Tablets Help Visually Impaired Readers Read More Quickly

Before e readers and tablets came around, blind and visually impaired readers had to rely on braille, large-print, or audiobooks.  Now, the visually impaired can use a Kindle or other e-reader or tablet to enlarge the font right in the screen.  I can attest first-hand that reading a Kindle is much less tiresome on the eyes than reading print books.

That is definitely a huge step up from lugging large books around.  No more bulky travel bags.

The font adjustments in the Kindle are very helpful for creating a less tiresome reading experience, not only for the visually impaired, but for people who don’t have any vision loss.  That in turn enables us to read for as long as we want to.  As long as time permits, of course.

The latest studies show that people who have central vision loss can benefit from reading on a tablet such as the iPad or Kindle Fire.  The level of contrast between the text and background helps speed up the reader’s reading levels.  The sharpness and clarity of the text on the background is important.  On tablets, you can use either black on white, or white on black.  There is also a more neutral setting that doesn’t create such sharp contrast.  So, the added customization can fit the needs of more readers.

Overall, e readers have a lot of potential for opening up a world of reading and literacy for people who otherwise wouldn’t have that opportunity. Learn how to open DAT file.

With that said, the technology still has a ways to go to meet the needs of all readers.  Text-to-speech is currently a controversial service, and isn’t offered on some Kindles.  Including audio menu navigation and the ability to read books via audio on the Kindle go a long way for those who can’t read print at all.

 

1 thought on “Tablets Help Visually Impaired Readers Read More Quickly”

  1. As a person who is legally blind, the Kindle has been a God send. Back when I was reading the Harry Potter series in large print, you had two choices on the last book, wait forever for the large print edition (which means waiting 4-6 months or longer after all the excitement was past and hoping no one spoiled the ending.) Or get the regular print and tough it out. (Which meant squinting and using a magnifier.)

    The Kindle is amazing. Since I got the Kindle Touch Christmas 2011 I have read over 40 books. Which is more than I’ve read in my whole life.

    I wish the home page text could be enlarged.
    Some people have said that the Paperwhite text is smaller. (IE Higher resolution = smaller text.) But I haven’t had a chance to showroom it yet.(Sorry Best Buy).

    Thanks for the article.
    Jack

Leave a Reply

Comment moderation is enabled. Your comment may take some time to appear.