Going From TouchScreen to Mouse Use Going From

December 2009
Training and Technical Assistance Center
Old Dominion University
TTAC/ODU
Table of Contents
u Touchscreen to
Mouse
Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
u Making
the
Adaptations to
Mouse & Cursor . . . 2
uA
Variety
of
Mouse
Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Mouse
Adaptations . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Assistive Technology Network
ATN
WELCOME TO THE ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER DESIGNED TO PROVIDE EDUCATORS WITH TIPS AND TRICKS WHEN INTEGRATING
TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
Going From TouchScreen
to Mouse Use
u Freeware for
u Teaching
Using
Mouse Skills
PowerPoint . . . . . 5
u Items in our
Lending
Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Going from Touchscreen to Mouse use can be a challenging experience for the student and the teacher. There are a multitude of skills
to know and steps to learn. Priory Woods describes the skills needed
and has developed a “Small Steps Checklist” that may help you and
your students master this universally useful and functional activity
of using a mouse device.
Other tips and tricks:
• Place the mouse on a three ring binder so that the incline of the
mouse matches the incline of the cursor. When the student’s
hand goes up the incline, so does the cursor.
• Keep activities simple and successful using mouse-over before
button selections.
When talking about the computer peripheral, mouse, is the plural mouses or mice?
According to Wikipedia, the plural of mouse is mouses, mice, or mouse devices. All
are acceptable.
Training and Technical Assistance Center
Old Dominion University (TTAC/ODU)
Making Adaptations to
the Mouse and Cursor
T
here are several adaptations, available within the Windows Control Panel, which enable the mouse easier to
use. Go to Start>Control panel>Mouse and you will have five
to six tabs of changes that can be made. On the tab Buttons,
there are two modifications that could be beneficial:
• Switch Primary and Secondary Buttons for Left-handed users.
• Turn on ClickLock which will enable you to drag without holding the mouse button.
On the Pointers tab:
• Change the mouse pointer speed to Slower
If you need to change the double click to a single click, go to
Start>Control panel>Folder options>General tab and in the
Click Items as Follows section, select the radio button for
“Single click to open an item”.
Mouse Properties Dialog Box
T
o change the mouse to be larger or a different color, you must first find a cursor that you want to
try. For a larger than needed selection, visit http://www.rw-designer.com/cursor-library. Most of the cursors you download will have a self install. If it does, then after installing, open Control Panel in Start
menu, then double-click the Mouse icon and switch to Pointer tab. Here you can change the cursors
used by Windows in different situations to the downloaded ones.
Cursors are small drawings with the file extension .cur, so if you find some cursors you would like to
use and they do not self install, copy and paste the files into the cursor folder located in the Windows
Folder on the C drive.
http://joescursors.tripod.com/HVCurPg.htm
rabe’s
free cursors
Free from the ACE Centre
Training and Technical Assistance Center
Old Dominion University (TTAC/ODU)
2
Variety of Mouse Devices
Sometimes a simple button will do; no scroll, no button choice, just a point & click. Now the option is
available with Chester Mouse. Available from $16 - $25.
There are input devices that can be used from head to toe. The Ergoguys have over 60 varieties and here are a few:
Chester Mouse
Joystick Mouse
Finger Mouse
Switch-Adapted Mouse
Foot Mouse
Bigtrack Trackball
Fentek
Inductries also has a large selection of input devices.
Mouse Tip:
If you have a mouse with a scroll button you can quickly zoom in and our with only two
fingers! To zoom in hold down Ctrl and scroll the mouse button forward (the up motion).
To zoom out hold the Ctrl and scroll the mouse button backward (the down motion).
Training and Technical Assistance Center
Old Dominion University (TTAC/ODU)
3
Freeware for Mouse Adaptations
If you need more than what is available in Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7,
here are a few programs that are available at no cost:
Soundy Mouse 1.0
Soundy Mouse allows you to add sound to your
mouse movement using the PC-Speaker. Additionally, you can give your mouse more freedom
with the mouse cursor wrapping technology. This
technology allows your mouse to wrap around the
screen from one side to the other, top to bottom
and back again. Available at Network Activ.com.
