Glossary

Search results

Accessibility API(also: Accessibility Application Programming Interface, Platform Accessibility API)

A software interface provided by operating systems and browsers that exposes information about user interface elements — including their roles, states, properties, and relationships — to assistive technologies such as screen readers. Accessibility APIs (e.g., Microsoft UI…

Adobe Acrobat(also: Acrobat Pro, Adobe Acrobat Pro, Acrobat DC)

Adobe's commercial software suite for creating, editing, and managing PDF documents, including accessibility remediation features. Acrobat Pro includes tools for adding tags to PDF documents, setting reading order, editing document structure through a tag tree, running…

Auto-Correction(also: Autocorrect, Automatic error correction, Spell correction)

A software feature that automatically detects and corrects typing errors, typically by comparing entered text against a dictionary and suggesting or applying the closest match based on string distance algorithms. Auto-correction is particularly important for accessible text…

Braille Translation Software(also: Braille Transcription Software, Braille Converter)

Software that converts print text into braille or braille into print, applying the appropriate contraction rules, formatting conventions, and code systems (such as UEB or Nemeth). Braille translation software is essential for producing accessible materials but can be…

Collision Detection(also: Contact Detection, Intersection Testing)

In virtual reality and haptic systems, collision detection is the computational process of determining when virtual objects come into contact with each other or with a user's virtual representation (such as a virtual hand or cane). When a collision is detected, the system can…

Course Management System(also: CMS, Learning Management System, LMS)

A software platform used by educational institutions to create, manage, and deliver course content, track student performance, and facilitate communication between instructors and students. Examples include Blackboard, Canvas, and Moodle. Course management systems present…

Creativity Support Tools(also: CST, Creative Support Software)

Creativity support tools (CSTs) are software applications and systems designed to help people engage in creative activities such as writing, drawing, music production, photography, video editing, graphic design, and programming. In the context of accessibility, CSTs present…

Digital Assistive Technology(also: Digital AT, Software-Based AT)

Assistive technologies delivered through software, applications, and digital platforms rather than dedicated physical devices. Digital AT includes screen readers, speech-to-text tools, magnification software, communication apps, and AI-powered features embedded in smartphones,…

Dragon NaturallySpeaking(also: Dragon Dictation, Dragon Speech Recognition, Nuance Dragon)

Dragon NaturallySpeaking is a commercial speech recognition software product, originally developed by Dragon Systems and later acquired by Nuance Communications (now part of Microsoft). It converts spoken words into text and computer commands, enabling hands-free computer…

Figma

Figma is a browser-based collaborative design tool widely used for UI/UX design, prototyping, and design-system management. Its real-time multi-user editing, component libraries, and developer-handoff features have made it a de-facto standard in product design. Figma's…

GIS(also: Geographic Information System, Geographic Information Systems)

A class of software systems — such as ArcGIS, QGIS, and open-source geospatial libraries — that capture, store, manipulate, analyze, and visualize geographic and spatial data by linking location coordinates with attribute information. GIS underpins urban planning, public health,…

Groupware(also: Collaborative Software, Computer-Supported Cooperative Work Software)

Software designed to help multiple people coordinate, communicate, and collaborate on shared work. Groupware covers shared calendars and scheduling, document co-authoring, messaging, workflow, and shift-planning systems. Accessibility matters for groupware because these tools…

Input Method Editor(also: IME, Input Method)

A software component that allows users to enter characters and symbols not directly available on their physical keyboard, particularly for languages with large character sets or complex scripts. IMEs are essential for typing in languages like Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and…

Librosa

An open-source Python library for audio and music signal analysis, widely used in music-information retrieval and accessibility research to extract low-level acoustic features such as tempo, RMS energy, spectral centroid, zero-crossing rate, chroma, and mel-frequency cepstral…

Local-First Software(also: Local-First)

A software design philosophy, articulated by Kleppmann and colleagues in 2019, in which applications keep the user's primary data on local devices and treat cloud services as optional synchronization or backup layers rather than as the source of truth. Local-first systems aim to…

MathPlayer

A software plugin developed by Design Science that enables the rendering and text-to-speech reading of mathematical expressions encoded in MathML within web browsers and other applications. MathPlayer works with screen readers and text-to-speech tools like Read & Write Gold to…

Mercator

A research screen reader system developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology by W. Keith Edwards and Elizabeth Mynatt for the X Window System on Unix workstations. Mercator pioneered the approach of providing access to graphical user interfaces at the semantic level —…

