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.

Downloading Digital Talking Books onto a Digital Cartridge

The above video describes how to save a downloaded NLS digital talking book onto a blank cartridge for use in a NLS digital talking book player.

If you are having trouble accessing the video, please select this link

to play the video from youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm9U--JPDE4

The above video is a continuation of a series of videos related to using the NLS BARD website to download Digital Talking Books for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.

To view other videos in this series, please choose from the links below

Signing Up for NLS BARD

Searching for Downloadable Books

Downloading Books from NLS BARD

Transferring Digital Books to Victor Reader Stream

Removing Victor Reader Stream from the Computer and Testing Books

Downloading NLS Books to USB Drive

Unzipping Downloaded Digital Talking Books

The following posting, regarding the use of Microsoft Word 2003 and Jaws was written by staff of the Adaptive Services Division of the DC Public Library. While the majority of the tutorials are original, credit should be given to the authors of the Basic Word curriculum used by the DC Public Library’s Computer Lab and to the Chorlton Workshop for additional information and guidance that contributed to their creation.

READING DOCUMENTS IN WORD USING JAWS

Here are a list of Jaws keystrokes you can use to navigate around a word document
Description Keystroke
Move to start of document Hold onto CTRL and press HOME
Move to end of document Hold onto CTRL and press END
Stop reading Press CTRL
Say current letter Press 5 on the Number Pad
Say next letter Press RIGHT ARROW
Say prior letter Press LEFT ARROW
Say current word Hold onto INSERT and press 5 on the Number Pad
Spell current word Hold onto INSERT and press 5 on the number pad twice quickly
Say next word Hold onto INSERT and press RIGHT ARROW
Say prior word Hold onto INSERT and press LEFT ARROW
Say current line Hold onto INSERT and press UP ARROW
Say next line Press DOWN ARROW
Say prior line Press UP ARROW
Say current sentence Hold onto ALT and press 5 on the number pad
Say next sentence Hold onto ALT and press the DOWN ARROW
Say prior sentence Hold onto ALT and press UP ARROW
Say all Hold onto INSERT and press DOWN ARROW


Exercise 2 Reading the Gettysburg Address
With the Gettysburg Address open follow these steps to practice reading a document with Jaws.

Hold onto CTRL and press END to go to the bottom of the speech
Hold onto CTRL and press HOME to go to the top of the speech
Hold onto INSERT and press DOWN ARROW to have Jaws begin reading the speech to you
Press CTRL to stop Jaws from reading
Hold onto INSERT and press 5 on the Number Pad to say current word
Hold onto INSERT and press 5 on the number pad twice quickly to spell current word
Hold onto INSERT and press RIGHT ARROW to say the next word
Hold onto INSERT and press LEFT ARROW to say the previous word
Press 5 on the Number Pad to say the current letter
Press RIGHT ARROW to say the next letter
Press LEFT ARROW to say previous letter
Hold onto INSERT and press UP ARROW to say current line
Press DOWN ARROW to go to the next line
Press UP ARROW to go to the previous line
Hold onto ALT and press 5 on the number pad to say the current sentence
Hold onto ALT and press the DOWN ARROW to say the next sentence
Hold onto ALT and press UP ARROW to say the previous sentence
Again, while holding Ctrl press Home
That goes back to the top of the document
Now read through the whole speech by holding onto the Insert key and pressing down arrow.

The following posting, regarding the use of Microsoft Word 2003 and Jaws was written by staff of the Adaptive Services Division of the DC Public Library. While the majority of the tutorials are original, credit should be given to the authors of the Basic Word curriculum used by the DC Public Library’s Computer Lab and to the Chorlton Workshop for additional information and guidance that contributed to their creation.

CHANGE THE TEXT FONT, FONT STYLE, OR FONT SIZE

Font
Highlight the text you wish to change.
Tap on the Applications Key.
The Applications Key is to the left of the Ctrl Key on the right hand side of the keyboard.
To find it, locate the Spacebar and move three keys to the right.
Once you have used the Applications Key, you will hear JAWS say Context Menu.
Down arrow once and JAWS will say Font.
Press Enter.

