[blindkid] Writing Essay and Reports

Arielle Silverman arielle71 at gmail.com
Fri Feb 1 03:41:03 UTC 2013


Hello,
Does your daughter know how to use a computer with a screen reader
such as JAWS, NVDA or VoiceOver? If not, this would be an important
thing for her to learn, if not from the TVI, then at a center for the
blind. As I've described before, screen readers like JAWS also have a
lot of built-in training materials so she should be able to learn some
aspects of the screen reader on her own. Most sighted high school
students use computers for the majority of their research, and most
blind students do as well.
The school should give your daughter Braille copies of any materials
that are given to sighted students as part of class assignments.
However, all students in her class are probably expected to also find
some materials on her own either in the library or online. Readers
have a place too, but if she learns the basics of Internet use she
should be able to do almost all of the research assignment without
your help.
Citation formats vary and your daughter's teacher should provide
detailed citation guidelines in print to the sighted students.
Obviously these guidelines should also be Brailled for her to read.
If your daughter intends to go to college then I believe it is
absolutely essential that she learn to use a computer and Internet if
she doesn't already. Internet proficiency is expected of all college
students today and it's even more important for a blind student since
Internet resources are still usually more accessible to the blind than
print resources. Her TVI should be teaching her how to use a screen
reader, and there are materials available so that she can practice on
her own. This is something worth fighting for. If you are having
trouble getting the TVI to provide the time needed to teach her, then
it might be wise to encourage her to attend an NFB training center
after graduation or to go to a local blindness center or school for
the blind during the summers to learn computer skills. (How far are
you from Perkins)? In other words, this is an issue that goes well
beyond the high school research paper days. All of us on the list are
happy to help you and I would be glad to talk off-list about how I do
research online as a blind graduate student.
Best,
Arielle (blind adult, CO)

On 1/31/13, JanIce DeHart <jandart2 at aol.com> wrote:
> Bo,
> http://www.studymode.com/citation-generator/. This a link to a citation
> generator, which I believe tells you how to format Internet resources.  You
> didn't say what type of format is required for the paper...APA or MLA , both
> are used at the college level.  Her high school may not require that level
> of formatting.
> In my experience as a TVI for high school students, I would say that the
> material should be brailled or made available through a screen reader such
> as JAWS.  A reader is another option and beginning In High school your TVI
> should provide instruction on how to use a reader.  I suspect that you will
> get better answers from some of the students on the list serve.  I believe
> the law states that braille users should be provided materials in braille
> and that includes research info.  Your district may say that having it
> available for a screen reader meets the spirit of the law.
>
> Jan DeHart
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Jan 31, 2013, at 8:11 PM, Bo Page <bo.page at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
>> I need some tips on how to best help a blind student write essays and
>> reports.
>> Should research papers be brailled so they can access the info themselves?
>>  Or
>> should there be a reader for them? I don't know how to best help my
>> daughter
>> with this, and I feel like I'm doing all the work for her by reading
>> articles
>> over and over looking to answer certain questions about the writing topic.
>> I'm
>> not sure how to cite material from the interent. It all seems so
>> complicated.
>> If she's not doing the work herself, then what value is there in doing the
>>
>> assignments?  My daughter is mainstreamed in a public school and she
>> barely gets
>> any time with her TVI to teach her this stuff.  I feel like I'm just as
>> blind as
>> my daughter.  There has got to be a better way.  PLease share any tips and
>> make
>> suggestions.  Thank you.
>>
>> Mom in Connecticut
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