[Blindmath] Teaching Undergraduates with Vision loss

[Susan Mooney]

Dick, I think it's the other way around. I believe Christine is blind and
her students are sighted.

SM

On Tue, Aug 9, 2011 at 11:21 AM, Richard Baldwin <baldwin at dickbaldwin.com>wrote:

> Hi Christine,
>
> You didn't say what subject you will be teaching, but if it is in any way
> related to physics, your students might find my free ebook titled
> Accessible
> Physics Concepts for Blind Students at
> http://cnx.org/content/col11294/latest/ to be useful.
>
> Regarding interaction, as someone who has taught both computer programming
> and physics to a blind student at the college level, if you can set aside
> time for lots of one-on-one interaction, you will probably find that time
> to
> be very productive. The above mentioned ebook is an ongoing project
> resulting from my experience tutoring a blind student in physics.
>
> Regarding the use of Power Point slides, unless the blind student has a
> copy
> of the slides and can follow along with a portable computer and a screen
> reader in the classroom, slides are not effective. Even then, you need to
> ensure that you and the blind student are on the same slide keeping in mind
> that the blind student with a screen reader can only experience one line of
> text at a time. Also keep in mind that the student has an auditory conflict
> listening to the screen reader while also listening to you.
>
> If the slides contain images, you will need to describe each image in
> detail
> because screen readers are incapable of helping the student  "see" the
> image. I recommend that you think carefully about every image in advance of
> each lecture and identify the essential features of the image needed to
> convey the information for which the image is intended. Then be prepared to
> explain those essential features in detail. In fact, if you can meet with
> the student before class and discuss the upcoming images, that would
> probably be beneficial.
>
> In my opinion, the extensive use of unexplained images, particularly in
> physics textbooks, is one of the greatest barriers that blind students face
> in their efforts to succeed in such courses. Textbook authors often assume
> that images will be self-explanatory, which they may be if you can see
> them.
> Unfortunately they then take the notion that a picture is worth a thousand
> words literally and omit the thousand words that a blind student needs to
> understand the material. If you can't see the images, they obviously aren't
> self-explanatory.
>
> The other great barrier is the extensive use of mathematical equations that
> are rendered in a manner (pdf) that resists automatic conversion to a form
> that a blind student can understand. So, even if your blind student has a
> pdf copy of the textbook, considerable manual assistance may be needed to
> convert portions of the pdf files into a form that a blind student can
> understand. Such manual conversions take a lot of time and effort on
> someone's part, so you need to be very flexible regarding schedules.
>
> I could probably go on and on about the barriers that blind students
> continually face in college classes, particularly technical classes, but I
> don't want to be preaching, so I'll stop at this point.
>
> Hope that this has been at least a little helpful.
>
> Dick Baldwin
>
> On Tue, Aug 9, 2011 at 9:36 AM, Christine Szostak <szostak.1 at osu.edu>
> wrote:
>
> > Dear Friends and Colleagues,
> >  This winter I will be teaching an  undergraduate course. Since many
> > scientists and mathematicians frequently teach, I was wondering if anyone
> > has tips for teaching with out any vision at  the university level (e.g.,
> > tips on handling grading, attendance, classroom interaction, PowerPoint,
> > teaching visual material...).
> > Many thanks,
> > Christine
> > Christine  M. Szostak
> > Doctoral Candidate
> > Language Perception Laboratory
> > Department of Psychology, Cognitive Area
> > The Ohio State University
> > Columbus, Ohio
> > szostak.1 at osu.edu
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>
>
>
> --
> Richard G. Baldwin (Dick Baldwin)
> Home of Baldwin's on-line Java Tutorials
> http://www.DickBaldwin.com
>
> Professor of Computer Information Technology
> Austin Community College
> (512) 223-4758
> mailto:Baldwin at DickBaldwin.com
> http://www.austincc.edu/baldwin/
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-- 
Experience is a brutal teacher, but you learn. My God, do you learn. --CS
Lewis