As Chromebooks become more commonplace, especially in schools where students and teachers use the popular laptop, it’s critical that Chromebooks have tools that make the web accessible to everyone.
A number of new accessibility features have been added to the Chromebook with the latest release of Chrome OS, which rolled out over the past couple weeks.
At the Equal Access to Software and Information (EASI) Chrome Accessibility webinar, Laura Allen, Chrome & Chrome OS Accessibility Program Manager, highlighted the new accessibility features in Chrome OS.
Allen kicked off the webinar with the following:
Accessible out of the box. Chromebooks and other Chrome devices can be enjoyed by everyone, including users with disabilities, right out of the box.
Here are my top 10 takeaways from the webinar.
1. Built on Three Principles: Speed, Simplicity, and Security
Chromebooks are designed to be lightweight, booting up within five seconds. Every interaction is quick.
The interface is designed to be very simple.
Once booted, the Chromebook user interface is one bar at bottom of the screen with commonly used icons for apps. On bottom right side is the status area, displaying time, battery, settings, and wifi.
For security, Chromebooks have built-in malware protection and regular updates that run.
You never have to manually update Chromebooks, updates are automatic and are released regularly.
2. Make Things Easier to See
Several features allow you to make things easier to see on the Chromebook.
- Selecting CTRL and + (plus) allows you to increase browser content. Similarly, you can select CTRL and –(minus) to decrease the size of browser content.
- If you want to make everything larger, select CTRL and Shift and + (plus), which makes everything larger. Which includes the bottom status bar of icons (where the Chrome icon, Launcher, and system area display).
- Selecting CTRL and Shift and – (minus) makes everything smaller.
- To reset to default size, use CTRL and Shift and 0 (zero).
- If that’s not enough magnification, you can use the built-in fullscreen magnifier.
Enable it via use Settings > Advanced > Accessibility > Manage accessibility features.
In the Display section, enable full screen magnifier.
Once enabled, you can use the mouse to move the viewport around. Or use the tab to shift focus.
You can adjust zoom level by holding down the CTRL and Alt keys and scroll with two fingers on the touchpad.
Or use CTRL and Alt and using the Brightness Control key (on top row of keyboard) to adjust zoom level.
- The new Docked Magnifier feature zooms in the top third of the screen. The bottom two-thirds of the screen is resized and you can use your mouse cursor to move around the screen.Enable it via use Settings > Advanced > Accessibility > Manage accessibility features.
In the Display section, Enable Docked Magnifier or CTRL and Search and d.
The Docked Magnifier is helpful when you’re using small screens and want to know what part of the screen you’re on.
3. High-Contrast Mode
With High-contrast mode, you can invert the colors on the screen to make them easier to see.
Enable High-contrast mode with CTRL and Search and h.
4. Highlight Mouse Cursor, Insertion Point, and Focus
Chromebooks have the ability to display colored circles (focus ring) on the screen to highlight the mouse cursor, insertion point (what Chrome OS refers to as the text caret) where you enter text, and whatever object has keyboard focus.
The colored circles fade out so they’re not distracting.
To enable the highlight mouse cursor feature, use Settings > Advanced > Accessibility > Manage accessibility features.
In the Mouse and touchpad section, enable the Highlight the mouse cursor when it’s moving.
To enable highlight the text caret or highlight the object with keyboard focus, use Settings > Advanced > Accessibility > Manage accessibility features.
In the Keyboard and text input section, enable the changes you want to make.
5. On-Screen Keyboard
The on-screen keyboard works with a mouse, touchpad, connected joy stick, and supports handwriting and dictation.
To enable the on-screen keyboard, use Settings > Advanced > Accessibility > Manage accessibility features.
In the Display section, enable the on-screen keyboard.
6. Dictation in Any Text Field
Launched with Chrome version 69, the easy dictation feature is available via the on-screen keyboard or standalone.
To use the standalone version, go to Settings > Advanced > Accessibility > Manage accessibility features.
In the Keyboard and text input section, enable dictation (speak to type), which displays a microphone icon in status bar section.
To dictate in any text field, place your cursor in the text field and either:
- Select the microphone icon in the status area (lower right) of the screen
- Or select Search (located above Shift on the keyboard) and d to dictate
Note: you’ll need to use either of the steps each time you select a new text field. The option is only enabled once you insert your cursor in the text box.
7. Mono Audio
Make content easier to hear with the mono audio feature, which allows the same sound out of both speakers.
8. ChromeVox Screen Reader
The built-in ChromeVox screen reader uses synthesized speech to read web content aloud.
Enable (and disable) it by selecting the CTRL and Alt and Z keys.
New features in ChromeVox include:
- Faster, more consistent experience
- Simplified keyboard shortcuts
- New ChromeVox Panel with speech and optionally Braille output
- New ChromeVox Menus for more efficient navigation
- New set of navigational sounds
- Ability to navigate with Braille display keyboard commands. Users can plugin in a compatible USB refreshable Braille display.
9. Select-to-speak
If you’re someone who doesn’t need the ChromeVox screen reader all the time, you’ll be interested in the Select-to-speak option.
Highlight the content you want to have read aloud, then select Search and S or select the Select-to-speak icon in the status bar.
Enable the Search-to-speak feature in Settings > Advanced > Accessibility > Manage accessibility features.
In the Text to speech section, enable dictation (speak to type), which will display a microphone icon in the lower right of the screen.
10. Browser Extensions
While not specific to the Chromebook OS, several Chrome extensions offer accessibility features that allow you to customize your Chromebook.
Here are a few of the dozen or so extensions mentioned during the webinar:
- Stay Focusd: set limits for how much time you spend on a website. Useful for anyone with ADHD
- MagicScroll Web Reader: removes clutter and distractions for busy websites
- BeeLine Reader: reduces eye strain, assists with eye tracking. Helpful for people with dyslexic.
- Google Color Enhancer: if you’re color blind, you can filter the colors on the page to improve color perception.
- MagX: turns the computers into a video magnifier. High contrast, magnification. You can zoom in on the computer. (Note: I couldn’t find this on the Chrome Store, but located it on the company website. Looks to be in development.)
Wrapping Up
Whoa, I had no idea there were so many accessibility features in Chrome!
While many people think of web accessibility in terms of visually impaired users, the EASI webinar highlighted the wide range of features Chromebook offers for people with disabilities.
I’ve used several of the new accessibility features on my Chromebook, but have more to check out. Personally, I’m a fan of the dictation to text feature.
Have you tried out the accessibility features on your Chromebook? Share your thoughts in the comments.
