The ATC
                
The Adaptive Technology Center (ATC) is a resource that is available to you as a student that is registered with the Disability and Access Center.  The ATC is located in room 174 of the library.  The ATC offers several services, including conversion of print textbooks and other printed materials into Braille or electronic text. Installation of software such as Jaws for Windows, a screen-reading program, or Kurzweil, a program that can read textbooks aloud and highlight text as it reads is yet another service offered.  The center also has computers with screen-reading and magnification software available for use, if you want to work on assignments.  The center is open from 8 A.M. to 11 P.M. Monday through Thursday, from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. on Friday, 10:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. on Saturday, and from 2 P.M. to 7 P.M. on Sunday.
                
In order to convert books from print to an accessible format, the ATC will need proof that you have purchased our rented the book.  This can be a receipt from the bookstore, or the actual book itself.  The ATC will then check to see if they already have a scanned copy of the book on their server, and if so, you can have an accessible file of your book fairly quickly.  If the book isn’t on their server, they will check to see if they can get an electronic copy of the book from an electronic database.  If not, then they will need to physically scan your book, which can take time, depending on the size of the book.  
                
If you are requesting an accessible copy of other printed sources, such as handouts, for example, the ATC prefers that you try to get them the material in electronic form.  An example would be a Word document, rather than a paper copy, if you want something Brailled.  An electronic copy saves time, as the material doesn’t need to be scanned and results in a cleaner file and less errors to correct.  The ATC can also make tactile graphics, such as tables and graphs.
                
You can check out equipment from the ATC, such as microphones and audio recorders, laptops, flash drives, and so on.  Equipment is available on a first come, first served basis, and needs to be returned to the ATC by the end of the current semester, unless you get approval from the ATC Coordinator for you to use it past the end of the semester. 
                
If you need adaptive equipment for use in a classroom, such as software installed on a computer, have your professor contact the DAC, who will get in touch with the ATC to have the software installed.  I had to do this myself when I took a class where there was a lot of computer use in the classroom.  The computers didn’t have screen-reading software, so my professor talked to the DAC and got the software installed.  I was then able to do my work along with the other students in the class and participate fully.