Noisy Mouse 1.0
Noisy Mouse is a simple program that adds separate sounds to right, left, and middle mouse button
actions. It adds the three selections to the Windows Sounds properties, allowing you to use the native Control Panel applet to assign any of the three files included, or any .wav file your prefer. Noisy
Mouse optionally resides in your system tray to provide access to editing the sounds or terminating
the program anytime you don’t want to hear the sounds. If you enjoy having your computer narrate
your mouse moves, this freeware program is for you. An even more practical use would be to associate specific files with each click, so participants in learning sessions would be able to differentiate the
left- and right-mouse clicks with auditory cues. Available from Leeos.com.
Funny Cursor 1.3
Makes your mouse cursor point to it´s direction. If you move the mouse to the right,
it´ll point to the right too. Available at Download.com.
Mouse Tip:
If you are left handed and want to change a mouse to suit you, then you can change the left click button to right click, and so on... To change what your mouse buttons do go to the control panel, open
the mouse icon, and here you can change all the settings for the mouse.
Training and Technical Assistance Center
Old Dominion University (TTAC/ODU)
4
Teaching Beginning Mouse Skills
Using Microsoft PowerPoint
Many computer users grow up using the computer so easily that skills for navigating with a mouse
are taken for granted. Many of us can quickly navigate to just about anything on the screen. For some
people this is a skill that must be learned. Whether the person has a cognitive disability or motor involvement, there are easy ways to learn mouse skills. One way is to use Microsoft PowerPoint with a
mouseover. By setting up a simple program using the mouse over hyperlink, the student can learn to
move the mouse in different directions. Here are the instructions:
1. Open up the PowerPoint program and select New, Blank Slide.
2. Open up the Drawing Toolbar by going to View, Toolbars, and making sure there is a check beside
Drawing.
3. On the Drawing Toolbar, select the square, then go to the PowerPoint slide. Click and drag to
make a rectangular shape (vertically) on one/third of the slide.
4. To fill in with color, go to Format and click on Autoshape.
5. In the dialog box, make sure you are on the tab labeled Colors and Lines.
6. On the section that says Fill and Color: click on the inverted triangle and you will get a selection of
colors. Choose a color, then click OK.
7. To put a hyperlink on that part of the slide, make sure it is active (it will have small squares around
it called handles), go to SlideShow and click on Action Settings.
8. Click on the tab, Mouse Over.
9. In the section, Action on Mouse Over, select Hyperlink to: then click on the inverted triangle and
select a PowerPoint presentation that is made for kids. Links to Electronic E-books work well to
increase motivation.
10.Repeat the directions so that you have another one/third on the other side of the slide covered.
Make a Mouse Over hyperlink to a different PowerPoint Book. Once the person can easily go
from side to side, make four different sections and teach moving diagonally.
Freeware for Learning
Mouse Skills
Butterfly 2.0
Easy Flash program for moving the mouse.
http://www.bestfreewaredownload.com/freeware/t-free-butterfly-freeware-zulefmwm.html
A Few Online Games
A FUN exercise for developing a click...
http://svt.se/hogafflahage/hogafflaHage_site/Kor/hestekor.swf
For small steps try...
http://www.mouseprogram.com/
For a lot of games visit...
http://www.pbclibrary.org/mousing/games.htm
http://www.shambles.net/pages/school/mouse/
Training and Technical Assistance Center
Old Dominion University (TTAC/ODU)
5
Items in our Lending Library for
Learning Mouse Skills
The T-TAC/ODU Lending Library has a wide assortment of mouse devices
and keyboards for varying needs. We also have tons of software that can be
used to teach students mouse skills. You can visit our library at
https://ttac.biblionix.com/atoz/catalog/.
T-TAC ODU Lending Library
OPEN HOUSE
January 27, 2010
3:00 - 6:00 PM
860 W. 44th St.
Norfolk, VA 23508
We would like to know if you will be stopping
by to see us. Please RSVP at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/rsvp
Training and Technical Assistance Center
Old Dominion University (TTAC/ODU)
6