USER-ORIENTED COMPUTER LEARNING: ALTERNATIVES TO FORMAL TRAINING SESSIONS
Judith M. Dixon, Ph.D.
Consumer Relations Officer
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20542
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Doug Wakefield
Telecommunication Specialist
Architectural Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
Washington, DC
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Learning to use a computer and its associated components can often be
a daunting task. Making this job more difficult is the fact that
formal computer training is often not an option; either because there
is not enough time; not enough money; or, most commonly, no
appropriate training opportunities. While this situation affects all
computer users at one time or another, it can be an especially
formidable obstacle for blind and visually impaired computer users.
While sighted colleagues acquire their computer skills by going to
training courses, where 15-20 persons are trained simultaneously, such
training is usually so mouse-intensive and relies so heavily on
watching the instructor's movements, that these training opportunities
usually have little, if any, value for a blind person. And, though
most hardware and software arrives with a manual that is intended to
instruct the new user on the basics of the component, accessing these
manuals can also present a challenge.
For people who rely on screen readers to access a computer, the
learning process is a two-pronged undertaking. First, is learning the
new product, and simultaneously, is learning how the new product
functions from the keyboard and how the new product works with a
particular screen reader.
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Assessment of Learning Styles
The first stage in the learning process is to acquire an understanding
of an individual's best way of learning. People think and learn in
different ways. In any group, there will always be evidence of
different learning characteristics, and different cultural groups may
emphasize one cognitive style over another. Psychologists refers to
these different learning characteristics as one's "learning style." A
"learning style" is defined as the sum of the patterns of how
individuals develop habitual ways of responding to experience.
Learning styles are distinguished by considering the holistic vs. the
analytic learner.
An important factor in understanding learning styles is understanding
brain functioning. Both sides of the brain can reason, but by
different strategies, and one side may be dominant. The left brain is
considered analytic in approach, while the right is described as
holistic or global. A successive processor (left brain) prefers to
learn in a step-by-step sequential format, beginning with details
leading to a conceptual understanding of a skill. A simultaneous
processor (right brain) prefers to learn beginning with the general
concept and then going on to specifics.
For the purposes of this discussion, learning styles can be thought to
be auditory (left brain) or visual (right brain). An auditory learning
style (left brain) is characterized by verbal processes, response to
word meaning, processing information linearly, and preference for
formal study design. A visual style is characterized by visual,
tactual, or kinesthetic processes; response to word pitch and feeling;
processing information in chunks; and preference for sound/music
background while studying.
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Choosing the Best Learning Methods
There are a variety of learning methods available. Once a learning
style has been determined, it can help make the best choice of
learning opportunities. Auditory learners would probably choose
cassette tutorials or a live trainer, whereas visual learners may
prefer braille or large-print books or other forms of hardcopy
documentation.
Sources of Useful Documentation and Tutorials A perennial source of
training materials for blind persons has been private entrepreneurs
who produce tutorials for specific products. Generally, these have
been audiocassette productions, which work well as an adjunct to using
a computer. There is a growing amount of material available in
hardcopy braille and computer disk. When searching for books and
magazines about computers, another good source is the cooperating
network library.
A new source of cassette and text-based tutorials is Project Assist
with Windows. This federally funded project has produced a variety of
tutorials for using Windows applications with popular screen readers;
all tutorials are free of charge and are available as downloadable
files or can be ordered on audiocassette. More information about
Project Assist can be obtained at:
http://www.blind.state.ia.us/assist/.
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Help File to Windows Clipboard and/or Text File
When beginning with a new software package, one easy way to get
documentation in accessible format is to copy the help file or
portions of it to the Windows clipboard. Then the information can be
retrieved into something like Wordpad or Notepad and read or saved to
a text file if braille output is desired.
There is also a shareware program, called Smartdoc, that automatically
saves help files as text file. Smartdoc is a software package that is
very useful for creating accessible documentation from a Windows help
file. This Windows 3.1/95 program can convert almost any help file
into a text file. Smartdoc is shareware, easy to use, and available
from http://www.smartcode.com.
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Keystroke Lists from Help Files
Most Windows applications have a help file that is specific to that
application. Very often these help systems will include a section on
specific keyboard commands for the application. To locate these, go to
the help index and type "key," sometimes they are listed under
"keyboard" and sometimes under "keystroke." Once located, it is a
simple matter to select all with control-a, copy the file to the
Windows clipboard, open a text editor such as Wordpad, paste the
contents of the clipboard, and save the file for later reading or
printing.
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Other Sources of Information
There is a great deal of information about computers, operating
systems, software packages, etc. available on the Internet. Some of it
is in the form of full-length books, some very authoritative
information is available from the web site of the producer/publisher
of the item in question, while much of it is in the form of anecdotal
information passed from individual to individual. A good source of
full-length books is the MacMillan Digital Bookshelf at
http://www.mcp.com/que. This site allows a user to select and download
five books. The selection is vast and varied and includes titles on
operating systems, popular software applications, and general computer
subjects. Almost every major manufacturer and vendor has a web site
with a vast quantity of useful information on the specific product.
For more informal assistance, there are literally thousands of
listservs and newsgroups where individuals can exchange information
and provide assistance with common problems.
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Training Sighted Helpers to Render Visual Concepts into Verbal Terms
Sometimes, when installing new hardware or software or just when
Windows has decided to unexpectedly misbehave, it can be very helpful
to obtain the assistance of a sighted friend or colleague. But often,
it seems that competent sighted Windows users are unable to give a
blind person the necessary information for an adequate resolution of
the problem.
There are several reasons for this: the blind person often doesn't
have a thorough knowledge of how Windows "looks" on the screen, the
sighted person may lack the appropriate vocabulary to describe the
objects in Windows, and the sighted person is usually accustomed to
operating in the Windows environment in a very visual way with an
approach to the whole problem completely different from that of the
blind person's.
It can be very helpful for a blind person to learn how things appear
on the screen. What are the various ways that something can be
"highlighted"? What does an element look like when it has the "focus"?
What are the different shapes of mouse pointers and what do they mean?
How does a sighted person visually tell a checkbox from a radio
button? It can also be helpful for the blind person to acquaint the
sighted person with some of the names of Windows elements that screen
readers (and developers) use routinely. What is a dialog box, a list
box, a combo box, a slider, etc.?
It can also be helpful for the sighted person to become aware of how
Windows can be used from the keyboard. What can typically be expected
from the tab key, from alt-spacebar, or from alt-tab?
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Conclusion
The most successful blind computer users rely on a combination of
learning techniques and strategies. It is important that educators,
computer trainers, and the like be aware of the materials and
opportunities that are available. Many of these are radically
different from the techniques traditionally used by sighted computer
users but have nonetheless proven to be effective.
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