Introducing the Internet with Jaws

Begin at the desktop with no other windows, except JAWS running.

Tap the Windows Key.

The Start Menu should open.
The Start Menu consists of individual items and two groups of items:

The first group consists of:
Frequently Used items: These are updated by Windows based on the frequency of use of programs.

When the Windows Key is pressed, Frequently Used items is where users are taken first.

Pinned items: these items remain in the Start Menu permanently.
All Programs: This contains all the programs installed on the computer.

You can navigate the menu using:
The UP and DOWN ARROW keys. Like all menus, if you move past either end of the menu, you cycle to the beginning.

You are also able to use the access keys and first letters. Some of the menu items have an access key, for example the access key for All Programs is P. For all the other items, you can use the first letter. If you press a single letter, and there is only one item in the menu with that letter as its access key, Windows will open it automatically, therefore there is no need to press ENTER.
However, if there are multiple matches, then press the single letter till you find the item, and then press ENTER.

Tap on the Down Arrow key until you reach the All Programs option.

Press Enter.

Tap on the Down Arrow key until you reach Internet Explorer.

(Note: do not to hold down on the arrow keys, but to gently tap each one).

Press Enter when you reach Internet Explorer.

Quickly, press the Ctrl key to stop Jaws from reading continuously through the web page.

Even if Google is the homepage on the computer you are using, it is important to practice typing internet addresses.

Therefore, hold down on the Ctrl Key, then (while holding the Ctrl Key) press the O Key.

This opens the Internet Address Window in Internet Explorer.

An internet address is the location of specific web pages.

Type www.google.com
Many (if not most) web addresses will end in .com
But they also may end in .edu for educational institution’s web sites. For example, www.udc.edu is the web address for the University of the District of Columbia.
.org is the end of web addresses for non-profit organizations. For example, www.clb.org is the web address for the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind.
.gov is the end of web addresses for government websites. For example, www.loc.gov is the web address for the Library of Congress.
and .com is the end of web addresses for commercial, for-profit institutions. For example, www.amazon.com is an internet based book seller.

With this in mind, after pressing Ctrl O type, www.google.com
This should take you to Google’s webpage.

People use Google when they either do not know the exact internet address they want to enter or the address may be too complicated for them to remember.

It may be best to think of the computer as a phone.
The internet as a phone line.
And Google as a phone book.

Once the Google page loads, you will hear a pop sound. That means you are able to type text into the search field.

To practice using Google, type Jim’s Café at Innisport.
Jim’s Café at Innisport is a fictional website created by Freedom Scientific to help teach web-navigation to JAWS users.

After typing Jim’s Café at Innisport, press Enter.
After a query, Google will respond by giving a listing of internet links that, based on the information entered, will best meet the user’s needs.

These links are listed as Headings.
To browse the results, press H.
Every time a user presses H by itself, Jaws will navigate by Headings.

Press H until you hear JAWS say Search Options.
Every heading below Search Options are links Google found based on your query.
Therefore, continue pressing H until Jaws reads the link to the result that best meets your query.

The first one should be Jim’s Café at Innisport.
Because this site best matches your query, it is probably the site you want to go to.

Before you do that, Down Arrow a few times and notice that the further down you go the more different and diverse the links will become from the original query.
This is because the link you want will most likely fall within the first 1 to 5 links. If you do not find a site within the first 1 to 5 links, you should refine your search.

Now, Up Arrow until you come back to the Jim’s Café at Innisport link.

Press Enter.

After the website has loaded, JAWS will begin reading it from the top.
Let JAWS read the website to the end (this should take about 5 minutes).

Note that not all websites will be as straight forward, or short, as this. Instead of reading a web page all the way through, there are other ways to navigate a website using JAWS.

First, is by Headings.
Headings are how most web pages are divided on the internet.
Think of headings to an outline or index.

Hold onto the Insert Key and tap on the F6 to display the Headings List.
At the top of the headings list, Jaws will display and say Jim’s Café at Innisport colon 1.
The colon 1 indicates that you are at a level one heading.
Level one headings are the main headings on a page.
There is usually only one and they are usually found at the beginning of websites.

Down Arrow through each heading on the list.
There are several headings at level 2 and level three.
These are subheadings on the page.
As with an outline of a paper, the main heading will be the title and the subheadings are elements of interest beneath the title.
A web user is able to select any of the headings on the page that interest them and when they are selected, Jaws will focus its attention to that area of the web page.

Once at the bottom of the list, Arrow Up back to the top.
Once you reach Jim’s Café at Innisport:1 then press Enter.

There are several ways for a Jaws user to navigate web pages from the top of the page.

First Down Arrow
This moves Jaws’ attention to the first line below the first heading.
After Jaws finishes reading the line press the Down Arrow again for the Jaws to read the second paragraph down.
Continue to do this until you reach the end of that section of the web page.

Press Insert F6 to bring up the headings list again.
Down Arrow to the second heading in the list.

Down Arrow to the line below that heading.

Continue this pattern until you reach the end of the webpage.


You should know that many web pages will not be as straight forward as this one.
Therefore to get to where you want to go in the web you may want to navigate various sites through their links.

Again press Insert F6 to bring up the headings list. As you did before, press Home on the 6-pack or 7 on the number pad to go to the top of the headings list.

Once there press Enter.

You should now be at the top of the web page.
Hold on to the Insert Key and press F7 to bring up the Links List.

You should now down arrow through each item on the links list and listen to each one.

Links consists of a group of words, or an image, and a web address which is stored behind the scenes. When you open the link by pressing Enter, you are taken to a location specified by the web address. The types of web addresses stored in the link include the following:
The address of another page.
The address of another location on the same page. JAWS says Same Page Link.
An email address.
Once you reach the bottom of the list, have them press Home on the 6-pack or 7 on the number pad to go to the top of the list.
The first link on the links list should be Reputation for Quality Service.
Press Enter.
JAWS will immediately begin reading the page.
The section ends with a list of three items.
Press Ctrl to stop Jaws from reading once they reach the end of the list of three items.

Now, go back to the links by pressing Insert F7 and selecting Reputation for Quality Service again.

Press Ctrl right away to stop Jaws from reading
Now, press P to read the first paragraph.

If there is more than one paragraph press P again to read paragraph by paragraph.

Afterwards, go back to the links list again by pressing Insert F7 again. And repeat this method.

After you read the Driving Directions section you’ll notice a link to send an email.

Press Enter.
You will be given a notice that the link is a sample link and is for demonstration purposes only.

While this is not a real link, you are able to send email messages to individuals, organizations, businesses etc. through links.

This concludes this portion of Introducing the Internet with Jaws. You may wish to repeat this lesson, or portions of it, before branching out to other websites.


Introducing the Internet with JAWS by Chris Corrigan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.