Thursday 1 December 2011

Mouse pointers for visually impaired


I have felt for a while that young children with visual impairments really need the computer monitor adapting more than is possible within Windows accessibility features or even in the Mac accessibility features which is arguably better as a rule. In particular the size and visibility of the cursor or mouse pointer is a real issue for lots of kids.  So here are some suggestions from two particular sites. 


The Ace Centre has some great large pointers that can be downloaded free. CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE.  You simply download and follow the onscreen instructions and install the cursors. Of course you will need to have administrator’s rights on a school computer to do this, but at home that is not a problem. You then go to control panel / mouse pointers / Browse. You look through the Ace pointers or Philip henderson pointers / cursors installed on your computer and choose the one you want. For Philip Henderson CLICK HERE


For instance try the Ace WIDE BLINK YELLOW TIP – which is an animated cursor. Its quite nice and easy to see especially as it is animated. It's not giant size but it easier to see than the standard ones in windows. Another feature you can access direct from Windows / Mac is the pointer trails which makes it doubly easy to see the pointer. 


Another pointer from Ace is the WHITE BLACK ARROW - also an animated cursor and the spectrum animated cursor, which is coloured like a rainbow. 


Philip Henderson has some other types of pointers / cursors. The large blue pointer is good, though it is not gigantic but it is certainly a vast improvement on Windows. The large blue WORKING IN BLACK animated cursor is a nice one with yellow and blue changing constantly. The actual cursor also is large and blue, which is an improvement on Ace. On balance I prefer the normal Philip blue, which is not too obtrusive either. All these improvements will also benefit an adult with a visual impairment without doubt, I am sure.

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