From there you are able to do a number of things.
The most used options are:
Changing the type of font you are using in your document.
Changing the font style.
Changing the font size.

Changing the Font
When you open the Font Window, Jaws opens in the Font Option.
Jaws will say to set the value use the arrow keys or type the value.
From there you can down arrow until you come to the font you wish to
use.
The default is Calibri, however many people also use Arial.

Exercise 5 Changing the Font of the Gettysburg Address
Hold onto Ctrl and press the A key.
JAWS should say Selected and begin reading the entire document.
You can press Ctrl if you want to stop JAWS from speaking.
You have just highlighted the entire document.
From there, tap on the Applications Key.
You will hear JAWS say Context Menu.
From there, Down Arrow until you hear Jaws Say Font.
Press Enter.

When you open the Font Window, Jaws opens in the Font Option.
JAWS will say to set the value use the arrow keys or type the value.
From there you can Down Arrow until you come to the font you wish to
use.
Down Arrow until you hear JAWS say Arial Black.
Press Enter.
The window will close and you have just changed the font of the text to
Arial Black.







Changing the Font Style

Changing the font style makes certain elements in your document distinctive for emphasis.
For example, at various places in this text, key terms are in Bold.

Underlines and Italics are also used to emphasize elements in texts. However, they can also be used to cite sources in academic documents. For example, you can underline the title for Braille Book Review or write Braille Book Review in Italics.

To change the font style of a document, highlight text you wish to change.
Then, use the following keyboard shortcuts:

While holding Ctrl press B for Bold.
While Holding Ctrl press I for Italics.
While Holding Ctrl press U for Underline.

You can reverse these actions by using the same commands.


Exercise 6: Changing the Font Style for the Gettysburg Address

The title for the Gettysburg Address is not distinguished from the rest of the text. In order for readers to better understand what they are reading, many authors make the title distinguishable from the rest of the document. To do this they will sometimes make the title separate from the rest of the document, change the size, change the style etc.

For this example we are going to change the style of the title to make it more distinguishable from the rest of the speech.

Make sure you are at the top of the document by holding onto the Ctrl Key and pressing the Home Key.
Hold onto the Alt key and press the 5 Key on the number pad to read the current sentence.
If JAWS says Gettysburg Address, you are at the title and in the right place.
Your cursor is to the left of the title.
So highlight the text by holding onto the Shift key and pressing the End key.
JAWS should now say Selected and begin reading the title to you.

From there,
Hold onto the Ctrl Key and tap on the B Key.
You have just made the title for the Gettysburg address bold.


Changing the Font Size

Highlight the text you wish to change.
Tap on the Applications Key.
You will hear Jaws say Context Menu.
From there, Down Arrow until you hear Jaws Say Font.
Press Enter.
Tap on the Tab Key until you hear Jaws say Size Colon Edit Combo.
From there you can type the size you want your font to be or Down or Up Arrow until you come to it.
The standard is 12.
For large print, the Americans with Disabilities Act recommends 18.
So down arrow several times until you hear Jaws say 18.
The menu will close and the text will still be highlighted.


Exercise 7 Changing the Size of the Gettysburg Address

This version of the Gettysburg Address is not accessible to a low vision user.
Therefore, we should make the text size large enough for a low vision user to read it.
First, highlight the entire document.
Hold onto Ctrl and press the A key.
JAWS should say Selected and begin reading the entire document.
You can press Ctrl if you want to stop JAWS from speaking.
Tap on the Applications Key.
You will hear Jaws say Context Menu.
From there, Down Arrow until you hear Jaws Say Font.
Press Enter.
Tap on the Tab Key until you hear JAWS say Size column edit combo.
From there you can type the size you want your font to be.
The standard is 12.
For large print, the ADA recommends 18.
So down arrow several times until you hear JAWS say 18.
The menu will close and the text will still be highlighted.
Press the Up Arrow to unhighlight the paragraph.
JAWS should say Blank.
You have just changed the font size of the document.

