Screen Readers course

Screen Readers Lesson 9

Help, Settings, Updates, Braille, and JAWS AI

First-time setup and success checks

Lesson goal in plain language: Find trustworthy help, make reversible settings changes, and understand product-specific advanced features.

Prepare before step 1

  1. Open the correct application, website, or device screen and wait for its name to be announced.
  2. Open Screen Readers manual and review the matching procedure if any command or term is unfamiliar.
  3. Use only fictional, public, disposable, or instructor-provided practice information. Make a copy before changing an important file.
  4. Read all numbered instructions once before performing them so you know the intended final result.

Commands used or referenced

Use the exact keyboard or device commands stated in the numbered instructions.

For a plus-sign command, hold the modifier key, press and release the final key, then release the modifier. For a sequence, press and release each key in order. Stop after every command and listen for the result.

Work and verify

  1. Perform one numbered instruction and stop. Identify the active window, focused control, selected item, cell, slide, message, field, or device area before continuing.
  2. Compare the result with the lesson goal. A sound alone is not enough; verify the name, state, value, location, permission, or content.
  3. If the result is wrong, press Escape once to leave an unexpected menu, identify focus again, and use Undo only when the change is safely reversible.
  4. Save or synchronize at natural stopping points. Confirm the filename and location before closing.
  5. Complete the “Before submitting” checklist from top to bottom. Correct missing items before marking the lesson complete.
  6. Close and reopen the practice item, or return to it from the product’s main screen, to prove you can locate and verify the result independently.

Success standard: Explain what each major command did, show the finished result, and recover from one harmless focus or navigation error without another person naming the next key.

Choose your screen reader

Complete this lesson with JAWS, Windows Narrator, or NVDA. Use one primary screen reader at a time. Follow the column for your selection whenever commands differ.

Goal

Find trustworthy help, make reversible settings changes, and understand product-specific advanced features.

Shared practice steps

  1. Open the selected screen reader’s settings or menu.
  2. Locate speech, verbosity, keyboard-layout, and braille options without changing unrelated settings.
  3. Change one instructor-approved reversible setting, test it, and restore the original.
  4. Open the official help or current command reference.
  5. Record the installed screen-reader version without including device serial numbers or license information.
  6. Review the JAWS-only AI note and do not assume the same feature exists in Narrator or NVDA.

JAWS, Narrator, and NVDA comparison

Commands and differences for Lesson 9
TaskJAWSNarratorNVDA
Settings or menuInsert+J opens the JAWS window; use Options and Help. Insert+F2 opens the Run JAWS Manager list.Windows+Ctrl+N opens Narrator settings.NVDA+N opens the NVDA menu; Preferences contains settings.
Command helpInsert+1 Keyboard Help and JAWS Help or FSCompanion.Narrator+1 Input Learning and Microsoft’s Narrator command guide.NVDA+1 Input Help and the NVDA User Guide or Commands Quick Reference.
AI descriptionFSCompanion answers JAWS questions, and Picture Smart AI describes images when available in the installed JAWS version. Follow current Freedom Scientific help and privacy rules.Narrator does not provide the same JAWS FSCompanion or Picture Smart AI features.NVDA core does not provide the same JAWS features. Do not install add-ons without authorization.

Command note: JAWS key, Narrator key, and NVDA key each mean that screen reader’s modifier key. Commands can vary by keyboard layout, software version, application, and user settings. Confirm differences in the official references linked from the manual.

Your assignment

Create a comparison explaining official help, settings, updates, braille support, and which AI features are JAWS-only.

Use fictional, public, instructor-provided, or redacted information only. Never submit passwords, license information, account codes, or private workplace data.

Save your work with a filename beginning Screen-Readers-Lesson-9.

Before submitting