Assessing Student's Needs for Assistive Technology (ASNAT)

Chapter 8 – Assistive Technology for Vision and Hearing
Assistive Technology for
Students with Vision Impairments
Two of the major problems for students with vision impairments are accessing print materials and
moving about safely in their environments (orientation and mobility). This chapter will address
accessing print materials. There are three primary ways to utilize assistive technology to make print
materials more accessible to students with vision impairments. They are magnification, speech output
and Braille.
Magnification
Magnification is used to enlarge an image to a sufficient size to allow the student to receive and process
the information. The amount of vision loss determines the degree of magnification needed. Some
students may be able to read print using a larger monitor, which provides larger text or graphics while
keeping all material on the screen. Many properties of onscreen images can be changed for students with
less vision loss using built-in features of a computer's operating system. In Windows 95, 98, 2000, and
XP, the Mouse Properties icon in the Control Panel allows the user to enlarge the size and shape of the
mouse pointer, change its color, slow it down, and locate the pointer using a “sonar” function. When the
control key is pressed, a shrinking circle appears around the pointer. It is also possible to activate a
comet-like trail for the mouse pointer and slow down the speed of its movements over icons, buttons,
and other controls. In the Accessibility Options found in the Control Panel, there is a High Contrast
option that provides preset colors and fonts for easy reading and inverts the video to white letters on a
black background or various other combinations. There is also a ToggleKeys option, which enables
users to hear tones when the Caps Lock, Num Lock, or Scroll Lock keys are pressed. Comparable
features are built-in to the Macintosh operating system as well.
If magnification is needed, there are three types of magnification: relative-size, relative-distance and
angular.
♦ Relative-size magnification-involves making the material larger while maintaining the same
working distance. Examples include using a large print book, a larger monitor, enlargement software
(e.g. ZoomText ® 8.0, MAGic, InLARGE), or hardware. Many of the software and hardware options
will allow magnification levels up to 16 times the original size or more and also have the ability to
adjust the colors for contrast, or to switch the image to a “negative” image (e.g. yellow print on a
black background). Some of the new large screen monitors can magnify print up to 65 times. A
limitation of screen magnification programs in general is that as the on screen material is magnified,
less of it fits on the screen.
♦ Relative-distance magnification-involves maintaining the original size of the material but moving
it closer to the student. A hand held magnifying glass and paper held close to the face, or a monitor
mounted on a swing arm are examples of relative-distance magnification.
♦ Angular magnification-involves using a lens to enlarge the material. The level of magnification
will depend upon the power of the lens or lens system.
Simple enlargement of print materials may be achieved by using a copier. If that is not sufficient, the
material may need to be enlarged using more high tech options. When the student is learning to
keyboard, large labels on the computer keys can help. ZoomCaps is a set of large key labels available
from Don Johnston Incorporated.
Assessing Students’ Needs for Assistive Technology (2004) 193