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Description

A brief introduction to the inclusive practice of ensuring everybody can use computers - regardless of their personal abilities.

Resources

Everyone needs access to either a Windows PC, Mac Computer or Chromebook. The leader needs a Windows PC for the main demonstration.

If someone with special needs in your group (statistically you will have a couple of people affected by at least one of the issues mentioned below) is willing to share their experiences that'd be a great addition.

Instructions

Note: This aims to be a brief introduction in line with the "Accessibility" part of the Digital Citizen Stage 3 bullet point. It's not detailed enough to match the sample programme, and doesn't cover security at all.

5 Minutes: Intro

How do you use your computer? I'm talking about phones, TVs, your laptops or tablets.

I use my eyes, ears and hands. My eyes to read the screen, my ears to hear the speakers and my hands to control the keyboard and mouse.

But what if your eyes, ears or hands don't work as well as mine do?

Luckily, there are lots of tools on the computers to help people who are blind, deaf or have other disabilities.

Unfortunately there are still huge challenges for people with disabilities to accessing the Internet!

Today we're going to take a brief look at some of these tools.

There are 5 kinds of accessibility:

- Visual: Visual impairments such as blindness, low vision and colour blind ness (where you can't tell the difference between some colours)
- Mobility: Difficulty using or controlling your hands, or not having hands/fingers.
- Auditory: Deafness or hearing impairments.
- Seizures: Some people get sick if they see flashing lights. Videos or adverts online can cause this.
- Cognitive and intellectual: Learning difficulties such as dyslexia and conditions such as PTDS or Alzheimer's which can affect memory and other ways of thinking.

5 Minute Demo:

Leader Share Screen. These instructions are for Windows 10.
Open start menu and type "Ease of access". Describe the options:

## Keyboard (usually for Mobility impairments)
- On Screen Keyboard - for people who want to type with a pointing device rather than a keyboard.
- Sticky Keys - If you can't press more than one key at a time, Sticky Keys lets you use shortcuts like Ctrl + S to save without needing to.
- Filter Keys - if you don't have great control of your fingers, you can ask the computer to be less fussy and ignore some of them.

## Display: (usually for Visual impairments)
- Make text bigger
- Make everything bigger

## Colour Filters: (usually for Visual impairments)
- For people who are colourblind Windows can adjust it's colours so you can always see them. Someone who is colour blind can't tell the differene between certain colours - for example Red and Green might look the same to them.

## Audio: (usually for hearing himpairments)
Show audio alerts visually - for people who cannot hear error alerts and beeps you can ask Windows to flash or display visual cues.

## Interaction (usually for physical impairments)
Voice Control: You can control your entire computer using your voice. Very helpful for people who can't use hands.

Eye Control: This needs a special device which can track where your eyes are looking - so you can control your computer using only your eyes and nothing else.

## Narrator
And finally there's Narrator - which will read out text on the screen for you. This is how blind people use the Internet. Just like using a computer with your eyes, it takes practice! We're going to have a play with it now.

# 5 Minute Activity:
Before we start this, make sure everyone has their microphones muted (and/or speakes turned down).

Let’s see if we can have a play with Narrator on your computer. Be sure to talk to an adult before changing any settings on your computer – but the narrator we can open and close quite easily.

Before we start this, make sure everyone has their microphones muted (and/or speakes turned down) so we don’t all go crazy with the noise.

Windows: hold Ctrl + Windows Key and tap Enter to load Narrator. Press the same again to turn it off.
Mac: Command + F5 to start, then click to stop it.
Chromebook: Ctrl + Alt + Z to start, the same again to stop.

Tags

• accessibility
• disabilities
• internet

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