Metadata Repository(also: Metadata Store, Metadata Registry)

A server-side system that stores and serves descriptive data about other resources — in accessibility contexts, typically information about web pages or their elements that helps assistive technology render them more usably. A metadata repository lets multiple tools share the…

Micro Assistive Technology(also: Micro-AT, Accessibility Plugins)

Small, single-feature assistive technology components that address specific accessibility needs, analogous to browser plugins or app add-ons in mainstream software. Unlike full assistive technology suites, micro-AT focuses on individual enhancements that can be developed by…

NVDA(also: NonVisual Desktop Access)

A free, open-source screen reader for Microsoft Windows developed by NV Access. NVDA enables people who are blind or have low vision to use computers by reading on-screen text aloud through a speech synthesizer or outputting to a refreshable Braille display. As open-source…

OSARA(also: Open Source Accessibility for the REAPER Application)

An open-source extension for the REAPER digital audio workstation that significantly improves its accessibility for screen reader users. OSARA adds enhanced spoken feedback for track and item properties, transport state, mixer controls, and other DAW elements that would…

REAPER(also: Rapid Environment for Audio Production, Engineering, and Recording)

A digital audio workstation (DAW) software application developed by Cockos that is known for its relatively strong accessibility support compared to other professional DAWs. When used with the OSARA (Open Source Accessibility for the REAPER Application) extension, REAPER…

Remote Desktop Software(also: Remote Access Software, Remote Control Software)

Software that allows a user to access and control one computer from another device over a network, displaying the remote computer's screen and relaying input commands. In accessibility contexts, remote desktop software serves as an unexpected but powerful assistive technology…

SAPI(also: Speech Application Programming Interface, Microsoft SAPI)

The Speech Application Programming Interface (SAPI) is a Microsoft Windows API that enables applications to use speech recognition and text-to-speech synthesis. SAPI provides a standardized interface between speech engines and applications, meaning that a synthetic voice built…

Screen Reader Plugin(also: Add-on, Extension, Script)

A small piece of software that extends or modifies the functionality of a screen reader. Plugins allow users to customize their screen reader experience, make partially accessible applications more usable, add keyboard shortcuts, receive custom audio feedback, and interface with…

Screen Reader/2(also: IBM Screen Reader/2, SR/2)

Screen Reader/2 was an early screen reader developed by IBM for the OS/2 operating system, first released in the early 1990s. It was one of the pioneering commercial screen readers, providing blind and visually impaired users with text-to-speech and audio output to access…

System Access(also: SA, System Access to Go, SA To Go)

A screen reader for Windows developed by Serotek Corporation that was notable for offering a free version and a portable "To Go" edition that could run from a USB drive without installation. System Access was designed to provide an affordable alternative to commercial screen…

Tactile Graphics Assistant(also: TGA)

A software tool developed at the University of Washington that automates parts of the tactile graphics translation process to help specialists more efficiently convert printed images into tactile form for blind users. The TGA pipeline includes image classification (identifying…

Tangram Workstation(also: Tangram)

A LibreOffice extension for creating tactile graphics collaboratively. Tangram enables sighted users to design graphics while providing real-time tactile feedback to blind reviewers through a connected pin-matrix display. The tool includes a palette of validated tactile fill…

User Interface Agent(also: Interface Agent, Software Agent, Assistant Agent)

A software component that observes user behaviour and the state of an application, then unobtrusively offers help — suggestions, shortcuts, summaries, or warnings — to reduce workload or prevent errors. In accessibility research, interface agents have been used to monitor a…

Virtual Keyboard(also: On-screen keyboard, Soft keyboard, OSK)

A software-rendered keyboard displayed on screen that allows users to input text by clicking, tapping, or hovering over virtual keys using a mouse, trackball, touchscreen, eye tracker, or other pointing device. Virtual keyboards are essential assistive technology for people with…

Virtual Learning Environment(also: VLE, Learning Management System, LMS)

A web-based platform designed to support teaching and learning by providing tools for content delivery, communication, assessment, and course management. Virtual learning environments typically include features such as discussion forums, assignment submission, gradebooks, and…

ZoomText

A commercial screen magnification and screen reading software for Windows, developed by Freedom Scientific (formerly Ai Squared). ZoomText provides up to 60x magnification along with features like smooth font display, cursor enhancements, focus tracking, and a built-in screen…

33 results.