Alternative Input Features and Devices - Equity of Access: Adaptive Technology - The Research Center on Computing & Society

Text-only Version

Frances S. Grodzinsky

Click here for a text version of this 6.87 MB video presentation.

Alternative Input Features and Devices

Physical disabilities can severely restrict the use of a mouse and limit keyboard access. As a result, many manufacturers have begun to build alternative input features into their products. For example, Sun Microsystems has built access features into the X Windows server. Server features, known as AccessX, provide basic workstation accessibility, and they are typically used by people with mobility impairments. These features include “sticky keys,” which allow single-finger operation; “repeat keys,” which delay the onset of repeating characters for users with poor coordination; “slow keys,” which require that a key be held down for a given period of time before it is accepted to prevent accidental key-press events; “mouse keys,” which provide keyboard control of all mouse events; “toggle keys,” which indicate the state of a locking key with a tone; and “bounce keys,” which require a delay between keystrokes before accepting the next key press to prevent accidental key presses by persons with tremors.

Figure 1 - Magic Wand Keyboard

The Advanced Magic Wand Keyboard (see Figure 1) for PC computers is a miniature electronic keyboard for people with a limited range of motion. Users hold a stylus and point at letters on this special keyboard. Stingray is a small track ball with programmable acceleration, click-lock ability, and two large buttons. It works on a Mac. My-T-Mouse is a mouse-controlled on-screen keyboard for the PC. There are both Windows and DOS versions. Head Mouse and Tracker are head-pointing devices for alternative input. They allow the users to manipulate the keyboard with slight head movements. These work in conjunction with Magic Cursor, OnScreen Keyboard (see Figure 2), and Telepathic 2000* (word-prediction software), which together are known as Doors2. Programs that use eye movements to move the mouse are currently being developed. WiVik Onscreen Keyboard* is a movable on-screen keyboard for the PC which enables the user to enter text into Windows applications using any pointing devices, including mice, track balls, joysticks, touch screens, pens, and head-pointing devices. WREP* provides word-prediction and abbreviation-expansion powers.

Figure 2 - ScreenDoors 2000

For persons with disabilities who require voice input, two new products have appeared on the market: Via Voice, which provides voice input and voice output, and Naturally Speaking, which replaced Dragon Dictate for voice input. In both, the user can speak naturally rather than in discrete sounds.

Click It on the Mac provides easy access to menus, dialogue boxes, windows, and scroll bars without using a mouse. It also provides speech output of text and menus. Intellikeys is an input device and membrane keyboard that works on both the PC and the Mac (but utilizes different cables for each platform). It includes six overlays which enable the keyboard to be set up in different ways that accommodate the specific disability of the student – for example, keys arrayed in alphabetical order. This is especially good for students with physical dysfunction. In addition, computer conferencing can be used for students whose physical mobility is limited and for the hearing-impaired.

*Editor’s note: Some products listed on this page may no longer be available.

Back to the top

Go to: Adaptations for the Visually-Impaired

Home > Research Resources > Adaptive Technology > Equity of Access: Adaptive Technology

The Research Center on Computing & Society
at Southern Connecticut State University
501 Crescent Street • New Haven, CT 06515
Director: (203) 392-6790 • e-mail: webmaster@computerethics.org

© 2000 – 2007 – Research Center on Computing & Society