Accessibility Lab

Exploring Accessibility Options

Assigned Date: Monday, October 7, 2019

Due Date: 11:59 pm, Sunday, October 13, 2019

For this assignment, you will be exploring accessibility options within Windows to adjust the user interface to accommodate folks who struggle to use the default options.

Lab Submission

For this lab, you will be submitting several screenshots to Canvas and answering a few questions about the accessibility options (the submissions items are bolded in the lab below). These can be done on both your virtual machine or your Skiff workstation.

Part 1: Icon/Text Size

Right-click on the Windows background and choose ‘Display Settings’.
Click on the ‘Scale & Layout’ drop-down menu and choose the maximum setting (175%).

Take a screenshot of your desktop with the larger icons.

Part 2: Color Blindness & Contrast

Look up either deuteranopia, protanopia, or tritanopia on the web. Define the term you chose (and make sure to include your source!).

Protanopia - This is when an individual is colorblind to red. The red cones are absent meaning the only colors absorbed by the eyes are green and blue.

Source -https://www.britannica.com/science/protanopia

Open the Settings window from the Start menu, and choose the ‘Ease of Access’ option.

In the Ease of Access window, choose ‘Color & high contrast’ from the left-hand menu. Turn on ‘Apply Color Filter’, and choose the filter that matches the color scheme you researched. Take a screenshot of your desktop with the filter applied.

Turn the color filter back off, and scroll down to the ‘High contrast’ drop-down. Pick one of the contrast options, and then scroll down past the preview window and hit ‘Apply.’ Take a screenshot of your desktop once the contrast filter is applied.

Part 3: Keyboard Options

Take a moment to try and type ‘Ctrl+Alt+Delete’ with only one hand. It’s a bit of a stretch!
In the Ease of Access window, click on the ‘Keyboard’ option in the left-hand menu. Select the option turn on Sticky Keys. This will let you type in command shortcuts one key at a time.

Now, try typing Ctrl+Alt+Delete one-handed again by just pressing the keys in order. It’s a lot easier!
Research the Dvorak keyboard layout on the Web. What it is, and what was it designed for? (Be sure to cite your source.)

It is is an alternative keyboard layout which is supposed to be more efficient and ergonomic for our modern day computers. Using his research he was able to design a keyboard that only required one hand to operate. The individual was able to maintain a normal word per minute count.

source - https://dvorak-keyboard.com/

Turn off Sticky Keys and turn on the On-Screen keyboard, which will show you the current keyboard layout and what keys you press.
Use the magnifying glass on the taskbar to search for and launch the Control Panel application. Choose the ‘Change input methods’ option underneath ‘Clock, Language, and Region’.

In the new window, select ‘Options’ on the right-hand side of the screen.

Under ‘Input Method’, choose ‘Add an input method’. Search for ‘Dvorak’ and choose the US option. Click ‘Add’.

Now hit ‘Remove’ next to the ‘US’ option and click ‘Save.’

Bring up your on-screen keyboard and take a screenshot of it. It should look very different than usual!

Cleanup

Restore your old keyboard layout by repeating the steps above: Add an input method, search for ‘US’, and choose ‘US – Touch Keyboard Layout’. (Your on-screen keyboard will come in very handy when using the search tool!). Once this is added, remove the Dvorak layout and you’ll be ready to go!

What to Submit