[Blindmath] I'm Dying Here

Fri May 16 03:14:47 UTC 2014

I never thought about using Excel for these types of problems.  Is there a tutorial on using Excel for math or do I need to self teach?  Thanks.

-----Original Message-----
From: Blindmath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of sabra1023 via Blindmath
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2014 7:07 PM
To: Jon Yaggie
Cc: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
Subject: Re: [Blindmath] I'm Dying Here

Also, well blind people need to think in three dimensions can make math class difficult, it also gives you greater mathematical understanding. I also noticed that in a lot of my classes, the students were using a calculator and I didn't have the equivalent. For instance, in statistics in high school, everybody could type in the numbers for the binomial formula on the Calculator but I couldn't. I learned to do the binomial formula by hand, and I think that as a result, I got a better understanding of how it works. Of course now I know that I could've used Excel, but still, it's good not to shortchange yourself by using a calculator too soon. Sometimes, you just have to pick a different teacher. I was having a lot of trouble in my college precalculus class because the teacher placed so much emphasis on graphs, but my spatial orientation is bad and I have a little spatial IQ, so I was struggling to get the information. The teacher emphasized grass so much that she wasn't teaching or having his many expectations about doing things algebraically. In some instances, I was given lots of ordered pairs and expected to know what shape of a graph it was, and I couldn't do that because I can't plot the points in my head and the points were really exact and had decimals, so I don't know how I would have plotted them on a paper. I can do that with linear graphs, but these graphs were not linear so I couldn't imagine the shape in my head. What made it worse is that sometimes I would get two sets of ordered pairs, and I was supposed to keep the shape of two graphs in my head and see how one was transformed from the other. In the class I took before pre-Cal, I didn't have to do that. I was given chewy equations and had to see how one was transformed from the other. I could look at the equation and tell the shape of the graph because I didn't have to plot points in my head, and I could also explain the transformation. I ended up dropping that class and will take it with a teacher who focuses more on algebra next semester. Also, audio graphs are helpful, but it's hard to get them on tests because teachers don't know what they are. Don't know how that would work anyways. You can just play the sound again in your head and it will make the shape again for you. It's not like a tactile one where you can't remember anything about it once it goes away.

> On May 15, 2014, at 8:00 PM, Jon Yaggie <jyaggi2 at uic.edu> wrote:
> 
> I have to say, i agree that no matter how explicit your teacher is, it 
> will never be completely clear.  Natural language is ambiguous and 
> math is not.  I definitely can empathize.  And i agree try looking 
> online.  I would be interested if anyone has suggestion on 
> good/accessible online examples.  I am compiling a list…
> 
> On the other hand, i want to be encouraging.  So from my own experience…. From years of struggling to read boards and keep up in math classes eventually i succeeded and surpassed others.  Not because i am smarter than them but because the visual method of learning math frequently lacks deeper understanding and ability to conceptualize.  I could think math something only a handful of student could do coming out of calculus.  It was a skill learned out of necessity. 
> 
> Jon Yaggie
> EYH Volunteer Coordinator
> UIC Mathematics
> 
>> On May 15, 2014, at 19:23, sabra1023 via Blindmath <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Unfortunately, I have had the same problem you do and every single 
>> math class I've ever attended. I haven't found that getting a person to explain what is being said to be a very effective strategy. Especially in the higher level math courses, the person might not know, they might not be able to explain things non-spatially when required, and they might not know how to reformat spatial information see you can more easily access it. Unfortunately, I don't know how much people go over this in training programs for teachers of the blind, but in my experience, a lot of them only know how to do this to a certain extent and not at all and the higher-level maths. I'm pointing all of this out because even if your teacher verbalizes what is on the board, he still might be presenting the information spatially. That means he's making it difficult to understand by moving numbers all over the board and probably using lines and arrows and other unnecessary garbage. Especially if you have b een blind from birth, it would be good if you could find someone else who is totally blind and who's really good at math so that person could do the things I have previously described. What I have done is to have individual time with a teacher or tutor, or I also look for examples on the Internet. Places like forums or Yahoo answers are good because the examples are to the point and the equations are often accessible. And textbooks, the examples are ;-), spatial,, ;-), difficult to find, and difficult to understand.
>> 
>>> On May 15, 2014, at 5:56 PM, Jose Tamayo via Blindmath <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hi,
>>> 
>>> You are in a situation which I found myself in a few years ago.  The 
>>> instructor is doing just what he / she has been doing for years.  I 
>>> would recommend the following :
>>> 
>>> 1.  Be patient and understanding because it will take time for your 
>>> instructor to change from doing what has been the norm for years 2. 
>>> Record the class sessions and sit with your instructor. Give the 
>>> instructor an opportunity to listen in on his own lecture.  You will  
>>> find that they finally can understand what you are going through.
>>> 3.  Explain your situation to the instructor because they don't know 
>>> that you have that need.
>>> 4. having your fascilitation center record the Classes for later 
>>> review might work if they have someone explain what is being said.
>>> 
>>> Your best bet in my opinion is to have the discussion with your 
>>> instructor; not after class but in his office when she has time.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Thanks,
>>> Jose Tamayo
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Blindmath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
>>> Elise Berkley via Blindmath
>>> Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2014 5:33 PM
>>> To: BlindMath
>>> Subject: [Blindmath] I'm Dying Here
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> I need a shoulder to cry on, everyone.  I am in my algebra class and 
>>> I am drowning.  We are finding the lcd of rational expressions and 
>>> then making the lcd equal between two expressions.  My instructor is 
>>> talking so fast and using "this guy" instead of calling out the 
>>> numerals.  I want to give this stuff up right now.  Thanks for 
>>> listening.  Elise
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Elise Berkley
>>> 
>>> "The joy of the Lord is my strength."
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
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>> 
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