AES Testing Lab

The Adaptive Educational Services Testing Lab is located on the third floor of the University Library in rooms 3135 H and N on the IUPUI campus. Professional staff at the Center provides consulting services and assist individuals with disabilities. The lab's goal is to increase the independence of student, staff, and faculty through the use of adaptive technology, so these individuals can more easily perform their academic tasks and achieve their goals.

Directions

For directions to the lab, visit the IUPUI University Library directions & maps page.

Operation Hours

Fall and Spring Semesters

Monday - Friday: 8:00am - 5:00pm

Summer Hours

Monday - Friday: 8:00am - 4:00pm

Adaptive Technology

Adaptive Hardware

CCTVs (Closed Circuit Televisions)

The CCTV is a valuable magnification tool for low vision users. It has the ability to enlarge text based documents for easier reading.

Large Screen TV/Monitor

Displays enlarged fonts and images for low vision students working on a computer.

Various Input Devices

A trackball mouse that requires less arm and wrist motion than a conventional mouse as well as an Intellikeys alternative programmable keyboard.

Typing Aids

Designed for students with a limited ability to grasp or poor motor skills/control that assists with typing.

Braille Display

A tactile device placed under a standard keyboard that is used with a screen reader and enables a student with vision impairments to read the contents of the computer screen.

The Center also has PC workstations and adjustable tables and much more with new items made available as new equipment becomes available.

Adaptive Software

JAWS

Screen reading software that assists blind or individuals with visual impairments. With its internal software, speech synthesizer and the computer's sound card, information from the screen is read aloud. JAWS also outputs to refreshable Braille displays.

Window Eyes

Screen reading software designed for blind and individuals with visual impairments. Window Eyes also supports refreshable Braille displays.

Kurzweil 1000

Document scanning and reading software designed for blind and individuals with visual impairments.

Kurzweil 3000

Document scanning, reading and writing solution designed for individuals with learning disabilities or reading difficulties. Also has the ability to create MP3 files.

ZoomText Xtra

Magnification and screen reading software for individual with visual impairments.

Dragon Naturally Speaking

Speech recognition software is used mainly by individuals with physical or motor skill disabilities or mental/learning disabilities. Dragon converts speech into text.

Inspiration

A software tool designed to develop ideas and organize thinking. Graphic organizers are used to visually represent concepts and relationships to enhance learning.

CoWriter

A word prediction program that helps individuals translate thoughts into sentences.

Text Sound

Software program used to convert text to an audio file.

The center also has other software including Microsoft Office, Adobe, Roxio and much more.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, in some cases students can have adaptive software installed on their computers. However, due to limited license availability, all requests are granted on a first come first serve basis and are carefully evaluated. Students must present a JagTag and valid driver's license or state-issued identification. The software is checked out on a semester by semester basis. At the end of the semester, students will receive a notice of renewal or a request to return the software. If students would like to renew the software, they should contact AES via email (aes@iupui.edu) or call (317) 274-0489 to speak with a professional staff member. Students who plan to return the software must have it removed from their computers by a Center professional staff member in UL 3135 H or N.

For students, staff, or faculty interested in learning more about adaptive software or equipment, please call (317) 274-0489 or (317) 274-3241 to make an appointment with a professional staff member or software analyst. Note: due to an increase in student traffic, we are unable to schedule appointments during mid-terms and finals.

Students who have AES’ approval and are interested in having their textbooks converted to an electronic format should bring the books to the Center. The books are sent to Bloomington’s IU Adaptive Technology Center where they are unbound and loose pages fed through a high speed scanner. Once the book is completely scanned, the Kurzweil and the OCR Rocket program translates the images into text which are then saved in the KES format. Students may also request MS Word (DOC), rich text (RTF), and ASCII text (TXT) formats. Usually, the process takes up to 4 business days, but, depending on the volume of requests and proofreading, may take up to 7 business days. Upon completion, the file formats are burned to a CD. The CD and unbound books are sent back to IUPUI for students to pick up at the Adaptive Technology Center in IT 131 or at the Adaptive Educational Services Lab in UL3135H.

Requests need to be submitted at the beginning of the semester or even prior to the start of the semester. This service should be used only if all or a substantial part of a book is to be used. Students should refer to their syllabi or discuss the matter with the instructor. Issues related to articles and parts of books on reserve at the library should be discussed with the AES staff who will in turn work with the library to see that the materials is converted into usable formats.

Students have to call the office at 317-274-3241 or come into the office for this service.

Outside note takers, not members of the students' classes, are no longer provided by AES. Students are required to obtain notes from fellow students or in some cases faculty will provide their own notes to avoid student errors in note taking, while other faculty will post their lectures online on the class's website. Other faculty will allow taping their lectures as a viable alternative. Often faculty will assist by making an announcement in class asking for volunteers. Student note takers may receive compensation for their services. Contact AES for information about compensation. To protect the identity of the student with a disability, faculty can simply announce: "We have a student in class who needs help taking notes. If you are interested in helping, please see me after class or during my office hours. As I understand it, you may be compensated for taking notes and providing copies to this student."

Distance learning courses may be ideal for some students with disabilities especially those with mobility or breathing issues. But they may offer special challenges if technology is needed to receive the class and transmit papers or tests. It is vital to contact the unit offering the course or the Community Learning Network to discuss potential issues before they arise. In general, these issues can be worked out given sufficient lead time.