Reports from subscribers that have used this program indicate it works quite well. The program is designed to work with JAWS. We have no input from any Window Eyes users. There is a free trial available.
TypeAbility 2.1.3The Typing Program for the Blind!
TypeAbility is a program that teaches typing in 68 user-friendly lessons. By the end of the
lessons, the student will have mastered all the letters, numbers, punctuation, as
well as basic navigating in text documents. In addition, the student will learn special
characters that are used in computer applications, such as the @ symbol that is required
in e-mail addresses.
TypeAbility 2.1.3 is compatible with JAWS 6, through 9 . It is also compatible with the screen magnification program MAGic. So the partially sighted can not only listen to, but also see their typing lessons. Note that even though the latest version of MAGic, MAGic 10, includes JAWS, TypeAbility still requires a separate version of JAWS to be running while MAGic is running. Conveniently, you can use either a full version of JAWS, or the free JAWS demo.
Learning how to startup, run, choose lessons and tasks, and how to close TypeAbility is very simple. After a few lessons with an assistant, a blind non-typing child will be able to use the program independently.
TypeAbility is fun and appropriate for students of all ages. There are User Preferences that allow TypeAbility to conform to each students needs. However, there are not such a bewildering number of esoteric options that learning how to use TypeAbility would be a mystery and chore. It's a cinch!
Even though TypeAbility is very simple to use, it is both the most advanced typing program for the blind on the market, and the most fun to use.
Why is TypeAbility becoming the #1 choice for more and more schools in the nation? Clear and Entertaining. TypeAbility speaks clear and easy to understand instructions for everything the student needs to know. Since TypeAbility has a very large and delightful number of ways of saying things it has a personality. So the student feels that he is being addressed personally. From the moment TypeAbility opens, TypeAbility stays with the student, never leaving the student to wonder what to do next. Each lesson and task is described very clearly. For instance, if the task is to type a word, the word will be spoken, then spelled, and then put into the context of a sentence or two so that there's no doubt whatsoever what the word is. These contextual sentences are either educational, or humorous, thus providing another level of education and entertainment for the student. At the end of each lesson, TypeAbility tells a joke. Students love this, and they can make TypeAbility repeat that joke as many times as they wish.
Simplicity.
To run TypeAbility , only a few hotkeys are necessary. Function keys F1 through F7, and F12.
F1. TypeAbility will remind the user exactly what he should be typing.
F2. Starts the next lesson.
F3. Opens a list of the 68 lessons from which the student can choose from.
F4. Opens a list of lessons and each task in the lesson to choose from.
F5. Starts an entertaining Accuracy/Speed game for the current task the student is
typing.
F6. Opens a dialog box where the teacher can type a personalized lesson that will
then be dictated to the student.
F7. Opens a dialog box containing all of the teacher's personalized lessons.
F12. Opens the Student's progress report, which can be saved and printed out.
User Preferences.
The student can configure TypeAbility by pressing Control+U. This opens the User Preference dialog. It contains a list of several preferences, among them:
The rate at which TypeAbility speaks.
Whether or not TypeAbility speaks the words in a contextual sentence.
Whether or not TypeAbility tells a joke at the end of each lesson.
Whether the student is an adult or not. This influences the way the student is addressed,
and the type of humor provided.
Created on ... April 15, 2008