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For some students with low vision, using a larger monitor and adjusting
the display using the built-in accessibility provides enough visual
access to the computer screen. When that isn't enough, she may need
magnification software. See our handout on Training
tips for using Magnification programs.
Screen magnification programs (also referred to as screen
enlargement utilities or large print programs) allow users to enlarge
a portion of the screen. They turn the computer monitor into a viewport
showing only a portion of an enlarged display. Users then use the
mouse or keyboard to move this viewport to view different areas
of the display.
Example of a viewport of a computer screen
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This is page 1 from the Living Book entitled, "Arthur's
Birthday." Notice the text at the top and the navigational
icons (left and right yellow arrows) located in the corners
at the bottom of the screen.
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This is the viewable area available when using a magnification
program set to 3X. By default, the viewport targets
this area of the screen.
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Specialized Features
Specialized features of some magnification programs include:
- Speech output
The computer reads text displayed on the screen and echoes
keyboard typing.
- Cursor & mouse pointer enhancements
Alters the size , shape and/or color of the cursor or mouse pointer.
- Reverse display (white on black) on demand
Changes the foreground and background colors for enhanced contrast.
- Hands-free scrolling of text in multiple directions
Text moves from left to right and top to bottom to make reading
entire documents easier.
Many magnification programs contain a special feature called "scrolling".
Scrolling automatically moves the text from left to right and from
top to bottom at a speed chosen by the student. This makes reading
information displayed on the computer screen easier.
For programs that include an audio output feature, text may be
highlighted as each word is spoken, similar to the talking word
processors. The advantage is that the text from an encyclopedia,
a web page or from another application program can be read directly
from the source.
The student may also be able to choose where text is displayed
as it is read. For example, in the ZoomText Xtra Level II
program, students can select from the following display choices
when reading:
ZoomText Xtra Level II DocReader
control settings |
Normal Mode displays the document in its original format.
Scrolling occurs vertically and horizontally.
Prompter Mode wraps lines of text within the screen margins
and scrolls vertically.
Ticker Mode displays text in a single continuous line that
scrolls horizontally. The unmagnified image is displayed below the
magnified line.
Examples
Each of the following products have demos available for download
from the Internet:
Windows
Lunar (Dolphin
Computer Access)
Large print only.
MAGic (Freedom
Scientific)
SuperNova (Dolphin
Computer Access)
With speech.
ZoomText (Ai
Squared)
Includes both large print & speech output.
Mac
inLarge (ALVA
Access Group)
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