[blindlaw] Request for laptop during essay section denied

[Angie Matney]

Hello craig,

 

Thanks for this info. So far, I know of six states where people have been
granted this accommodation. I am going to call the VA Board tomorrow to
discuss the situation. 

 

Angie

 

 

 

From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Craig Borne
Sent: Monday, June 15, 2009 12:49 AM
To: 'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Request for laptop during essay section denied

 

Angie,

 

I used my laptop for the Maryland essay portion of the bar exam.  I was
given both the question and any abstracts on disk, and I was able to type my
answers on the computer.  I did not use any special computer software
required by the board, and my answers were printed out to submit.  I was
responsible for the laptop, disk drive (it was a floppy disk), and the
printer.

 

The MBE was read to me and my answers were oral.  I was given the name and
number of the reader prior to the exam, so I could speak with the reader
first.

 

Craig

 

 

 

Craig Borne

Baltimore, Maryland

"A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial
appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in
defense of custom."  --Thomas Paine, Common Sense

  _____  

From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Angie Matney
Sent: Friday, June 12, 2009 7:53 PM
To: 'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'
Subject: [blindlaw] Request for laptop during essay section denied

 

Hello,

 

I asked for and was granted a Braille MBE and a Braille version of the ssay
questions. My request to write my answers to the essays was denied. I am
supposed to dictate them to a court reporter. The documentation I received
from the VA bar examiners is unclear as to whether or not I will first be
able to prepare my answers in Braille and then dictate them (it specifically
says I can do this for the MBE, but not the essays), or whether I have to
simply dictate my answers. I have serious concerns about my ability to
perform effectively on the exam if it is the latter. I have never taken an
essay test via dictation--I mentioned this in my accommodations request. I
explained why the process was different for the MBE and the essay portion of
the bar, but apparently my explanation was not sufficient, not understood,
or not accepted.

 

Has anyone been granted the option to use a laptop during the state-specific
portion of the Bar exam? It is my understanding that this is fairly common.

 

Virginia does have a program whereby any person taking the exam can register
to take it via laptop, but I have concerns about the accessibility of the
software they use, which disables all but some basic word-processing
functions of the computer. The software is called Exam4, and the maker is
Extegrity. Has anyone had experience with this software and a screen reader?

 

Thanks,

 

Angie

 

 

 

 

 

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