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A trackball is actually an upside-down mouse with a stationary
base. The student never runs out of room to maneuver it on the desktop
or lap. The rollerball, which controls the pointer on the screen,
sits on top of the base. You move it with your hands, fingers or
other stylus.
Trackballs come in a variety of sizes and shapes to meet students'
differing needs. Some require minimal thumb control on a small rollerball.
Others are large enough to be controlled with an entire hand or
headstick. Several come with software drivers that provide additional
features, such as programming buttons with customized controls (see
Programmable Features) that assist in double-clicking, scrolling
pages and Internet use. Read about one success
story of a student using a trackball.
Examples
Turbo Mouse & Expert Mouse (Kensington
Technology Group)
 This
popular trackball provides a stable base, large ball and four large,
easy to program buttons. The design fits both left and right-handed
users.
Cost: $99.99
Orbit Trackball (Kensington
Technology Group)
 This
trackball provides a natural wrist support to interact with the
large ball and two programmable buttons.
Cost $29.99
BIGtrack (Infogrip)
 BIGtrack
is the largest trackball available for both PC and Mac. It helps
children use the computer successfully right from the start. The
large ball requires less fine-motor control, which makes positioning
the mouse cursor easier for children. It works with any software
that supports a mouse.
Cost: $79.00
Roller Trackball (Infogrip)
 Roller
Trackball has a large 2.5", sturdy, easy to roll ball, which
offers greater control than a traditional mouse or trackball. It
has separate buttons for click and drag. A flashing light indicates
that the drag button is active. It also comes with a removable fingerplate
that helps users locate and target buttons
Cost: $290.00
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