Thing 11.2 -- Zoom-It

Visual impairment is not something I think of right off the bat when I'm considering differentiating. But as I I reflect on it, visual impairment is probably the MOST common impairment we encounter, but rarely make conscientious accommodations for. 

I would not consider myself visually impaired, but I DO wear glasses and as the years pass by, I DO need to see print materials from varying distances depending on size and room lighting. I recently learned of an app for my smartphone / tablet that turns the camera into a magnifier. Wonderful!! Now I can easily read small print on coupons, medicine bottles, etc.


Here's an example of a zoomed screenshot with the Magnifier tool built into Vista. Notice it puts the zoom screen on top of my screen. 

Zoom It--provides the same type of support. I would post an example of zooming in on a Website with this tool, however... stop reading here if you aren't interested in my frustrations :)

Perfect example of when things go wrong with digital tools. Trying to download & use Zoom It has taken waaaay too much of my time over the course of about a week. At first, I thought I was just trying to go to quick, not really paying attention to something that I thought would be quick & simple. So, not having time to properly trouble-shoot I returned later. I kept having the same trouble, the ctrl + function keys just don't seem to operate, and neither does simply clicking on 'zoom' out of the pop-up menu on the icon in my system tray. 

So I finally took the time to read through everything--ctrl +F4 (not ctrl +F1, F2 or F3) as posted in the initial instructions. OK-- here we go. Ctrl +F4. Wow!!! quite a zoom. But first, my screen goes black and takes a bit to re-load. And then I can't navigate. I finally somehow get out of Firefox and see a super-blown up version of my computer homescreen. But navigating to and using Jing in this context is next to, no, IS impossible. 

Thing 11.1 - Presentation Tools

http://prezi.com/bj2is5hg7eum/cabinet-in-the-cloud/

Prezi vs. Powerpoint:

Prezi gives you a web-based space to create, store & share presentations. You can invite collaborators and updates are instant. And, as with all things Web, anyone can view it anytime on any platform.

Powerpoint: So many people just don't know what to do with it and you end up with a bunch of bulleted lists and, if you're lucky, a few clip art extras.

Honestly, I think the tools are fairly equal in regards to creation. A Prezi can be just as dry as Powerpoint in content. Bells & whistles don't improve weak presentation organization. And I've heard many a Prezi viewer complain about motion sickness!

However, the collaborative, Web-based, social aspect of Prezi, makes it the clear winner.

Prezi makes it easier to create differentiated resources. One prezi with various representations of the same topic i.e. a PDF text explanation, embedded video, images with explanations. You can also use the path to build a concept from simple to more difficult.