Android tablet:
Accessibility settings
This short, animate course shows you some handy features that can make using your Android tablet easier.
Watch our animation by pressing the Play button below, or click on the handy Chapters icon in the video playbar to go straight to the information you want to see, such as how to:
- make text appear larger on the screen
- use your tablet's camera flash for notifications
- use your tablet's camera as a magnifier
- use the Dictation feature to convert voice to text.
Sign in to save your progress
Transcript
Welcome to the 'Android tablet: Accessibility settings' course. You will learn about some of the accessibility features on your Android tablet, including how to make text easier to read, how the tablet can convert what you say into text, and how the camera's flash can alert you to messages and notifications.
There are different kinds of Android tablets. If your Android tablet is a different model to the one shown in this demonstration, the steps might be slightly different, but you can still follow along.
Accessibility features are designed to help make your Android tablet easier and more comfortable to use. This is especially useful if you are hard of hearing, have impaired vision or find it difficult to use the touchscreen.
Your tablet's accessibility features are controlled from the Settings app. From the Home screen, swipe up to view all the apps on the tablet's Apps screen. The Settings app looks like a cog wheel. Tap on it to open the Settings app. On the left of the screen, scroll down until you find Display, and tap on it. The Display options will appear on the right. Scroll down until you see Font size and style. Tap on this, to open a new screen with some sample text and, below it, a Font size slider control. Drag the slider to the right, to make all the text on the screen larger or to the left, to make the text smaller. When you're happy with the font size, take your finger off the slider and tap the back arrow next to Font size and style to set it and return to the Display options.
Now, let's look at a setting that can help you keep on top of incoming messages and notifications. From the main Settings menu on the left, scroll down until you find Accessibility. Tap on it to see a complete list of Accessibility options on the right. It's worth exploring these to see which accessibility options could make your life easier.
For this demonstration we'll just focus on a few. Tap on the Advanced settings option. Now, tap on Flash notification, to see some more options. Look for the Camera flash notification setting. To turn this setting on, tap the switch so that it moves to the right and turns blue. Now, when you receive a notification about a text message or some other kind of alert such as the tablet telling you a software update is ready, the light from your tablet's camera will flash. This can be helpful, as the sounds these types of notifications make are often short and easy to miss. Now, tap the Home button at the bottom of the screen to return to the Home screen.
The camera on the back of your tablet can help you see things up close. This can be handy for reading fine print on bills, or for getting a closer look at small objects. To access the camera, you need to open the Camera app. Look for the Camera app icon and tap it. The camera app will open, and you can see a preview of what the camera can see. Now, point the camera at whatever you want to magnify. When the object is in focus, place two fingertips on the screen, and move your fingers apart. This is called pinch and zoom, and you can use this gesture to zoom in. You can zoom back out by pinching your fingers back together. Now, tap the Home button at the bottom of the screen to return to the Home screen.
Next, we're going to look at Dictation. By turning what you say into text, Dictation helps you create messages and notes without having to type on the keyboard. We're going to demonstrate the Dictation feature in a note, so let's find the Notes app. Its icon looks like a page from a spiral notepad. Tap it. When the app opens, you might see a message about syncing notes to an account. You can set this up later if you like, but for this demonstration, we'll tap Not now. Now, tap the Add icon in the bottom right of the screen to start a new note. The icon looks like a pen and paper. Some pop ups about the format of your notes might appear, and it's OK to accept the default settings. Tap Next. Then Done. Then OK. When a blank note screen appears, tap the screen to display the keyboard. You could start typing now, but we're going to use voice dictation instead. The Android speech-to-text feature works in any app where you can see the microphone button on the keyboard. Tap it to begin. If you haven't used this feature before, a pop up will ask permission to record what you say. Tap While using the app. Another pop up will direct you to information about how your recordings are used by the tablet maker. If you're satisfied and OK to proceed, tap Agree. Once that's done, the keyboard will disappear, and you'll see a grey area with a large microphone button in the middle. Tap on the microphone to start your message.
For this demonstration, let's dictate a note about some family history research. Speak clearly and not too quickly and watch what happens. "Check if Great Uncle Frank worked on the Victorian railroads in the 1950s." You can add a full stop to the message by saying "full stop" at the end. And that's it! Your note automatically saves to your tablet so you can access it later. For now, tap the Home button to return to the Home screen.
There are several apps that can convert what you say into text. You can use Dictation to write emails, create reminders or calendar appointments, and even search the internet. Remember, it works wherever you can see a microphone button on the keyboard.
You've reached the end of this course and should know how to use some of your Android tablet's accessibility features. There are many others too, so it's worth exploring to find those which might help make your life easier.
If you're unsure about any steps you can rewind the video, or click the chapter headings to jump to the start of a chapter. If you're ready to move on, there are many other courses to explore on Be Connected.