Adjusting to college life takes time. Finding classrooms, libraries, and student centers can feel overwhelming, especially for blind or low-vision students. To build a more inclusive campus, many colleges now offer the Aira app.
Aira geofences the campus, allowing anyone within school boundaries to use the service for free. Students simply open the app to connect with a trained visual interpreter. Using the phone’s camera, these interpreters describe surroundings, read text, and explain visual environments in real time.
Schools like Harvard, Columbia, New Mexico State, Northern Arizona, and Texas A&M already offer Aira. Students can connect with an interpreter 24/7/365, with no advance reservations needed. Here are five ways Aira helps students manage their daily lives on campus.
1. Navigating Campus Independently
Large campuses can make travel slow and stressful, especially when finding a class for the first time. Students can call a visual interpreter to help them reach any lecture hall, dorm, or office. Using the phone’s camera and campus maps, the interpreter guides the student, describing the path, upcoming obstacles, and the flow of pedestrian traffic. Students can connect as many times as they need throughout the day.
2. Attending Theater Performance
Many academic courses require students to attend live campus plays or performances. Without accessible audio description, blind or low-vision students can miss critical visual elements, like set changes, silent physical acting, or subtle facial expressions.
To complete their class assignments, a student can use Aira during the show. The student connects with an interpreter before the curtain rises and positions their phone so the stage is in view. The interpreter then quietly describes the stage action, costumes, and actor movements through the student’s headphones. This gives the student the necessary visual context to fully analyze the performance and write their class papers.
3. Reading Printed Materials
Even on digital campuses, students still encounter paper syllabus handouts, library books, and club flyers. When these materials lack digital accessible formats, students can use Aira. By pointing their phone camera at the paper, the visual interpreter can read the text aloud, repeating key sections or spelling out terms whenever the student asks.
4. Choosing Food on Campus
Navigating crowded dining halls and daily menu changes can be challenging. Cafeterias often list daily specials on handwritten chalkboards or print physical menus that screen readers cannot access. With Aira, students can bypass these barriers. An interpreter can read the menu boards, describe buffet options, and list ingredients or prices, helping students choose their meals quickly and get to their next class on time.
5. Accessing Inaccessible Websites
While web accessibility is improving, some academic databases, PDFs, and research sites still do not work well with screen readers. If a student encounters an inaccessible website while studying, they can stream their computer screen to an Aira interpreter. The interpreter then reads the tables, charts, or text aloud, ensuring the student can complete their research without delay.
Interested in offering Aira on your campus? Get in touch with our team today.
