Every now and then I get a call from a prospective client with a program I’ve never heard of. That’s what happened with Peggy. She called, told me she had “low vision” and a program called Zoom Text.
I did my research, which consisted of several online tutorials, and then we made the appointment.
Peggy has a standard size monitor, most likely what you are looking at right now. But what is different is that Zoom Text enlarges her programs five times their original size. That means she only sees 20% of a program at a time. Imagine this: When you click on your email’s Reply button, you see the Reply window open. When Peggy clicks the Reply button, the Reply window opens but since 80% of the program is off the screen, she can’t see it. We had our work cut out for us.
For 11 weeks, we sat in front of her screen. She had her hand on the mouse and I had my hand over hers. We clicked on the Reply button and then I guided her hand slowly until we found the Reply window. If we moved too fast, we’d get lost. We used that technique for every aspect of her email.
There were a lot of stops and starts. And a lot of frustration. But we kept at it.
I’m happy to say that last week, Peggy clicked on her In Box, opened an email from her granddaughter, and learned that her great grandkids had received her gifts in the mail. It took her almost 15 minutes from start to finish. When she realized what she had accomplished, the smile across her face was crystal clear. And then it was back up to the Reply button.
NANCY SPEAR Nancy's Tech Help for Older Adults
info@nancys-tech-help.com www.nancys-tech-help.com 310-395-9951