Techstravaganza

Voiceover Rotor, Wednesday, Feb 11, 2026

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Discussed topics
VoiceOver rotor basics

Siena provided a comprehensive overview of the rotor functionality in VoiceOver.

  • Details
    • Siena: Explained that the rotor allows users to read by character, word, headings, and perform other functions
    • Siena: Demonstrated how to access the rotor by placing thumb and index finger on the screen and rotating as if turning a dial
    • Siena: Showed that users can navigate through rotor items by rotating clockwise or counterclockwise
    • Rob: Asked about keyboard users accessing the rotor
    • Siena: Explained that keyboard users can use up arrow with left arrow to go counterclockwise and up arrow with right arrow to go clockwise
    • Conclusion
      • The rotor is a fundamental navigation tool for VoiceOver users
      • The gesture mimics turning a physical dial, rotating either clockwise or counterclockwise
      • Keyboard users can access rotor functions using arrow key combinations
        • Rotor items and functions

        Siena demonstrated various items available in the rotor and their functions.

        • Details
          • Siena: Showed characters, words, lines options for reading text at different levels
          • Siena: Demonstrated text selection options (character, word, line, page selection)
          • Siena: Explained hints feature that provides context-sensitive help for controls
          • Siena: Showed the actions menu that allows performing operations on selected items
          • Siena: Demonstrated braille screen input for typing in braille on the touchscreen
          • Siena: Explained containers for navigating between sections, especially useful on iPad
          • Siena: Showed headings navigation for web browsing
          • Siena: Demonstrated voice selection for switching between different language voices
          • Conclusion
            • The rotor contains numerous navigation and interaction options
            • Different rotor items appear contextually based on the current screen or app
            • The actions menu provides quick access to common operations without needing to use gestures like long press
              • VoiceOver activities

              Siena explained how activities in VoiceOver allow for preset configurations.

              • Details
                • Siena: Demonstrated how activities allow users to switch between different VoiceOver presets
                • Siena: Explained her personal activities including reading (slower speech), editing (includes punctuation), tutorials (slower speech, some sounds disabled), and gaming (faster speech, sounds disabled)
                • Siena: Showed how to switch between activities using the rotor
                • Conclusion
                  • Activities provide quick access to different VoiceOver configurations
                  • Users can create custom activities for specific use cases
                  • Activities can adjust speech rate, punctuation level, and sound settings
                    • Customizing the rotor

                    Siena demonstrated how to add or remove items from the rotor.

                    • Details
                      • Siena: Showed how to access VoiceOver settings to customize the rotor
                      • Siena: Navigated to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Rotor > Rotor Items
                      • Siena: Demonstrated selecting and deselecting items to include in the rotor
                      • Siena: Explained that some items like “Actions” are always available and cannot be removed
                      • Liz: Asked specifically about adding text selection and actions to her rotor
                      • Siena: Confirmed text selection can be added, while actions is available by default
                      • Conclusion
                        • The rotor is highly customizable to suit individual needs
                        • Users can add or remove items through VoiceOver settings
                        • Some items are context-sensitive and only appear in certain apps or situations
                          • Practical demonstration with Mail app

                          Siena demonstrated practical applications of the rotor in the Mail app.

                          • Details
                            • Siena: Showed how to use the actions menu to delete, flag, or mark emails as read
                            • Siena: Demonstrated text selection in email messages
                            • Siena: Showed how to read an email by character, word, and line
                            • Liz: Asked how to spell an author’s name from an email
                            • Siena: Demonstrated using words in the rotor to navigate to the name, then characters to spell it out letter by letter
                            • Conclusion
                              • The rotor provides efficient ways to interact with emails
                              • Character-by-character navigation helps with spelling unfamiliar names or words
                              • The actions menu simplifies common email operations
                                • Upcoming Techstravaganza sessions

                                Discussion about future Techstravaganza workshops.

                                • Details
                                  • Siena: Announced another Techstravaganza session on February 12th focusing on JAWS basics
                                  • Siena: Mentioned that topics are lined up through the end of March
                                  • Jackie: Suggested FaceTime as a future tutorial topic
                                  • Siena: Confirmed they haven’t covered FaceTime yet and would add it to the list
                                  • Conclusion
                                    • A JAWS basics workshop will be held on February 12th from 7-9 PM Eastern
                                    • Participant suggestions help drive future Techstravaganza topics
                                    • FaceTime will be added as a future tutorial topic
                                      • Text-to-speech voices and technology

                                      A side discussion about various text-to-speech voices and technologies.

                                      • Details
                                        • Rob: Mentioned using Siri voice for VoiceOver
                                        • Siena: Discussed using Eloquence voice on her devices
                                        • Rob: Shared that Susan Bennett is the original voice of Siri
                                        • Rob: Mentioned differences between RealSpeak Solo and Vocalizer voices
                                        • Siena: Noted that Vocalizer is available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac
                                        • Conclusion
                                          • Various voice options are available across different platforms
                                          • Users have personal preferences for different synthetic voices
                                          • Some voices are available across multiple platforms and screen readers
                                            • Check out the List of Future Techstravaganza Topics at the Following Link

                                            (altered), Updated as of Feb 2, 2026, What’s Coming Up on Techstravaganza

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                                            TechstravaganzaBy Ali Moosa, Macara Slobodian, and Siena Trigiani