Personalising your Mac computer

Accessibility options available within your Mac operating system provide you with the opportunity to personalise your computer to suit the way you want to study and work. Learn what you can personalise to improve your experience - features will vary depending on the operating system you are running. Visit the Apple Mac Accessibility site (opens in a new window) to learn more about what you can achieve with your Mac. Or, watch the Apple Accessibility videos to learn about features available on iPhone and iPad (opens in a new window).

Get started with your accessibility features

Outlined below are the key areas you can customise to support your specific requirements. Follow these simple steps to access your accessibility features;

  1. Select 'Apple menu'.
  2. Click 'System Preferences'.
  3. Click 'Accessibility'.
  4. Select the accessibility option, such as Speech or Voice Control that you want to turn on from the Dialogue box.

Vision

Browse through the Vision options to explore the features available to enhance and support your visual experience. Features include magnification, colour and contrast changes, speech options to have alerts read out to you and VoiceOver to give you auditory or braille descriptions of what's happening on your computer.

Customisable features include;

  • Voice settings.
  • Zoom.
  • Display accommodations.
  • Speech.
  • Descriptions.

Learn more about Vision features (opens in a new window) on the Apple site.

Having text read to you when you choose.

Motor

Do you have trouble typing or simply prefer to talk out your thoughts sometimes? Voice recognition and hardware adjustments can help take away the added time, stress and pain associated with typing notes, essays and reports. You are also able to adjust the language settings to suit your preferences.

Customisable features include;

Watch the video below to see how Voice Control can be used to improve accessibility of your phone or tablet, knowing it's transferrable to your computer too. You can also learn more about the full suite of Motor and Mobility features (opens in a new window) on the Apple site.

Voice Control

Hearing

Do you have trouble hearing from your device, or prefer to have the option of captions if you are travelling and want to make sure you don't miss key information? The Hearing accessibility features include adjustable subtitles and captions (where available) in addition to alternative visual alerts to make sure you don't miss your system alerts and reminders.

Learn more about Hearing features (opens in a new window) on the Apple site.

Extra features to support your learning

Apple also provides some solutions to common challenges faced by many of us today - not just when we are studying or working from home! Explore the Learning Features (opens in a new window) page on the Apple site to learn about these solutions.

Additional features are available to help with:

  • Staying focused while reading.
  • Improving reading comprehension.
  • Improving spelling and grammar.
  • Better managing your time with tools and workflows to support organisation and efficiency.

Microsoft also provides a range of Digital Learning Tools available through the Office 365 suite of products. Office 365 is compatible with Apple devices and available to all students and staff at Western as part of the Student Advantage and Staff Advantage packages. Find out more about these useful tools on the Microsoft Learning Tools in Office 365 page.

Need Help?

If you are using an Apple product, you can visit your local Apple Store to attend a free 'Today at Apple' accessibility session (opens in a new window). An Apple staff member will take you through the accessibility features and help you customise to suit your needs. Apple provides Auslan interpreters for those who require it, just let them know in advance.