Diversity, Age & Work How our computers and phones can help Shannon start How our computers and phones can help Shannon Lavey, OTR/L Anna Walker, OTR/L

The Assistive Technology Resource Center Mission of ATRC is to ensure equal access to technology and electronic information for CSU students and employees with disabilities. CSU has approximately 30,000 + students Approximately 2200 students have disabilities The ATRC is charged by the university with making sure they have the AT tools they need AND are able to access all their course materials and information Technology can benefit all people, not just those with disabilities!

The Aging Workforce Workers over 50 to increase drastically Could be 1/3 of workforce Many older works plan to work past traditional retirement age Note: people are working longer maybe partially because they need to, but also because they want to (they are engaged, satisfied, and committed to their companies).

Benefits of Older Workers Large Network of Contacts Extensive Organizational Knowledge Problem Solvers Ambitious Increased Engagement Many More Discussion here? What benefits do you see in older adults in the work force? Although it’s not inevitable, sometimes as we age there are changes that occur that may impact our participation at work or create challenges. This does not happen for everyone, but if it does we can look at ways to reduce barriers that arise. “Engaged employees use less health care, take fewer sick days, are more productive, have longer tenure, and create stronger customer relationships” https://www.dol.gov/odep/pdf/NTAR_Employer_Strategies_Report.pdf

Disability and Adults Mobility Cognition Independent Living Vision Self-Care Shannon last slide 1/5 adults have a disability 1/3 persons over 65 report some kind of disability So we know this is not an uncommon thing happening. We will change as we get older and may or may not impact our roles or our work. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/features/key-findings-community-prevalence.html

What Changes Occur as We Age? Anna Start What changes have occurred with you or those you know? Has this affected them at work?

Work Tasks Impacted http://ergo-plus.com/ergonomics-aging-workforce-design/ What task might be impact due to the changes we may face or are facing?

How Can Computers, Phones & Tablets Help? It is important to acknowledge that the changes that may occur as we age, whether suddenly or gradually, do not have to mean a reduction in what we are able to do.

Optimizing Skills and Removing Barriers Ergonomic Design Assistive Technology Job Accommodations Training Initiatives Wellness and Health Promotion There is a great opportunity to optimize our skills and talents as we age. When thinking about removing barriers in the workplace there is a variety of things we can do. Assistive technology can be used help us in the workplace. This can even include mainstream technology like our computers, phones and tablets. Which is GREAT! Sometimes the devices or tasks we do on these devices can cause barriers in themselves as well… so let’s look at how these everyday devices can be tools and how we can remove barriers in working with them if they are present. Main stream and Assistive

Difficulty Viewing the Screen? Why might difficulties arise? What might help? Enlarge Simplify Contrast How many people have trouble seeing their screen? Why might people have trouble viewing a screen? Vision decline/loss Eye Fatigue Migraines or Headaches Others?? What kinds of things do you to make up for this difficulty?

Enlarging Content: PC Text and Icon Size Magnifier Ease of Access Center Make the Computer Easier to See Change the Size of Text and Icons Ease of Access Center Start Magnifier Demonstrate Pic of ease of access center

Enlarging Content: iPhone Text and Icon Size Built-in Magnifier Settings General Accessibility Larger Text Settings General Accessibility Magnifier Triple click Home Button

Simplifying Displays Computer (PC) iPhone: simplify website Ease of Access Make it Easier to Focus on Tasks Reading Check “Remove background images (where available)” Safari Go to webpage Click paragraph symbol Top Left Corner *Not all pages compatible Cell phone para symbol thing

Change Color Contrast PC iPhone Settings General Accessibility Ease of Access Center Make the computer easier to see Select “Turn on or off High Contrast when left ALT + left SHIFT + PRINT SCREEN is pressed” Press left ALT + left SHIFT + PRINT SCREEN to turn on or off Settings General Accessibility Display Accommodations Invert Colors NOTE: sometime difficulty with viewing the screen might have to do with your eyes getting tired looking at the screen. Increasing font size and changing the contrast can help. However, adjusting the brightness or using a screen overlay can sometimes help too.

Advanced AT - ZoomText Enlarges, enhances and reads aloud content Customizable: Magnification Contrast and Colors Pointer & Cursor Reader feature Echo Feature Phase in Screen Reading Anna end slide

Difficulty With Typing? Why might difficulties arise? What might help? Use your voice Create text short cuts or expansion Ergonomics Shannon start

Use your voice… PC iPhone Control Panel Speech Recognition Set up microphone Start Speech Recognition Settings > General > Keyboard Enable Dictation shannon

Text Expansion PC iPhone Microsoft Office MS Word > File > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options…. Example: Replace csu with Colorado State University Settings > General > Keyboard Text Replacement Shannon demonstrate

Dragon Advanced Voice Recognition Software High Accuracy Voice commands User friendly Compatible with many programs MS Word MS Outlook Web browsers More Recommended Version Dragon Naturally Speaking 13 Premium: Student/Teacher Edition RAMtech - $89 Shannon Maybe demonstrate

Ergonomics Ergo Tips Handout Another CSU Resource Risk Management - Ergonomics (http://rmi.prep.colostate.edu/erg onomics/) Ergonomic Evaluations Trial ergo equipment Chairs Keyboards Mice Shannon

Difficulty With Meeting Notes? Why Might Difficulties Arise? What Can You Do? Have an organization system Record audio for review Create to do lists

One-Note: Get Organized Access from anywhere Notebooks and sections Color coordinating Create to do lists Share and collaborate Import other documents Meeting agendas Professional development

One Note: Can’t get it down fast enough? Record Feature Trouble keeping up? Need clarification? Playback relevant notes Shannon end

Other AT LS Pen Notability: iPhone app Sync writing and recording Playback later Access on computer Get organized Annotate documents Record and sync audio Anna start Demo LS pen maybe

Staying organized PC Built ins Apps Windows Microsoft Outlook Evernote Sticky Notes Microsoft Outlook Calendar Color code Add reminders Notes Tasks Evernote Google Keep See handout for more ideas! Demo sticky notes

Email and Calendars Syncing email to phone Syncing Calendar to phone Settings Mail Accounts Exchange Enter email and password (Turn on Calendar sync if desired) Settings Calendar Accounts Exchange Enter email and password Turn on “Calendars” Remember you can add more email accounts to your iphone. For instance I have my personal gmail account and my work Exchange/outlook account on my phone There is also an Outlook app if you would prefer to keep it separate.

Questions? Resources: THANK YOU! Contact us: Anna.walker@colostate.edu Shannon.lavey@colostate.edu ATRC Website (http://atrc.colostate.edu) Resources: Office of Equal Opportunity Jennifer Mayhew: Jennifer.Mayhew@colostate.edu 970-491-5836