[Blindmath] Audio transcribing of Mathematics

Mon Jul 7 01:07:40 UTC 2014

You can also use a program called math tracks to create audio graphs. You just type in the equation, and the graph is produced. I bet you could paste that sound into your audio. However, a description will still be necessary because that only gives you the shape of the graph, not points or anything like that. The student could also use the program to get some of the points, but just listening to the sound won't do it. When describing each graph, first start with the shape, then some important features like asymptotes or other things like that, and then describe any relevant points on the graph. When reading the equations, make sure to delineate between the numerator and denominator of a fraction because that can be difficult to tell when just listening. Also, delineate between the base and the exponent, and verbally read all symbols including parentheses. Also, here's what I think would be easier for reading a table. Say you're reading a problem about a pond with the table. The first column says type of fish and then lists a lot of different types of fish under it, and the second column says percentage of entire fish population and lists a percentage for each type of fish. Don't read all of the types of fish, and then read all of the percentages. Instead, read one type of fish, and then read the percentage for that type of fish, and then do it again. With audio, it's very hard to fast forward once you lose your place, so a table read in this way means that you can understand it without having to move back-and-forth all the time or write a lot of things down. Oh, and another thing about describing graphs is that you want to mention where the graph intersects the X and Y axis, and you'll need to know enough about statistics to accurately describe a normal model distribution. If you could do it more quickly, it might also be helpful to just type it up and text document instead of reading it so the student can read it with a refreshable braille display. You would use the same principles for describing things, but you would just be typing instead of reading, and for a table, you could just input the numbers without worrying about drawing boxes or anything. This could actually be a lot faster if you used OCR scanning software to scan in the text or got the PDF from the publisher. Only the text would show up and you would have to still type all the equations because the wayside people write them isn't accessible, but that could still be faster than having to read all of it. The school you are working with might have such software. The two most popular programs are open book and Kurz well, but there are also some programs for the Mac any iPhone. Math tracks is free though, so you could still use it. Oh, and remember to specify which page you were on because that is how the student will communicate with her teacher to know where to be in the textbook. You can draw graphs too. Just get a piece of vinyl, attach it to a clipboard or other hard surface, put a paper on top, and draw with a pencil, stylus, or other pokey object. It works best if the paper is a little bit thicker than computer paper, and your student might have braille paper you can use, but you can just use regular paper if you can't find anything else. The graph just won't last as long. Tactile graphing paper exists to, but it's kind of expensive, so you can make some of your own by printing out a lot of blank spreadsheets from Excel and using the vinyl method to make a tactile image by tracing over the lines. If your graph will have a grid underneath, the grid and the graph should be different textures. If you make a grid using the vinyl method or purchase tactile graphing paper, it would be best to make the actual graph using hot glue, pipe cleaners, string, wiki sticks tape, or some other material so that nothing gets jumbled together. The graph should be big, and most cited people don't understand what that means. It means that if you're using a piece of computer paper, your grass should take up the entire paper, and you shouldn't put several graphs on one page unless they are extremely simple, and even then, no more than two. If you want to put numbers, you could either include them in your audio description, use a braille LabelMaker or braille number stickers, have your student MBraille out numbers on label paper and cut them out, or Google what the braille numbers look like and use a pencil to punch them into the paper. I didn't think this is possible, the last semester, I had a teacher who is able to do it. If your student brailles numbers, you could identify them by writing the print number at the top of the page and then for instance, have your student just brail out a whole page of ones. I know you said you're just reading the text book, but if you're going to have things in there like a normal model, your student might have never experienced that before and will need a tactile representation of it. If you just want to get across the shape of a normal model though, you wouldn't have to worry about the grid. You could just use the vinyl method to draw it really quick.

> On Jul 6, 2014, at 7:01 PM, Pranav Lal via Blindmath <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Robert,
> 
> Do you have access to the Iveo system by ViewPlus Technologies? I ask
> because an audio tactile representation of graphical material may be easier
> for the student to handle than a purely audio presentation. Iveo helps in
> creating that audio tactile presentation by using scalable vector graphics
> with audio tags.
> 
> Pranav
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Blindmath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Robert
> Jordan via Blindmath
> Sent: Sunday, July 06, 2014 6:05 PM
> To: blindmath at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [Blindmath] Audio transcribing of Mathematics
> 
> Are there standard procedures for describing graphs verbally?  I am teacher
> in Ontario and am researching in how to best prepare a reading of the
> textbook and describing the graphs in a Statistics course?  The student does
> not have the skill of reading Mathematics in Braille, so this was the
> solution produced.
> 
> All advice from the community would be extremely helpful.
> 
> Sincerely,
> Robert Jordan
> 
> 
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