Digital Challenge
Free Equipment Loan Scheme - Are you a Voluntary or Community sector organisation based or working
in Sunderland who needs free IT equipment on a short term basis,
maybe for training purposes, short courses etc?
DC has an an extensive range of IT equipment available including:
Laptop Computers inc. Apple Macs
Projectors & Screens
Scanners
E-Voting Kits
Digital Cameras & Camcorders
Adaptive Technology
Interactive Whiteboards
If you would like to find out more information,
then please call us on 0191 561 4888“Digital Challenge Equipment Loan Scheme”
Wherever possible this site has been built to a high level of accessibility as per WACG guidelines. In some circumstances visitors to this site may need to modify or adapt their computer or possible require the need for specialist equipment and software to be able to access information from websites.
This page offers links to specialist suppliers of information covering a range of topics such as visual impairment, dyslexia, and how to adapt a standard PC.
Community groups in Sunderland can access a range of assisted technologies (hardware and software) on a short term loan to help them learn more about the best choices for them. Please email helpdesk@sunderland.gov.uk for more information.
Sometimes, for many various reasons, computer users may need to modify their computer in some way to allow them to better access the internet and possibly use their own PC.
Microsoft themselves offer a large amount of information on how to modify a computer which can often be done for free.
BBC Webwise is a series of easy to use guides covering many subjects. The guides cover question and answers to common problems, interactive lessons on how to use a PC as well as views and comments form internet novices finding their way around for the first time.
Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty, mainly affecting reading and spelling. About 10% of the population are affected by dyslexia to some degree
Dyslexia is life-long, but its effects can be minimised by targeted literacy intervention, technological support and adaptations. Dyslexia varies in severity such as Dyspraxia or Attention Deficit Disorder, resulting in variation in the degree and nature of individuals’ strengths and weaknesses.
AbilityNet’s Assistive Technology Kits are designed to help organisations who offer IT facilities to the public or within an education environment who want to make their computers accessible to all their users, including people with disabilities. With our AT Kits you will be able to help ensure your organisation is adhering to the law and can make the ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ required by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (SENDA). -
Abilitynet have a range of easy to use CD based resources, all including handy video clips, which will help you to understand the problems people with disabilities face when using a computer, how a computer can be more effective and comfortable at work and how to make your websites more accessible to people using assistive technology
AbilityNet have teamed up with Happy Computers, a leading eLearning training provider, to produce this new interactive course to help everyone ensure their time at a workstation is healthy and productive. You are able to purchase single or multiple user licenses of this product. The cost of just one afternoon off work would more than pay for the licence.
Can you imagine what it would be like if you couldn't understand speech? How would you cope?
It's a situation which is similar to the one you might experience if you were in a foreign country and couldn't speak or understand the language.
What would you do? You would probably begin to gesture to explain what you wanted, and hope that others would understand your gestures and would gesture back. You might also start to draw pictures and diagrams to help get your messages across. Makaton combines all these elements in a highly successful teaching approach.
How was Makaton developed?
Firstly a research project identified the words that we all use most frequently and need in everyday conversation. Then signs from British Sign Language, used by the deaf community in this country, were matched to these words, so that as you speak you sign and speak at the same time. Signs are often pictorial and convey the meaning more easily than words, which are more abstract.
FREE Loan Equipment
Sometimes, for many various reasons, computer users may need to modify their computer in some way to allow them to better access the internet and possibly use their own PC. 
AbilityNet’s Assistive Technology Kits are designed to help organisations who offer IT facilities to the public or within an education environment who want to make their computers accessible to all their users, including people with disabilities. With our AT Kits you will be able to help ensure your organisation is adhering to the law and can make the ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ required by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (SENDA). -
Can you imagine what it would be like if you couldn't understand speech? How would you cope? 
