Assistive Technology Network E-News
Volume 1, Issue VII
April/May 2005

Welcome to the Assistive Technology Electronic Newsletter designed to provide educators with tips and tricks when integrating technology in the classroom.

Contents: 

Teaching Beginning Mouse Skills

Many computer users grow up using the computer so easily that skills for navigating with a mouse are taken for granted. Many of us 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 a motor involvement, there is an easy way to learn mouse skills using Microsoft PowerPoint. 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.

Free Point-N-Click Assistive Mouse

Point-N-Click is a FREE on-screen virtual mouse designed for anyone with a disability that prevents them from clicking a physical computer mouse. As long as they can move a mouse, trackball or other pointing device, they can send mouse clicks to virtually any Windows application. Point-N-Click was designed with ease of use foremost in mind and it is FREE. 

You can download it at www.download.com and type in "point-n-click" to search. Check out the publisher’s website at http://www.polital.com for other free software assistive technology.