Inclusive resources and approaches

You can access a wide range of inclusive study resources and inclusive approaches at the University of Liverpool; consider trying some of the following tools and support available to you.

Study Skills Tutor drop-in

Come to our Study Skills Tutor drop-in.  It is available every Wednesday (term time). 

You can sign up for a one-to-one session with the Tutor.  Slots are available every 30 minutes from 2pm-4.30pm.  Based in the Student Life Centre, Alsop building, Brownlow hill meeting room, ask for a time slot at the reception desk on the day.

The drop-in is available to all neurodivergent students, including those, with no formal diagnosis. The session aims to help you develop effective strategies to support your academic success.  

Writing@Liverpool

You can book a one to one appointment with a friendly Writing@Liverpool tutor for additional support in analysing questions, referencing and becoming more critical, or planning and structuring your writing.

Stats@Liverpool

Stats@Liverpool is a free service to help you boost your statistical skills.

KnowHow Workshops

KnowHow sessions offer a wide range of support to improve academic skills, including revision, time management, statistics, critical reading and referencing to mention a few.  KnowHow also provides wide ranging provision for Researchers.

Additional Considerations Policy

Under the Additional Considerations Policy, if you have an extension-related reasonable adjustment listed in your Student Support Information Sheet (SSIS), you can submit eligible assessments up to 14 calendar days after the original deadline. Find out more about the extra support for disabled students.


Study tools

University of Liverpool students can download Microsoft Office for free. Office has some useful accessibility tools such as text to speech.

Note taking

  • Office Lens - Converts images taken of documents and whiteboards into PDF, Word and PowerPoint files, and you can save images to OneNote or OneDrive
  • Google Keep - Photograph text then convert it into searchable editable text, also converts voice recordings into text
  • Zotero - is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, annotate, cite, and share research
  • Genio - audio-based software program that breaks the process of taking notes into manageable stages, enabling you to focus on listening and understanding in lectures, rather than scribbling or typing.

Reading

  • ClaroRead - assists with reading and speaks back text via your computer. It also includes ways to make text clearer, more visible with text checking tools.
  • ZoomText - An advanced screen magnification application for low-vision users that enlarges and enhances everything on the computer screen.  Free webinars are available from ZoomText: https://www.zoomtext.com/learning/live-webinars/
  • Colour filters for Apple devices - Make text easier and softer to read by applying a coloured filter to the iOS device screens
  • Speak screen - Reads text from iOS devices
  • Speak - You can use Speak to have text read aloud in the language of your version of MS Office.
  • With Dyslexie Font, every letter is uniquely shaped, eliminating the common reading errors of dyslexia.
  • Free Screen reader App:
  • The Library has partnered with Kortext, a digital eTextbook provider, to provide students with access to digital copies of key titles, where possible. More information is available here.
  • Bionic reading - a form of reading whereby certain letters in a word are highlighted so the reader is only focusing on the highlighted initial letters and lets the brain complete the rest of the word.  It’s not available yet for Office 365 however, there are various free apps for both iPhone and Android. There is also a free add-on for the Google Chrome browser and this works with Canvas. Access Bionic Reading Chrome add-on

Writing

Revision

  • Quizlet - Create flashcards or choose from sets created by other students
  • Studyblue - is an online study and revision tool, based around the idea of using “index cards” to make new information memorable.

Inclusive approaches 

Inclusive approaches aim to accommodate the needs of all students, including those with disability-related needs, benefiting the entire student body. The following inclusive approaches are currently in use across the University, with ongoing efforts to expand and improve upon them.  

Teaching and Learning 

Lecture Recording Technology:
Available in shared teaching rooms. Students must ask for permission before making their own recordings unless this has been recommended as a reasonable adjustment in their Student Support Information Sheet. The Lecture Capture Policy can be found here.  

Microphones
Should be used in teaching rooms wherever they are available. 

Pre-recorded Materials
All pre-recorded materials shared with students (video and audio) are provided in an accessible format with closed captions (this feature is available within Canvas Studio or Microsoft Stream) or with an alternative format e.g. transcript.  

Webinars
All Webinars have closed captions activated (when platform allows) and the session recorded. 

Accessibility Checkers
Users of the Canvas VLE should make use of the inbuilt accessibility checker, part of the rich content editor, to ensure that any content created is as accessible as possible to users. 

Teaching Materials
Material used in synchronous teaching situations (remote or face to face,) is provided in advance as standard. Mix of synchronous/asynchronous activities will be offered as standard to all students.

Practical assessments
The design of practical assessments includes additional time for all students so that there is no need for disabled students to have additional time.   

Study Skills Workshops
Know How study skills workshops provided for all students. 

Library 

  • Book and copy delivery service which enables students to order materials to be delivered to their home address. 
  • Photocopying request service. 
  • Subject specialist assistance is available to all students 
  • Networked accessibility software in the libraries

Find out more about support from the Libraries.

Campus Accessibility 

Property and Campus Services (PCS) conduct regular access audits of University buildings. Each year, we collaborate with Accessible — an independent organisation that publishes publicly accessible building guides — to agree on a selection of buildings for review, prioritising those not recently surveyed or where changes have been made.  

PCS also audit centrally bookable teaching spaces, sharing findings with the Timetabling team to help ensure staff and students are allocated to the most accessible rooms. These audits are regularly updated, particularly when new spaces are added, changes occur, or feedback indicates inaccuracies.  

Find out more about campus accessibility.

IT Services

Provision of a range of software available to all students which improves access for disabled students. 

Find out more about assistive technologies.

 

Web resources