Teaching Microsoft Word 2007 Using JAWS,
Teaching Microsoft Word 2007 Using MAGic

Getting the Most From the TrainingWare®

De Witt & Associates TrainingWare® provides instructional guidelines for assistive technology trainers working with students who already have some experience using commercial office applications in conjunction with their screen reader or screen magnifier. If your student has little or no knowledge of assistive technology or Microsoft applications, please refer to our series on Teaching Windows Concepts…” prior to using this guide. This particular guide focuses upon training students in the use of Microsoft Word 2007 while using JAWS 9.0 or MAGic 11 and higher. Earlier versions of JAWS, such as JAWS 5.0 through JAWS 8 or earlier versions of MAGic, do not fully support the new design of Word 2007. Our goal is to give you the tools you need to provide high quality training that is both structured and flexible.

We assume that JAWS or MAGic is being used with its default settings for the application being taught. For best results when speaking combination keystrokes such as CTRL + HOME or ALT + F, it is important to have the screen reader or magnifier set to speak at least some punctuation and/or math symbols.

As a general rule, De Witt & Associates TrainingWare® describes the use of native Windows keystrokes for standard Microsoft functions wherever possible, for two reasons: 1) the same native keystrokes tend to work across most Microsoft programs and, 2) being native, these will function and be spoken or enlarged without requiring a unique keystroke combination from the screen reader or magnifier. Where a desired function or information cannot be efficiently obtained with native Microsoft keystrokes, we describe what screen reader/magnifier keystrokes to use.

An example of a native Microsoft keystroke is the use of CTRL + DOWN ARROW to read the next paragraph in Microsoft Word. An example of a screen reader/magnifier keystroke is the MODIFIER Key + T to read the Title Bar. In the latter example, the MODIFIER + T keystroke would be introduced in this TrainingWare® because there is no native Microsoft keystroke for this functionality. NOTE: For some screen readers/magnifiers the MODIFIER Key may consist of two keys such as CTRL + SHIFT or LEFT CTRL + LEFT SHIFT.

JAWS has two keys from which to choose a MODIFIER: the INSERT Key and the CAPS LOCK Key. The INSERT Key can be found on the keyboard’s Six Pack or by pressing ZERO on the Numpad (with the Num Lock Key turned off). INSERT will work with JAWS Keyboard Mode set to either the Desktop or Laptop. The CAPS LOCK Key will only work with JAWS Keyboard Mode set to Laptop. Freedom Scientific refers to the JAWS MODIFIER either as the “JAWS Key” or “INSERT Key”, depending upon the version of JAWS. For MAGic, the Caps Lock key is the Modifier Key.

While JAWS users are already accustomed to the use of keystrokes, low vision users also are strongly encouraged to learn keystrokes to replace mouse usage to increase speed, reduce strain on one’s eyes, arms and hands. For example, you may already be familiar with the advantage of using CTRL + C and CTRL + V for Copy and Paste, rather than clicking with the mouse to accomplish the same results with more effort.

Your student may have a preference for a desktop or laptop keyboard layout regardless of the type of machine in use. For example, a laptop may use a full-sized keyboard plugged into one of its USB ports. Because desktop and laptop keyboard layouts differ, and due to slight differences in all keyboard layouts by manufacturer, screen readers frequently offer more than one choice for a keystroke combination. Examples might include INSERT, CAPS LOCK, CTRL + SHIFT, Numpad 0 or Scroll Lock, among others.

Your De Witt & Associates TrainingWare® package includes this spiral-bound copyrighted guide along with a copyrighted CD that contains four major sections :

1. A Microsoft Word 2007 copyrighted version of the print document
2. A digitally watermarked copy of this guide in DAISY format to use with speech or with a Braille display/Notetaker.
3. Sample documents for use during training sessions.

In addition to the trainer’s guide, we make available a Student Workbook at a nominal price. The student workbook parallels each lesson in the trainer’s guide, providing review and practice exercises for the material covered. The workbook also serves as a permanent reference for your student to keep and use after completing the structured training. Workbooks can be provided either in a hard copy format or in downloadable watermarked DAISY formatted, key coded for the exclusive use of each student.

All De Witt & Associates TrainingWare® guides are divided into a series of six logically progressive sections:

1. Concepts Covered
2. Coaching Tips
3. Vocabulary
4. Important Keystrokes
5. Game Plan
6. Assessment Tools

Concepts Covered

This section highlights the concepts that will be introduced in the upcoming lesson, giving you a concise overview of what to teach. By concentrating on only a few skills at a time, your student will be able to master the basics and confidently move on to more complex tasks.

Coaching Tips

Each coaching tip gives you a brief summary of the upcoming lesson with reminders of what to review before moving on to new material. Coaching tips also provide helpful suggestions as well as any special notes or information about the lesson. Reviewing each lesson prior to beginning training is well worth the few minutes it takes.

