Accessibility tools.
Screen readers:
Screen readers are tools that assist people who are blind or have low vision use electronic devices, like computers, tablets or phones, by reading aloud text or other items on a screen. This allows everyone to understand and engage with digital content equally.
For non-text elements, like photos or other graphics, screen readers rely heavily on Alt-Text (alternative text) to be able to describe them. If you want to ensure your Alt-Text is screen reader compatible, test it out amongst some of these popular screen readers.
NVDA (Windows)
NVDA (Non-Visual Sesktop Access) is a free, open-source screen reader that enables users to interact with the Windows operating system as a third-party application like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Its built-in speech synthesiser has over 55 languages, and the program can also output text as Braille text.
Note: NVDA is only compatible with computers running Windows 8.1 or later (not Mac).
VoiceOver (Apple)
VoiceOver is a built-in feature on most Apple devices, such as Mac, iPhone and iPad. Similar to NVDA, it is able to provide both speech and Braille outputs. VoiceOver can be activated using the keyboard shrtcut Command-F5 on Mac or by going into the Accessibility settings on iOS.
Further information about using VoiceOver and Apple’s other accessibility features can be found on Apple support site.
On the Apple Support Site you can find steps to practice using VoiceOver . Select the drop down menu to choose VoiceOver steps for iOS 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18. Explore Apple Support page for Accessibility features for vision on iPhone page.
Explore the Vision Australia Introduction to Screen Readers page for more information.
References:
Apple. (n.d). Accessibility. https://www.apple.com/au/accessibility/
Apple. (n.d). Accessibility Support. https://support.apple.com/en-au/accessibility
Apple. (2025). Turn on and practice VoiceOver on iPhone
NV Access. (n.d). About NVDA. https://www.nvaccess.org/about-nv-access/
Ryan, S. (2023, July 25). The ‘write’ way to inclusive content with alt text and imge captions. NSW Government
Vision Australia. (n.d). Introduction to Screen Readers
Windows (2025). Discover Windows accessibility features.
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