[Blindmath] Teaching Undergraduates with Vision loss

Tue Aug 9 17:05:26 UTC 2011

Absolutely no problem at all. As a Psycholinguist you would think I would be 
able to create an unambiguous subjectline:). Have a wonderful afternoon.

  BTW, your message was quite positive  as it suggests you really put in a 
lot of effort to assist students with vision loss!
many thanks,
Christine

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Richard Baldwin" <baldwin at dickbaldwin.com>
To: "Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics" 
<blindmath at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2011 12:58 PM
Subject: Re: [Blindmath] Teaching Undergraduates with Vision loss

> Sorry that I misunderstood.
>
> That being the case, I'm sure that Christine knows a lot more about the
> barriers than I do and she certainly didn't need a lecture from me.
>
> Christine, please accept my apologies.
>
> Dick Baldwin
>
> On Tue, Aug 9, 2011 at 11:03 AM, Susan Mooney 
> <susanannemooney at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> 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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>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindmath_nfbnet.org/baldwin%40dickbaldwin.com
>> > >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > 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
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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/
> _______________________________________________
> Blindmath mailing list
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