[blindkid] Mac Books?

Tue Sep 27 21:00:02 UTC 2016

I use a MacBook Pro every day in my 11th grade classes. I use the following applications:
Pages (for writing documents in Word format, but note you must file>export>word, if you use the normal save facility it will save to .pages format).
Biword (for writing notes and simple rich documents in Markdown). Markdown is extremely efficient because you can format completely in plain text, no need to hunt around for things in menus!
Some combination of quickTIme player, Audio Hijack and Amadeus Pro (for recording classes). Honestly you could just get by with quickTime, but Amadeus is good because you can record in ogg format (very space-efficient compared to mp3 and m4a).
TeXShop (included in the MacTeX distribution, for writing mathematical documents in LaTeX). If your students will be doing mathematics, typing in an unambiguous, standard notation that can easily be converted to PDF format for teachers is key! Plus, writing in "calculator notation" becomes inefficient after around Algebra II (I know from personal experience). Learning LaTeX is absolutely worthwhile.
Mail (for communicating with teachers and sending assignments). Fully accessible with VOiceOver.
I am not a Braille user, so cannot report on how it works with the Mac.

Hope this helps,
Bill
> On Sep 27, 2016, at 7:54 PM, Marianne Denning via blindkid <blindkid at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> That is great! If the teachers us Google Classroom or Google Drive they are
> both accessible. Google has come a long way in improving accessibility for
> these websites.
> 
> On Tue, Sep 27, 2016 at 3:27 PM, Linda A.Coccovizzo via blindkid <
> blindkid at nfbnet.org <mailto:blindkid at nfbnet.org>> wrote:
> 
>> Yes. Our team leader is taking care of all of that. She and the other TVI
>> may only be one step ahead of the girls at any given time, but the girls
>> will be taken care of. If there is anything lacking, she will fight tooth
>> and nail for what the girls need. Fortunately, the district thus far, has
>> always been very willing to accommodate. I work very closely with the team
>> as well, and we always bounce ideas off of one another. This is why I reach
>> out to ask about others using Macs and the apps.
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: blindkid [mailto:blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Marianne
>> Denning via blindkid
>> Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2016 2:18 PM
>> To: Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)
>> Cc: Marianne Denning
>> Subject: Re: [blindkid] Mac Books?
>> 
>> Who will be teaching your daughters the key board commands to make
>> VoiceOver work on the Mac? It can be different than the iPad. You should
>> ask the school district what apps and websites the students will be using.
>> It is absolutely the responsibility of the school to make sure your
>> daughters have access to all of the electronic materials their peers can
>> access. Your TVI or technology instructor should be checking this out right
>> now so any issues can be ironed out in advance.
>> 
>> On Tue, Sep 27, 2016 at 3:09 PM, Linda A.Coccovizzo via blindkid <
>> blindkid at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>>> Hello all. Our vision team in the girls' district has undergone some
>>> very positive changes in the last few months. The iPads with
>>> refreshabrailles are being phased out. The girls will very soon be
>>> given Mac Books. I did have some concerns about this, because I've
>>> heard there are issues with 3rd party applications being completely
>>> accessible. I am very happy though that a keyboard will finally be
>>> under their fingers. We have worked with them at home to learn to type
>> as much as we can, so they won't be totally lost.
>>> They will also be using braille displays. What do you all think? Also,
>>> if anyone has a kiddo using the Mac for school purposes, what apps
>>> have you found to be useful?
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>> 
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
>> Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
>> (513) 607-6053
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>> 
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> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
> Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
> (513) 607-6053
> _______________________________________________
> blindkid mailing list
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