[Blindmath] Performing calculations as a blind students, tips, tricks and advice for the NFB Youth Slam

[Steve Jacobson]

Birkir,

I won't say too much about my experience as it predates the use of personal computers as they are used today.  However, there are a couple of things that 
I think are worth considering.  

Students need to have some idea of how much math they are going to take.  Nowadays, if one plans on majoring in math, for example, it is going to be 
worth their time to become familiar with some sort of math system such as Latex to do their math, and students need to keep up with other developments.  I 
am less certain, though, that this investment is worth it for students trying to simply fulfill a math requirement for a major in another area.  I have known 
students to get bogged down in trying to come up with an independent way of dealing with accessibility issues at the expense of their coursework.  
Particularly if a student is using braille, knowing Nemeth Code, writing it on paper and using a reader is still not an option to be ignored.  John's point that 
when writing one may well use a relaxed form of Nemeth with their own shorthand is a good one.  Becoming stuck on writing something the right way when 
you are the only one reading it doesn't make sense.  The point needs to be made that the most independent way of approaching a situation may not always 
be the most efficient.  Also, when I was in school, the role of math in other sciences such as physics required a completely different level of rigor than did my 
math classes.  I gather this is still the case, and the role of calculating and stastical software is going to play a more important role for someone studying 
other sciences than will mathematical notation.  

I would also tell your students that if one is serious about taking a lot of math, some of the investigation and learning of notation systems needs to take place 
outside of ones classes and should best be done beforehand.  It doesn't wash to say that one couldn't complete an assignment because one was still slow 
at using Latex or other notation system.  Yes, it is an additional level of knowledge that we may have to deal with, but it is one that should and can be 
anticipated.

Students have to think carefully about the role of a computer.  I still see high school kids who are sighted using paper a lot to solve equasions.  This doesn't 
mean there isn't a role for the computer, but thought has to be given to what that role should be.  I have no doubt that the use of paper is going to die out, 
especially with the flexibility of pad style computers, and in time that may help us as well, but blind students have to realize that there isn't just one answer, 
and part of their responsibility as students is to figure out the approach that will work best for them.  While no approach is perfect, at least there are some 
options, and that is exciting.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

On Tue, 12 Jul 2011 18:57:54 -0700, John Gardner wrote:

>Hello Birker, it is certainly possible to solve algebraic equations using
>Latex notation, but that is pretty verbose and clumsy.  As is just about
>every other standard notation.  Most blind people who have to do this sort
>of thing seem to invent their own shorthand. Even people who work in braille
>often use shortcuts instead of official Nemeth.  

>For years after losing my sight, I used an abbreviated form of Latex for
>working out algebraic equations.  It worked but was pretty clumsy.  My group
>developed WinTriangle with the purpose of reducing notation to a minimum,
>and I used that for a while too.  It was really nice, having single
>keystrokes for many common symbols such as Greek letters, integral sign,
>raised symbols for superscripts, dropped symbols for subscripts, etc.  It
>was the most compact way I have ever seen for writing math on a computer.
>Unfortunately, Triangle also had disadvantages, and they have meant that it
>is no longer a viable thing with modern OS.  ChattyInfty is not quite as
>compact as WinTriangle, but it is pretty close.  I would recommend it as the
>best alternative that I know for writing and developing math equations on a
>computer.  Among other benefits, you can cut, copy, and paste parts of
>equations.  And copy them into separate files for pasting in a number of
>times.  That's a great advantage when working with complicated equations.

>Good luck with your tutorial.

>John

>-----Original Message-----
>From: blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>Behalf Of Birkir R. Gunnarsson
>Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 5:11 PM
>To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
>Subject: [Blindmath] Performing calculations as a blind students, tips,
>tricks and advice for the NFB Youth Slam

>Hey yea wise people.

>I am giving a presentation to the NFB Youth Slam students next week on
>math accessibility and issues to deal with in college.
>There has been a lot of talk and a lot of resources on reading math,
>and not insignificantly, to writing math as well.
>However one thing I feel often gets lost in the mix is techniques for
>actually performing calculations and working one's way through
>equations in order to find a solution i.e. the calculation part
>itself.
>I have some experience of course, but I'd be curious to hear what
>works for people around here, especially VI or blind folks who have
>completed STEM degrees in college.
>Did you use LaTeX, Nemeth or some other code to write your way through
>each step in the process of solving your calculations?
>If not, how did you do it?
>Is some software particularly useful for those (anyone remember
>Derive? It was a dos software and it saved my behind quite a lot in
>high school and college, but I am not even sure it is available any
>more, and it was too powerful for some things).
>I want to devote a few minutes to this in my presentation, but I am
>having trouble finding material that is not just based on my own
>experience.
>Any input is more than welcome.
>Cheers
>-B

>_______________________________________________
>Blindmath mailing list
>Blindmath at nfbnet.org
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindmath_nfbnet.org
>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>Blindmath:
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindmath_nfbnet.org/john.gardner%40or
>st.edu



>_______________________________________________
>Blindmath mailing list
>Blindmath at nfbnet.org
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindmath_nfbnet.org
>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Blindmath:
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindmath_nfbnet.org/steve.jacobson%40visi.com