HIGHLIGHTING TEXT

The following posting, regarding the use of Microsoft Word 2003 and Jaws was written by staff of the Adaptive Services Division of the DC Public Library. While the majority of the tutorials are original, credit should be given to the authors of the Basic Word curriculum used by the DC Public Library’s Computer Lab and to the Chorlton Workshop for additional information and guidance that contributed to their creation.

SELECTING OR HIGHLIGHTING TEXT

To edit text, you must first SELECT THE TEXT you wish to edit. This procedure informs the computer that you are about to change the text in some way.

Important, if text is still selected when you start typing, the selected text will be deleted and replaced with the typed text.

The term cursor is used in the next step.
The cursor is wherever JAWS is focused on.
To select a letter, word or range of text:
Move your cursor to the beginning or end of the letter, word, or range of text, for example, a paragraph, you wish to select.
Again, the cursor is wherever JAWS is focused on.
For example, while holding onto Insert, press 5 on the number pad to say the current word.
That word is where JAWS is focused.

Hold onto the Shift Key and tap on the Left Arrow to move the cursor to the left.
Or, hold onto the Shift Key and press the Right Arrow to select a letter at a time to the right.
JAWS will inform you that the material has been selected.
To highlight one word to the left, move your cursor to the beginning or end of a word and hold onto the Shift key and the Ctrl key then press the Left Arrow.
To highlight one word to the Right hold onto the Shift Key and hold onto the Ctrl and press the Right Arrow.
Both the Shift Key and Ctrl key must be held down together when using the arrow keys.
To select an entire paragraph, move your blinking cursor to the beginning or end of the
paragraph
If you are at the bottom of a paragraph, hold onto the Shift Key and hold onto the Ctrl key and press the Up Arrow
If you are at the top of a paragraph, hold onto the Shift and hold onto the Ctrl Key and press Down Arrow
To select an entire document hold down on the Ctrl key and press A.

TO UNSELECT TEXT:

To unselect text, simply tap on the Right Arrow, Left Arrow, Up Arrow, or Down Arrow and the text will unselect itself.

Exercise 4 Highlighting text from the Gettysburg Address

While holding onto the Ctrl Key press the Up Arrow to go to the top of the file Hold onto the Alt and press Down Arrow until you come to the paragraph that begins Now we are engaged in a great civil war.

Hold onto the Shift key and the Ctrl Key and press the Right Arrow to the left.
JAWS will say Selected Now.
That means you have highlighted the word Now.
Press the left arrow by itself.
You have just unhighlighted the word Now.
Again, hold onto the Shift key and the Ctrl Key and press Right Arrow to the left.
JAWS will say Selected We.
That means you have highlighted the word We.
Press the left arrow by itself.
You have just unhighlighted the word We.

Now highlight the words in the opposite direction.
Hold onto the Shift key and the Ctrl Key and press the Left Arrow.
JAWS will say Selected We.
That means you have highlighted the word We from the left hand side.
Hold onto the Shift key and the Ctrl Key and press Left Arrow again.
JAWS will say Selected Now.
That means you have highlighted the word Now from the left hand side.

Now, practice highlighting and entire line.
Make sure your cursor is at the beginning of a line by pressing Home.
Now, while holding the Shift key press End.
JAWS should say selected and read the entire line to you.
You have just highlighted an entire line.
Press the Right Arrow Key by itself.
That unhighlights the line and moves the cursor to the right hand end of the line.
To highlight the line from this side.
Hold onto the Shift Key and press the Home Key.
Again, JAWS should say selected and begin reading the line to you.
Again, you have just highlighted a line from the text, only this time from right to left.

Now practice highlighting an entire paragraph.
From where you are, hold down on the Shift key and hold down on the Ctrl Key and press Down Arrow.
JAWS should say Selected and read the entire paragraph to you.
You have just highlighted the entire paragraph.
Press the down arrow by itself.
You have just unhighlighted the paragraph.

You have just highlighted a paragraph from top to bottom.
Now, practice highlighting the paragraph from bottom to top.
From where you are, hold down on the Shift Key and hold down on the Ctrl Key and press Up Arrow.
Again, JAWS should say selected and read the paragraph back to you.
Now press the Up Arrow.
You have just unhighlighted the paragraph.

Now practice highlighting the entire document.
Hold onto Ctrl and press the A key.
JAWS should say Selected and begin reading the entire document.
You can press Ctrl if you want to stop JAWS from speaking.

The following posting, regarding the use of Microsoft Word 2003 and Jaws was written by staff of the Adaptive Services Division of the DC Public Library. While the majority of the tutorials are original, credit should be given to the authors of the Basic Word curriculum used by the DC Public Library’s Computer Lab and to the Chorlton Workshop for additional information and guidance that contributed to their creation.

CHANGE THE LINE SPACING OF A PARAGRAPH or DOCUMENT:

Word allows authors to change the spacing between the lines of a paragraph or an entire document. This is often used to make documents easier to read. To do so:

Highlight the text you want to change.
Tap on the Applications Key.
You will hear Jaws say Menu, Cut T.
From there, Down Arrow until JAWS says Paragraph.
Press Enter.
The Paragraph Menu is now open.
The first point of JAWS’ focus is the Alignment Combo Box.
Tap on the Tab key nine times until you hear Jaws say Line Spacing Colon
Combo Box.
From there you can down arrow until you hear JAWS say your preferred selection.
A common preference among authors is Double.
Tap the Tab Key until you hear Jaws say OK Button.
Press the Space Bar.


Exercise 9 Changing the Spacing of the Gettysburg Address

Highlight the entire document by holding onto Ctrl and tapping the A Key.
JAWS should say Selected and begin reading the entire document.
You can tap the Ctrl Key to stop JAWS from speaking.
Tap on the Applications Key.
You will hear JAWS say Menu, Cut T.
From there, Down Arrow until JAWS says Paragraph.
Press Enter.
The Paragraph Menu is now open.
The first point of JAWS’ focus is the Alignment Combo Box.
Tap on the Tab key nine times until you hear JAWS say Line Spacing Colon
Combo Box.
Press the Down Arrow until you hear Jaws say Double.
Press Enter.
Tap the Tab Key until you hear Jaws say OK Button.
Press the Space Bar.
You have just made the spacing on the Gettysburg Address twice the width it was before.

The following posting, regarding the use of Microsoft Word 2003 and Jaws was written by staff of the Adaptive Services Division of the DC Public Library. While the majority of the tutorials are original, credit should be given to the authors of the Basic Word curriculum used by the DC Public Library’s Computer Lab and to the Chorlton Workshop for additional information and guidance that contributed to their creation.

TO CHANGE TEXT ALIGNMENT:

Alignment refers to the position of the text in the document.
The default setting in a new document is to align text to the Left.

Highlight the text you wish to change.
Then, hold onto the Ctrl Key and tap on one of the following keys:

L: Aligns the text to the Left of the page (the default)
C: Aligns the text to the Center of the page
R: Aligns the text to the Right of the page



Exercise 8 Changing the position of the Title of the Gettysburg Address

First, go to the top of the file by holding onto the Ctrl Key and pressing the Home Key
JAWS should say Top of File.
To make sure you are at the title, hold onto the Alt Key and press the 5 key.
If you are at the title, you will be to the left of it.
Therefore, hold onto the Shift Key and press the End Key.
Jaws should say Selected and begin reading the highlighted title.

Hold onto the Alt Key and tap on the C Key.

JAWS should say Centered.
The title for the Gettysburg Address should now be in the top center of the page.