Laptop for a visually impaired teacher

[steveo2000]

Hi I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions for a laptop that would be suitable for a visually impaired teacher. Not sure if theres anything specialist out there I should be looking for!

Thanks

[glennda]

i would just suggest a large screen plus maybe some software that magnifies things, plus maybe large keys. I know the Zoomtext software works quite well. and includes stuff like text to voice and stuff like that.

Edit: this was used for 2 students that where partially blind

[penfold]

What visual impairement are we talking about? If it is just a case of needing some magnification then as glennda says you could look at zoomtext, Read & Write Gold or even the windows magnifying tool. If it is audio feedback that is needed you could look at HAL or JAWS which do screen reading and provide feedback about navigating the desktop and which window you are currently in.

My guess would be if they need some sort of audio program they may have already used something so it might be worth your while asking if they have used any software before.

[penfold]

If you want to look at some alternative free software you can find some good resources here

[mac_shinobi]

feeling facecious lol

An ipad with a wifi connection ?

Apple (United Kingdom) - iPad - The best way to experience the web, email & photos

[steveo2000]

I know she currently uses the JAWS software mentioned above but in terms of laptop hardware I cant think of anything other than a large screen and a special keyboard?? Wasnt sure if I needed to think of anything else or if there was a company that made laptops specifically for the visually impaired

[penfold]

In all honesty ask them. In my experience people who have used JAWS have been able to navigate a standard laptop no problem. If there was some mobility issue then you may have been looking at a different machine/input method(possibly) but all you need is a laptop cabable of running the software.