SuperNova Access Suite Case Study: Student access at the Royal National College.

Tim Ashmore is Head of IT (Information Technology) Learning Support Services at the Royal National College for the Blind (RNC) in the cathedral city of Hereford. With over 160 students attending the college, RNC has a Windows network covering in excess of 200 computer workstations. One of the largest computer suites is the Flexible Learning Centre and Library, which provides 30 individual keyboard places offering open access for all students.

The college is also a member of the National Federation of ACCESS Centres and therefore offers a wide range of access technologies for people with additional disabilities. The equipment available includes Dolphin products. The college holds contracts with the Employment Service for the assessment of equipment needs and job-specific training of disabled people under Access to Work, and also provides assessments for the Disabled Student Allowance for students in FE and HE. Anyone requiring advice and recommendations regarding specialist equipment, strategies and study aids may contact the college. Dolphin products are inevitably included as appropriate to individual needs, and following assessment, recommendations are made and training provided as required. The logistics of maintaining so many computers and the technical support for each of the students and staff in the system would seem a daunting prospect for many people. But with Dolphin staff working together with Tim and his team of technical support personnel, keeping computers and software functioning and up to date is part of the standard running of the system. As Tim explains, "Dolphin’s contribution to the introduction and development of the RNC Resource Centre has been most welcome. It is absolutely vital that RNC has effective and rapid access to technical support and product development information. I estimate that at least 70% of students at RNC benefit from the full range of Dolphin products.

Due to its versatility, Supernova is the college’s main computer access software solution, providing good all round access. As students log on to the college network system they are able to choose their preferred access medium. Some students will use speech, others prefer screen magnification and some will use both, without any loss in functionality. With Supernova running across our network, students can tailor the access to their own particular preferences.” Maintaining a large system can be a costly business, but by using network-ready versions of Dolphin’s software, RNC is maximising the return on its spending. Having already registered a multiple user licence with the Sales Department, if the college needs to bring more students into the system, they need only buy add-ons to the existing licence, for each additional user. These “new user” updates to the current licence are easy to administer and audit, and are only a fraction of the cost of full single-user licences. Dolphin has its own Technical Support Department on hand at the end of the telephone to support clients, but with a site that has complex requirements such as RNC, additional levels of service are required.

Dave Salisbury, from Dolphin’s Field Sales Team makes regular calls to keep Tim and his team fully informed. "The regularly scheduled workshops at which Dolphin staff are available for consultation and advice have proved to be a major benefit in this regard,” comments Tim. “However, I must add that we are constantly looking at ways in which we can help Dolphin to improve their response to the more technical queries that arise.” Mike Fawson, Dolphin’s Technical Support Manager takes up the story. "In terms of the way Dolphin’s software is used in conjunction with third party applications, we are always keen to take feedback from power users such as RNC, giving us opportunities for improving our products. With a large number of sophisticated users across the world, keeping everyone abreast of the latest technical data is no mean task.

To this end we have a structured internal call logging system, our latest technical bulletins are delivered by e-mail and we have an on-line technical archive on our website, together with software downloads.” In terms of general operations, Dolphin’s visits not only provide a service to the student end users. Keeping the teaching staff well informed about developments is an ongoing task which the team of Dolphin staff and Tim’s IT Learning Support Services take very seriously. "A major factor in any educational establishment is the provision of staff training and development associated with the delivery of high-level teaching and learning. As a result, the effective use of Dolphin products is a key platform for our staff IT training and services.

The development of the RNC Resource Centre in which we have all the latest Dolphin software, has enabled opportunities to be provided for both staff and students to experience a full range of enabling technology products.” Dolphin Computer Access manufactures a wide range of access products for visually impaired computer users, including screen magnification software, scanning and reading systems and Braille translation products, all available for the Windows XP, 2000, NT, Me, 98 & 95 platforms. The Supernova Reader Magnifier is the combined speech and magnification product designed for use in school, college, or multiple user situations. With a variety of different output options, it is a versatile solution to mixed user environments.

The speech output can be via hardware or software text-to-speech products, although ordinarily it is shipped with Dolphin’s software speech synthesiser, Orpheus. Users can vary Supernova’s speech and magnification settings to their own individual requirements, making it the ideal choice for installation on a network. With five different magnification modes, control over the contrast of text on the screen, enlargement size, the amount of speech output and many other settings, all saved automatically, Supernova has the range of features to suit every user. Tim Ashmore can summarise what he sees as the current situation. "If the types of products supplied by Dolphin were not available, RNC would undoubtedly be unable to function in this rapidly developing technological age. RNC is committed to ensuring our students are able to compete equally with their fully sighted peers in all aspects of society, not least in terms of computing.”

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