Published on 23 September 2020
Thousands of people are getting the chance to access life-changing University of Sunderland information thanks to a unique tool.
This week the University was named University of the Year for Social Inclusion in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide.
New figures now show that almost 15,000 people have used the University’s Recite Me toolbar to help access information on sunderland.ac.uk
Recite Me - a cutting-edge Cloud based web accessibility and language solution - includes text-to speech functionality, dyslexia software, an interactive dictionary, a translation tool with over 100 languages and many other features, making content accessible to more people than ever before.
Justine Gillespie, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager at the University, said: “Inclusivity, like society, is a broad landscape, and can mean different things to different people.
“The University takes the view that inclusion for all is about inviting, embracing and valuing different people to come to the University and creating an environment and a culture where they feel valued and included.
“In today’s world and especially so during this pandemic, everything we do is online. Therefore, it is an important aspect of our inclusion strategy to make our webpages as accessible as possible to everyone regardless of disability.
“Our Digital Content team were delighted to collaborate with Recite Me, which is based locally in Gateshead. Recite Me supports each visitor through its assistive technology by providing options so they can use the website in the best way that supports them and they can then engage fully with the University.”
Since its launch in June 2020 the Recite Me toolbar has been used 47,500 times which has enabled 14,500 individual users to access the University’s web pages fully. It is clear that Recite Me is a critical part of supporting the institution’s inclusion strategy.
Ross Linett, Recite Me CEO and Founder, said: “It’s fantastic to see a local university joining our mission to make the online world inclusive.
“It is vitally important that all students are able to read and understand content online to support their educational journey. Now on the University of Sunderland’s website everyone can customise their experience to suit their individual needs.”