Two keyboards developed for the education market and a computer mouse designed specifically for children are being shown at the world's largest education technology exhibiton, BETT 2011, at London's Olympia, London, from January 12 to 15 January.
The Cherry G83-6236 XXL is a standard-size keyboard with extra-large imprinted characters making it easier for visually-impaired learners to use. The keyboard has standard QWERTY layout and also separate number and cursor blocks. Both letter and number keys are printed the maximum possible size and characters take up the whole of the printable surface of the key cap (conventional keyboards typically have characters printed on less than 30% of the available surface). The bold black characters against the very light grey background of the key material provide visual contract, another feature which assists students with visual difficulties. Key caps are abrasion-proof. The keyboard also has comfortable actuation of keys and uniform switching characteristics, thanks to NTK technology which employs elastomeric keys with membrane contact switches. The keyboard is guaranteed for two years and is also available in other language versions on request.
The Cherry G83-6191 keyboard is for younger children. It has lower case letters on the keycaps as small children learn to write using them and may not recognise the capital version used on standard keyboards.
The company is also showcasing it's the Cherry Kids Mouse (pictured) with a bright black and yellow housing. It was developed by the ZF Electronics' design team in conjunction with nurseries and schools, specifically for younger learners. The corded optical Kids Mouse ensures accurate and smooth cursor control with 1000dpi resolution and its plug and play installation ensures extremely simple start up. The symmetrical three-button design and smaller size fits children's hands. Other details, such as a particularly long 2m cable for connection to the PC, take account of a child's smaller stature and shorter arms. Stickers are included so children can customise their mouse and a matching customisable mouse mat is included in the package. The Kids Mouse works with 64 and 32bit OS, including Window 7, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista.
