[Blindmath] Seeking assistance

[Billy Baer]

Hello,

 

My name is Bill and I am a high school math teacher in the Boston Public
Schools and have Retinitis Pigmentosa. When I began teaching 15 years ago, I
was able to perform all required tasks without any assistive technology.
However, as the years have passed, I have had to rely more and more on
assistive technology (CCTV, ZoomText, JAWS, etc.) 

 

Currently, my ability to grade quizzes and tests using the CCTV is no longer
possible. So, this brings me to my search for assistance in dealing with
this issue. Does anyone have any experience or suggestions of how I may go
about grading handwritten student work-especially quizzes and tests. I do
have a 1 to 1 paraprofessional who assists me in classroom management and
taking attendance. However, she is not allowed to grade student work since
she is not a certified math teacher. Because I teach 150 students per day,
having her read me the student's work is not feasible due to time
constraints. 

 

Some ideas that I have been exploring include computer-based test
construction and grading of tests using a screen reader. However, JAWS
cannot read math symbols. Some people have mentioned using MathML, LaTeX,
and WebEQ. All of this is very foreign to me and overwhelming.

 

I would appreciate any suggestions. If anyone within the Boston area can
tutor me in these math mark up languages, I would be very willing to pay for
this service.

 

Thanks very much.

Bill