[Blindmath] Accessible education

[Sabra Ewing]

Firstly, you will have to register with the office for students with disabilities at your college. Even if you don't want to, it is basically impossible to get through college without the accommodations you can get by being registered with this office. These accommodations will include binding accessible alternatives or finding another way to access the content if it is flash for example and you can't read it with the screen reader. It also includes alternative testing situations. A lot of students test directly in the office for students with disabilities, but for a lot of my classes, I prefer to test in the classroom when possible in case I can't understand the directions of the exam, because testing in the office for students with disabilities requires access planning and scheduling, and because if there are any problems with me reading or taking the test, the teacher is right there to troubleshoot them. However, in some cases, this isn't possible. For example, if I am taking a history test, I will take that electronically using a computer. Because I am taking this test in a different format from the rest of the students, the professor will probably prefer me to take it in the office for students with disabilities. However, in the programming for example, in programming, I can take the test on the computer like the other students do, so I can just take it in the classroom.

Sabra Ewing

> On Feb 13, 2015, at 1:38 PM, joe walker via Blindmath <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hello, my name is Joe Walker, and once again, I am a blind individual
> who is actively seeking out new and effective forms of accessibility.
> I would like to obtain a general picture of how blind students and
> professionals adapt a variety of situations. I specificly want to know
> how blind students have navigated a variety of challenges in the
> college setting. I have received vocational and skills training, as
> well as studied many discussions on this forum, but still have not
> been able to overcome all the necessary obstacles in order to attend
> college. Regarding the issues of math and science, as well as the
> issue of visual representations in general, I want to know how you
> navigated the following:
> 
> 1. electronic learning platforms, (i.e), online whiteboard,
> interactive and graphical learning sites, multimedia and flash
> content, etc
> 
> 2. Taking tests at testing centers and using testing software,
> 
> 3. obtaining alternative materials when braille is not available or
> most feasible, like when taking computer classes, advanced math and
> science courses, etc
> Given that many of these issues are most prevalent when referring to
> Math and Science courses, I feel it appropriate to ask this on the
> math forum, although I do feel like these issues still span the globe
> of education. I greatly appreciate any and all feedback on this
> question. You can also reach me directly at my email:
> joewalker0082 at gmail.com
> 
> I thank you for your participation in this mailing list, and I look
> forward to hearing from you soon.
> 
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