Operating Systems Adaptations

By their very design, a standard keyboard and mouse can be difficult, if not impossible, for students with disabilities to use. The computer can present barriers when:

• Keyboard keys are too small or too close together,
• Information on the screen is difficult or impossible to see because of size or clarity,
• The mouse is difficult to hold and control, or
• Sound features are hard to hear.

Options within the computer's operating systems (both Mac and PC) can begin to address these obstacles. You will find some in your computer's Control Panel Settings and in other places as well -- we'll show you where. Try these first, before substituting an alternative keyboard or mouse. You can also use them in combination with a different input method.

Macintosh Control Panel Options

These settings can be changed via the control panel on a Macintosh computer.

Appearance
Appearance choices include colors of windows, size of fonts and icons on the desktop and control strip and other options.

Mouse
Mouse settings allow adjustment of the tracking and double-click speeds, mouse tails and the size of the insertion point. Mouse tails can make the pointer easier to see and follow.

Keyboard
Keyboard settings offer options to slow down or turn off the key repeat rate. You select the keyboard language and layout here.

Sound
Sound options include volume settings, choosing alert sounds or recording customized ones.

Speech The Macintosh's Speech Recognition and Text-to-Speech technologies known as Plain Talk give special applications the power to respond to voice commands. They can even speak back to you in English and Spanish.

Universal Access Tools Operating systems also include built-in accessibility features designed specifically to assist persons with disabilities when using a keyboard or mouse. You may need to download these optional settings from the Systems CD. These utilities give more control to the student, making software interaction easier. Universal Access Tools (OS 9) includes:

• Closeview: a screen enlarger that magnifies screen images up to 16 times.
• Accessibility options are built into software and operating systems to provide equal and reasonable access to the world of computers. The following features are available: MouseKeys, Sticky Keys, Repeat Keys, Slow Keys, Show Sounds.

Windows Control Panel Options

The following settings can be changed from the Windows control panel on PCs.

Display
Display options allow the student to adjust sizes and colors of window titles, scroll bars, borders, menu text, icons and other elements.

Mouse
Mouse settings allow the mouse pointer to be resized to normal, large or extra-large. Customizing the pointer color or adding animation also increases the pointer's visibility.

Keyboard
Keyboard settings offer options to slow down or turn off the key repeat rate. Here you can also change the keyboard layout to Dvorak (def) or change the keyboard language for ESL (English as a Second Language ) students.

Sound
Sounds associated with computer actions can be adjusted with the volume control on the bottom menu bar.

Accessibility Options Computer operating systems also include built-in accessibility features that are designed specifically to assist persons with disabilities when using a keyboard or mouse. You may need to download these optional settings from the Systems CD. These utilities can make interacting with software easier by giving a student increased control.

• Accessibility options are built into software and operating systems to provide equal and reasonable access to the world of computers. The following features are available: Sticky Keys, Filter Keys, Mouse Keys, RepeatKeys, Sound Sentry.
• Programs/Accessories/Accessibility
  • Accessibility Wizard: helps you configure your computer for vision, hearing and mobility needs.
  • Magnifier: Options for built-in screen magnification by creating a separate window that displays a magnified portion of the screen.

• Onscreen Keyboard (Windows 2000 and XP)
  Use this virtual keyboard to type by using a mouse pointer. Offers several keyboard layouts including a block layout for switch users. You can "hover" over a letter to select it. An auditory click is heard with each selection.

 

• Narrator (English version of Windows 2000 and XP) Use this text-to-speech utility to hear the contents of Windows programs including the active window, menu options or text that has been typed. Includes speech and voice options for customization.