[vip_students] How to use the web!
- From: "Paul Traynor" <lists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <vip_students@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2006 16:51:24 -0000
Hi Owen,
I will give you a brief tutorial on using the internet. I will use the
Google website as an example because it is simplest for beginners.
1. After connecting to the internet and a page loads up, this could be any
page depending on what is selected in your internet explorers default
settings. Press keys "left alt plus letter D".
Note: this action via the keys mentioned jumps you into the "address bar" of
internet explorer where you will type in your web address.
2. Now type into the address bar: www.google.com and then press the enter
key.
Note: give the webpage time to load up, if it is a dial-up connection you
are on then it will take a little time for the page to finish loading. You
won't be able to do anything more till it completes.
3. After the page has loaded up I always feel it is a good idea for people
to move straight away to the top of the page as a starting point for
navigating down through it. Use keys "control plus the home key" to go to
top of the page.
Note: the home key is the top middle key of the group of six keys just above
the arrow keys on your keyboards.
4. Our next move is to find the edit box or "search box" on Google where
we can fill in our search query. Just use your down arrow key to come down
a line at a time until at some point you come to a box that says "Edit". I
have already counted the lines for you and it is "14 lines from the top".
5. This is where I need to explain something to anyone using programs like
supernova or jaws or some other kind of screen reader. The programs I have
just mentioned use what they call "virtual mode or live focus mode in the
case of supernova". What these modes do is provide us who cannot use a mouse
the ability to use the arrow keys to move through a webpage with a cursor
like we have in a word processor. Why this special mode?, well it is because
normally the internet has no cursor so only people with the ability to use a
mouse could in the past work on WebPages but with the afore mentioned modes
I have mentioned here now we are also able to do so.
6. The one thing we have to remember is that these modes are virtual,
meaning that they are creating a kind of illusion for our screen readers
to work with and they don't present a true picture of what is really there.
This is why I get so many people saying to me they can't type into edit
boxes on the web. It is not because they are having a problem with their
computers but simply because they don't understand that things like
"virtual mode and live focus modes" have to be temporarily turned off which
is sometimes referred to by jaws as "forms mode and supernova refers to it
as interactive mode".
Note: after we have moved down 14 lines from the top of the Google page we
are now on the edit box where we need to write in our search query. Use the
"enter key" either in jaws or in supernova" to turn on forms mode or
interactive mode" and once we have done this step we can begin to write in
our search words with ease.
7. After we have typed in our search words in Google we can now press the
tab key and move to the "search button". Just press the enter key on this
button and Google will go off and locate searches for us.
8. Now again when Google has completed its search if you aren't familiar
with the page layout it is best to use the "control plus home key
mentioned earlier" to go to the top of the page" and from there arrow down
through the lines till you come to the list of search results.
Note: I have done this for you. I have used the word "supernova" in my
search query and the list of results begin on line "45".
Note: All the returned answers for supernova may not relate to the screen
reader/magnifier that we know from Dolphin so try and see if you can locate
the product yourself among the answers.
At any time on any Google screen you can use control plus home keys to move
back to the top of the screen and come down to the edit box where again
following carefully the instructions above you can begin another search.
Regards,
Paul.
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