivity with dark mode in Word.
- New LinkedIn features that include auto-captioning for LinkedIn Live broadcasts, captions for enterprise content, and dark mode later this year.
- A new background accessibility checker will provide a prompt to fix accessibility issues in content across the core Office apps and Outlook will nudge users to correct accessibility issues.
- Based on a pilot at the University of Illinois, we’re expanding our work to additional colleges and universities to increase graduation rates of students with disabilities in STEM education, reaching universities such as the University of Texas Austin, Georgia Tech, and Florida A&M.
- Investments in the Urban Airband Initiative to provide affordable broadband, hardware, and software to people with disabilities starting in Los Angeles and New York.
- New ASL video call capability through Microsoft Stores to enable deaf customers to explore Microsoft products and receive shopping support with a member of our deaf support staff.
Listen to Previous Episodes of EdTech Today!
Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!
Twitter – @MarketScale
Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale
LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale
Latest
Simply Shipped: How Technology Accelerates Logistics Engines
September 30, 2022
Since the COVID-19 pandemic erupted, we have constantly been hearing about supply chain shortages and backups causing delays in product deliveries in multiple sectors. Sanil Mahajan, Global Head – Read more
Beyond the Concept: Managing the Risk of Using Out-of-Date Parts and Products in a Facility
September 30, 2022
Facilities can ill afford to have equipment go down with today’s supply chain challenges. Lost hours could quickly become lost days if a replacement is unavailable. Sam Cafferata, Principal Engineer Read more
The Most POWERFUL Conference of the Year, The Battery Show 2022
September 30, 2022
Grant Harrell, host of Are We There Yet? had the pleasure of attending Informa Markets’ The Battery Show in Novi, Michigan from September 13-15, 2022. The show featured the latest trends and topics Read more
