Five ways to make a PC easier for students to see

Traditionally, students with vision issues sit in the front of the classroom so they can see the chalkboard. Now that students are using PCs to learn, it is worth remembering that you can adjust the PC to help ensure that a student can easily read it.

Five ways to make a PC easier for students to see

Learn about the five ways the Windows operating system can help make the PC easier to see. Watch the video

Here are five ways in the Windows operating system that you can help make the PC easier to see:

1. Make everything appear larger

It may sound technical, but by simply increasing the dots per inch (DPI) scale in the Windows 7 operating system, you can make the text and other items―your icons, folders, and mouse pointer―larger.

See a demo: How to make text larger in Windows 7.

Here’s how to make everything appear larger:

Screen resolution refers to the clarity of the text and images on your screen. At higher resolutions, items appear sharper, but they also appear smaller, so more items fit on the screen. At lower resolutions, fewer items fit on the screen, but they are larger and easier to see. Choose a screen resolution that best suits your eyes. The ability to adjust resolution can help students who are just beginning to read, in addition to those who have difficulty seeing details on the screen. Here’s how to adjust screen resolution:

2. Use the Magnifier

Sometimes a student needs to magnify one thing to see it more clearly. You may have been using Windows for years without realizing that there is a built-in Magnifier which enlarges part of (or the entire) screen. You can adjust the Magnifier to zoom in at various levels and focus wherever you want to on the screen. Magnifier in Windows 7 lets you magnify the whole screen (full-screen mode) or just one part of the screen (lens mode), which is like holding a magnifying glass up to the screen. When you move the mouse pointer, the area of the screen that is magnified moves along with it.

Screen snip of an Internet Explorer window open, with one section enlarged by the Magnifier in Windows 7

You can use the Magnifier to enlarge the whole screen or just part of it.

See a demo: Magnifier in Windows 7.

Here’s how to use the Magnifier to enlarge items on your screen:

3. Enlarge the mouse pointer

You can change the look of your cursor so that it is easier for you to quickly and easily spot it on the screen and to follow its movements. In addition, you can choose to change the size of the pointer, select a new pointer style, or change the color of the pointer.

Here’s how to change the mouse settings:

Tip: Go to the Ease of Access Center (press Windows logo key+U), and open Make the mouse easier to use to find larger, easier to see mouse pointers.

Screen snip of Ease of Access Center Make the mouse easier to use dialog box, with mouse pointer options listed

The Ease of Access Center includes many mouse pointer size and shape options.

4. Personalize the color theme

Students love to personalize their PCs with their favorite colors or images. Help them select a color theme, such as a High Contrast Theme, that can make it easier for them to read text.

See a demo: Change the colors in Windows 7.

Here’s how to change the colors:

5. Zoom in on the web

Sometimes the text and photos on a webpage are too small to read or see. Internet Explorer lets you quickly zoom in to enlarge the view of a webpage. Unlike changing the font size, which affects only the text on a page, zooming in on a webpage enlarges or reduces everything on the page, including the images. You can zoom from 10 percent to 1,000 percent.

Here’s how to zoom in on a webpage: