[Blindmath] Making the University classroom more accessible
Wershing, Alice D.
adwershing at pstcc.edu
Thu Nov 5 17:54:41 UTC 2015
Please share more on what you are doing for accessible STEM. Thank you-
Alice Wershing, M.Ed., A.T.P.
Technology Specialist
Disability Services
Pellissippi State Community College
10915 Hardin Valley Road
Knoxville TN 37933-0990
(865) 694-6751
East TN Region Accessibility Specialist
Tennessee Board of Regents-ROCC/RODP
Access for All Blog
http://blogs.pstcc.edu/access4all/
Accessible Format Facebook Page
https://m.facebook.com/psccdisabilityservices?refid=46&sld=eyJzZWFyY2hfc2lkIjoiNzhjYzY3MmVkNDg2ODkyMjVhY2ViMjUyOGQwNWJiYzUiLCJxdWVyeSI6InBzY2MiLCJzZWFyY2hfdHlwZSI6IlNlYXJjaCIsInNlcXVlbmNlX2lkIjoxOTU4NzAyNDk1LCJwYWdlX251bWJlciI6MSwiZmlsdGVyX3R5cGUiOiJTZWFyY2giLCJlbnRfaWQiOjczNDM1NjkxOTkzOTUxNywicG9zaXRpb24iOjAsInJlc3VsdF90eXBlIjo2NX0%3D
-----Original Message-----
From: Blindmath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Goda Biekšaite via Blindmath
Sent: Thursday, November 05, 2015 12:19 PM
To: vincent martin <vincent.martin at gatech.edu>; Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Goda Biekšaitė <goda.bieksaite at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Blindmath] Making the University classroom more accessible
Please, if there are any experiences that anyone could share - that would be great! Any feedback would be of great help!
Cheers,
Goda
2015-11-05 17:16 GMT+00:00 Goda Biekšaitė <goda.bieksaite at gmail.com>:
> Hi Vincent!
>
> Thank you so much for the reply. I suppose our description of what we
> do or where we are in the project is not clear.... Sorry about that.
> Basically, since all of us in the team are sighted, we tried and reach
> out to students that are visually impaired and schools, but we had
> such a low response rate. And as the lady in our chemistry faculty has
> said - there's a lot of research fatigue. And we fully understand it.
> However, we really want to try and understand the problem. And...a
> silly and as ignorant as this will sound, we genuinely don't know how
> visually impaired students understand geometry and graphs, 2d and 3d
> objects. And without having anyone to talk to...we had to rely on the
> internet. And that is why our questionnaire is so broad.
>
> In regards of what we're trying to achieve. We are not trying to
> create a new tech solution. We are well aware that creating a new
> piece of technology is not the solution, as that is yet another thing
> to master, to get used to, to implement an it's just not financially feasible either.
> What we would aim to do is find a way to improve current technology or
> software or adapt something to a current software. For example, to aid
> in understanding chemical molecule diagrams, one of our university
> researchers created a system as a plugin for JAWS and NVDA to
> translate a bitmap image of the molecule graph into a multilayer
> audible system. It's not something new but a small addition to what
> already exists. We are aiming to do something similar.
>
> If you could give us any feedback at all. Of what it feels like to be
> a visually impaired student doing a science degree, what frustrated
> you or anything at all that you could tell - that would greatly help
> us! Also this is just... It literally made us jump from excitement
> that we have replies! We possibly have people to talk to!!!
>
> Cheers,
> Goda
>
> 2015-11-05 16:37 GMT+00:00 vincent martin <vincent.martin at gatech.edu>:
>
>> Hello,
>> I am a totally blind Ph.D. student in Human Centered Computing at
>> Georgia Tech. I have previously earned four STEM degrees. I have
>> worked as a rehabilitation engineer and research scientist and have
>> advise a number of undergraduate and graduate level teams on similar
>> projects. The first thing I always advise the teams to do is a very
>> thoroughly literature review. As a graduate student doing research,
>> it would be the first thing you would normally consider, but most
>> undergraduates have never been taught how or why to do it.
>> What you are asking in your survey is far too wide of a scope to
>> assist you. You can end up going in so many directions and may end
>> up recreating the exact thing that someone just did a few months ago.
>> You can search the Journal of the Visually Impaired and the Blind,
>> ACM's SIG Access (ASSETS) and the SIGCHI (CHI) journals for a vast
>> number of projects related to creating access for people with visual disabilities.
>> You can also just use any search engine for search words pertaining
>> to this topic and the browser will give you many directions to go
>> int. So many products/projects end up on some news program, but
>> really are just class projects created for a class for too many times to count.
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Blindmath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
>> Goda Biekšaite via Blindmath
>> Sent: Thursday, November 5, 2015 10:23 AM
>> To: blindmath at nfbnet.org
>> Cc: Goda Biekšaitė <goda.bieksaite at gmail.com>; Lily Elshaktori <
>> lilyelshaktori at gmail.com>; Priyanka Mohata <pmohata.95 at gmail.com>;
>> Gareth Humphries <garethjhumphries at gmail.com>; Poppie Simmonds <
>> poppie.leigh at gmail.com>
>> Subject: [Blindmath] Making the University classroom more accessible
>>
>> Hello all,
>>
>>
>> We are 3rd year Computer Science students at the University of Birmingham.
>> As part of our course, we are studying a module called Software
>> Design Study, in which we research and design a solution to an
>> existing real life problem. Our team is looking into further aiding
>> visually impaired students in a classroom setting.
>>
>> We are in the early stages of our research and would like to speak
>> with as many visually impaired students, teachers of the visually
>> impaired or anyone else who works in this area.We would like to get a
>> better understanding of learning and teaching techniques used,
>> problems faced and areas for improvement.
>>
>>
>> We have made a questionnaire and it would help us greatly if you
>> could answer some or all of the questions, and if there is anything
>> that you would like to add, or even if you would just want to share
>> your experience
>> - we would really appreciate it.
>>
>>
>> We can't wait to hear from you,
>>
>> Goda
>>
>>
>> Questions:
>>
>>
>> If you’re a student:
>>
>> -
>>
>> What software are you using in the classroom currently?
>> -
>>
>> How accessible is it?
>> -
>>
>> How easy to master is it?
>> -
>>
>> On average, how much time do you spend using the assistive software
>> in the classroom?
>> -
>>
>> Did you go to a school or university for visually impaired?
>> -
>>
>> IF YES:
>> -
>>
>> What techniques did they use to teach mathematics?
>> -
>>
>> How did they explain the different geometrical objects? Both 3d
>> and 2d.
>> -
>>
>> How did they explain graphs and visual representations of
>> formulae?
>> -
>>
>> What techniques are used to draw and represent graphs?
>> -
>>
>> IF NO:
>> -
>>
>> What techniques did the teachers use to integrate visually
>> impaired into the classroom?
>> -
>>
>> Did the teachers write and explain things on the board, if so how
>> did they accommodate you?
>> -
>>
>> Did you have anyone or use any special technology to assist
>> you in
>> the classroom?
>> -
>>
>> Was there anything that you think you missed out in the
>> lectures/lessons?
>> -
>>
>> If you could change one thing about how the lectures are going at the
>> moment and the support that you get - what would it be?
>> -
>>
>> What would be a perfect piece of technology for you (regardless of what
>> has been created already. Please. Go wild)
>>
>>
>> If you’re a teacher:
>>
>> -
>>
>> What techniques have you used to better accommodate the visually
>> impaired students?
>> -
>>
>> What difficulties have you noticed that visually impaired students
>> encounter?
>> -
>>
>> What subjects and areas do the students struggle the most?
>> -
>>
>> What support systems/technologies do you use in your classroom or for
>> preparation for the classes?
>> -
>>
>> What additional preparation do you make to cater for visually impaired
>> students in the classroom?
>> -
>>
>> How familiar are you with the assistive technologies that the students
>> might use?
>> -
>>
>> How did you explain (if you ever had to) graphs, geometric forms,
>> 3d and
>> 2d objects, trajectories and distances?
>> -
>>
>> What support do you get from your University or School/College?
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>>
>
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