Monday, April 19, 2010

Assistive Technologies

1. Magnifier: This tool allows the computer user to magnify a certain area of the screen. The user is able to magnify a certain area of the screen. The area that is magnified depends on where the users cursor is located. You can move the magnified area from the top of the screen to anywhere else on the viewing area. This would be a great tool for students with a visual impairment. Students that can normally not see the smaller screen, would be able to now see like a normal student.


2. On-Screen Keyboard: This tool allows the computer user to have a keyboard located on the screen. This would allow the student or user to use a keyboard that was only located on the scree. This type of tool would be great for students who have some kind of hand impairment and are not able to use a regular keyboard. The only thing the student would need to be able to do is move the mouse to click on the buttons located on the on-screen keyboard.




3. High Contrast: This setting allows the student/user to have very high contrast on their computer screen. Instead of a traditional white background with black text, there is now a black background with white texts as well as other colors. For a person with normal vision, this type of view is not very realistic, but for someone with a certain visual impairment, this makes the screen much easier for them to read.