Vocabulary

The vocabulary list briefly defines the terms that appear in the lesson. Familiarize yourself with each term, thinking about examples and analogies you can use to make your explanations more memorable. Discuss the vocabulary with your student prior to the hands-on portion of the lesson. At the conclusion of the lesson, use the Assessment Tools to verify that your student understands the new vocabulary in context with the material introduced.

Important Keystrokes

This section presents a list of all of the native and assistive technology keyboard commands that will be needed during the lesson. Your student should master these commands in order to complete the lesson. You can reinforce these keystrokes using explanations and hands-on practice. If a keystroke has already been introduced in a previous lesson, it will usually not appear in the Important Keystrokes section of the newer lesson.

Game Plan

We often sketch out an informal lesson plan in our minds before we begin to teach. However, using a structured plan enables us to be even better instructors. The detailed Game Plans provided in this TrainingWare® help you to focus on the teaching objectives for each lesson and how to accomplish them step by step.

Although this guide provides everything you will need to teach a lesson, you can and should build upon the game plans we have provided to customize your training to meet the individual needs and interests of your students. This will help make the material you present even more engaging and fulfilling for your student, and for you, as the instructor.

Game plans are divided into three sections:

1. Get Ready
2. Get Set
3. Go!

Get Ready

The Get Ready section lists what materials to prepare before you begin teaching and suggests what to do and say to start the lesson.

It is assumed that the appropriate mainstream application and assistive technology software have been properly installed on the computer to be used and that the student has been provided accessible copies of the lesson’s vocabulary list and important keystrokes. If other materials are needed for a particular lesson, they will be listed accordingly.

Get Set

Get Set delineates the concepts to emphasize during each session. As training materials increase in complexity, reinforce and practice these skills. When a student is learning complex tasks, don’t be afraid to repeat concepts and consider varying your explanations if a student is struggling with a particular topic. The ultimate objective is full mastery of each concept.

For example, some students who use a screen reader remember phonemes such as “P” for printing, used in conjunction with the CTRL Key. Others may prefer Menus and ARROW Keys to select the desired function before pressing ENTER. Others still may prefer using the Office 2007 Ribbon’s ALT Key and ARROWS or may use the multiple keystrokes associated with the Lower Ribbon.

Students who use a screen magnifier, with or without using speech, may be more comfortable using the mouse or touch pad. However, they also may prefer keystrokes such as those above for some functions.

Be sensitive to the fact that there is no “Best” way to learn. Your objective as a trainer is to recognize that your student’s comfort level with assistive technology may shift gradually as skills and confidence increase until a new level of maximum productivity is reached.

Go!

This portion of the lesson contains the step-by-step directions for your student to perform hands-on during each training session. If warranted, the Go! section may be divided into subsets of steps for better organization of the material and so that no single section has too many steps to absorb at one sitting.

Assessment Tools

Although we may have bad memories of pop quizzes and standardized tests, assessment is an important part of learning. As a trainer, assessment helps you determine how much your student has retained and which concepts still need to be reinforced. Three types of tools are provided at the end of each lesson for you to assess your student’s progress:

1. Exercises
2. Quizzes
3. Progress Notes

Exercises

These are hands-on activities that verify your student’s mastery of the lesson’s objectives, such as executing particular features of an application being taught.

Quizzes

The Quiz checks your student’s knowledge of the lesson’s conceptual material, such as vocabulary terms.

Progress Notes

The chart in the Progress Notes section at the end of each lesson can be used to record exercise and quiz results. The Progress Notes section consists of a two-column table with as many rows as are needed for the particular lesson. The left-hand column contains the name of the skill being assessed. The right-hand column is empty and where you enter the appropriate score for each skill. Scoring is simple and the same key to scoring is used for all lessons. Generally, an average score of “3” should be achieved before moving on to the next lesson. Be sure that your student has mastered the skills and concepts of one lesson before moving on to the next.

Key to Scoring:

1 = Has no knowledge of how to perform the task.
2 = Can perform the task with help.
3 = Can perform the task with limited help or by referring to notes.
4 = Can perform the task independently.

The progress notes for each lesson may be photocopied and filled in by hand to track each individual student’s progress. Also, the progress notes section may be highlighted and saved as a separate file to fill in electronically for each individual student.

The De Witt & Associates editorial team hopes that our TrainingWare® will serve as an essential tool that is both intuitive and enjoyable to use in your work as an assistive technology trainer.

Your feedback and suggestions are encouraged via email to john@4dewitt.com.

John De Witt, President & CEO
De Witt & Associates, Inc.
October 2008

See also:

• Teaching Microsoft Word 2007 Using MAGic
• A Lesson on Printing, MAGic Version

• Teaching Microsoft Word 2007 Using JAWS
• A Lesson on Printing, JAWS Version

For more information, call us at 1/877-447-6500 (toll-free) or info@4dewitt.com.