Narrator
Moreover, I enabled the narrator this was done in to ease of access. The narrator reads aloud any text on the screen. And also turned on audio description which allows the user to hear descriptions of what’s happening in videos. This is helpful for the user as their actions can be explained with sound. This means their eyesight isn’t relied on and will make the computer easier and simpler for the user to use.
Theme
I changed the theme to high contrast 1 this was done in personalisation and then changing theme. This theme is a black background with bright bold colours such as yellow and bold pink. This is the best theme because it makes the text and icons bold and easy to see. This is good for the visually impaired as they will be able to see everything clearly.
Resolution
Furthermore, I changed the screen resolution to the largest setting which was 1440 X 900. I also changed the settings to a larger screen. This makes the screen larger making icons and text bigger. This is good for the user as it will be easier to see. I also enabled the magnifier to allow the user to focus on certain places where they may find it hard to see.
Maintenance
I have competed many maintenance tasks and tests to ensure the computer will work efficiently. I defragmented the disk. Disk Defragmenter rearranges fragmented data so your disks and drives can work more efficiently. Doing this will improve the computers performance because the user will be able to access files more easily due to them being organised in one place. In addition, the computer will run faster because it doesn’t need to work as hard to access files which are scattered throughout the drive. In addition, I ran a disk clean up. Disk clean up can help find unused files that can be deleted. It gives you the option to safely remove the unused files to help improve the performance of the computer by making it run faster or frees spaces so that more used files can be saved. If the computer has a lack of space it will slow down the computer. Therefore, it’s important to run a disk clean up to enhance the computers performance; it will allow the computer to run faster. I also deleted history and cookies to avoid privacy issues and to speed the computer up. Lastly, I ran a virus scan to see if there were any viruses. This time there were none therefore I didn’t have to take further action. However if there was I would need to resolve it.
Recommendations
The performance of the computer may be improved. For instance, it would be more beneficial if the monitor was larger. This would make everything easier to use and the user wouldn’t be faced with many visual issues.
There could also be a specialist keyboard. Perhaps a larger keyboard to make typing (not on the virtual keyboard) easier for the user. There are specific visually impaired keyboards, these keyboards have bold keys and are larger; therefore it would be beneficial to purchase this keyboard for the users. An example of a suitable keyboard would be Jumbo XL II Keyboard. This keyboard costs £39.00 which isn’t too expensive.
Alternatively, it may be useful to purchase stickers for the keyboard. Keyboard stickers have large print, high contrast (for example, black lettering on a white or yellow background) and Braille lettering. They are suitable if you find standard keys difficult to see. Keyboard stickers are designed to be stuck onto individual keys on your computer keyboard. The stickers cost £10 for a pack of 4 which come in different colours therefore there is lots of choice for the user.
Furthermore, it may be beneficial to purchase a note taker for the user. Note takers are portable devices that can be used as a word processor to take notes, record and organise information. Some may also have features to provide a calendar, phone book, the internet, e-mail and run windows based operating systems. They feedback information by speech output. This would be better for the visually impaired because it relies on speech and not sight. However, note takers are expensive therefore it may not be suitable to purchase one for the pupils. The price for a note taker can vary from £90 to £200. Despite it being expensive, it is beneficial for the user.
It may be beneficial to use ClaroRead V6 software. This software, will read back letters, words and sentences as they are typed, so that struggling writers can listen for mistakes whilst writing. Clicking anywhere in a Word document and pressing the play button on the toolbar will read out the text, highlighting each sentence as it is spoken, and each individual word spoken in a contrasting colour. ClaroRead will also grey or dim out sentences not being spoken out to allow the user to concentrate on the sentence being read. It can convert text into an audio file that can be transferred to an MP3 player, iPod or mobile phone and played back. This would be very beneficial and will make it easier for the user to use the computer. This software is user £50 therefore would be suitable to purchase to improve performance for the user.