You can make Showbie even more accessible for students, all while using their iPads! Here are a few helpful iPad accessibility features you can use within the Showbie app to support many diverse learning needs.
The following are brief descriptions and how-to's for iPad specific accessibility features, based on visual, hearing and cognitive needs. To learn about the other ways Showbie can support accessible learning needs, check it out here!
Accessibility Features for Visual Needs:
1. Change Screen Colors
Apply a filter to display the entire screen in grayscale, customize colors, or tint the screen with a color of your choice.
Tap iPad Settings > Accessibility> Display & Text Size.
Tap Color Filters, turn ON Color Filters, then tap a colour filter to apply it. You can drag any slider that appears to adjust the intensity or hue.
To Invert Colors:
Tap iPad Settings > Accessibility> Display & Text Size.
Smart Invert: Reverses colors everywhere in the Showbie app, except images.
Classic Invert: Reverses all colors within the Showbie app.
Tap here for ways to make your iPad screen even more accessible.
2. Spoken Content
iPad's Spoken Content feature allows for selected written words to be read-aloud. Choose from various options for how you would like your Showbie content to be read-aloud.
Tap iPad Settings> Accessibility>Spoken Content.
More info can be found here.
3. Text Size
This setting will alter all text on your iPad, including Showbie content.
Tap iPad Settings > Display & Brightness > Text Size.
Slide the bar to the desired text size to be displayed.
4. Dim the Brightness or Use Dark-Mode
Tap iPad Settings > Display & Brightness > Brightness.
Slide brightness bar to the desired screen brightness level.
Alternatively, tap iPad Settings > Display & Brightness >Appearance.
Select Dark. This sets iPad and the Showbie app to Dark-mode.
5. Zoom
This setting magnifies the entire iPad screen. You can also select the "Maximum zoom level" at the bottom of the Zoom screen.
Tap iPad Settings> Accessibility> Zoom> & Slide this 'ON'.
6. Dictation
This setting allows you to complete written work in the Showbie app by simply speaking. You can also add languages here depending on your preference.
Tap iPad Settings >General > Keyboard > Enable Dictation 'ON'.
Accessibility Features for Hearing Needs:
AirPods
AirPods can be used with Showbie and may help some users access audio more clearly when using their device’s accessibility settings.
To customize your audio, tap Audio Accessibility Settings.
Go to iPad Settings > Accessibility > AirPods. Select your AirPods.
2. Balance the Audio
You have the option to adjust any of the following:
Mono Audio: Turn ON to balance sound content.
Balance: Drag the Stereo Balance slider to preferred sound location.
To do so, go to iPad Settings > Accessibility > Audio & Visual.
Accessibility Feature for Cognitive Needs:
Guided Access
This iPad feature helps students stay focused on their assignments by temporarily restricting access outside of the Showbie app- You as the teacher can control which app features are available (volume, keyboard, etc..)
Go to iPad Settings > Accessibility, turn ON Guided Access.
Tap Passcode Settings, then tap Set Guided Access Passcode. Enter a passcode, then re-enter it.
Note: You can also turn on Face ID or Touch ID as a way to end a Guided Access session. You can learn more about how to enable & disable this feature here!
Please reach out to Support at support@showbie.com if you have further questions about using the iPad to support accessible learning!
Further details of all iPad Accessibility Features listed above can be found in the Apple iPad User guide here.