[BlindMath] Seeking Resources to Self-Study Math for Programming

Bill Dengler (Outlook on Windows 10) codeofdusk at gmail.com
Thu Jun 15 23:15:23 UTC 2017 

I took Calculus at school.
I taught my aid LaTeX and set up an environment for her to transcribe (handwritten) documents to TeX. The system worked for us.

Bill

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindMath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Brandon Keith Biggs via BlindMath
Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2017 9:08 PM
To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Brandon Keith Biggs <brandonkeithbiggs at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [BlindMath] Seeking Resources to Self-Study Math for Programming

Hello Bill,
Where did you take your calculus class? Was it online? How much of the materials were you able to get in LaTeX?
Thanks,


Brandon Keith Biggs <http://brandonkeithbiggs.com/>

On Thu, Jun 15, 2017 at 1:17 PM, Bill Dengler via BlindMath < blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> I just completed a course in calculus along with the International 
> Baccalaureate mathematics standard level course. Like you, I hope to 
> study computer science, and I was self-taught (for my programming and 
> CS theory but not math). I’m still in high school, but I hope to study 
> computing at university. I also don’t use Braille (my experiences in 
> the past with Braille math led me to find it slow and inefficient) but 
> as a thread I started on this list a year or so ago points out, 
> learning some of that code might be a good idea.
>
> Right now, I use LaTeX extensively for writing math. It is plain text, 
> making it readable with screen readers. It can also be compiled into a 
> format for display to teachers or other sighted people reviewing your work.
> If you’re doing anything beyond Algebra II, I would argue that LaTeX 
> is essential. Additionally, if you need to communicate/send your work 
> to sighted people, LaTeX is essential. Yes, before Pre-Calc I used a 
> sort of “calculator notation” for writing my work (typing it as it 
> would appear on a scientific calculator), but this system is both hard 
> to read for sighted people and potentially leads to ambiguities (does 
> sqrt(3)x/3 mean the entire quantity is divided by 3 or just the x?)
>
> For self-study of mathematics, Wikipedia’s articles are accessible. 
> While Wikipedia itself doesn’t exactly provide a math course, it is a 
> useful reference. The site can be set to present math content in 
> either MathML (readable by many screen readers) or LaTeX source. To 
> change your preference, you’ll need to create an account (there’s a 
> CAPTCHA, but I know a blind Wikipedia admin so if you need help 
> creating an account let me know off list). Then go to 
> http://enwp.org/special:preferences and on the appearance tab, you can 
> change your display preference. While there, you might also want to change your skin to monobook for better accessibility.
>
> For self-study of computer science, a good starting point is 
> http://greenteapress.com which provides books in accessible HTML and 
> LaTeX. If you go through Think Python, note that the turtle world 
> chapter generates inaccessible output, and the appendix on GUI 
> programming uses tkinter which is inaccessible to screen readers.
>
> Feel free too contact me if you have any questions.
>
> Bill
> > On Jun 15, 2017, at 7:23 PM, Santiago Velasquez via BlindMath <
> blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >
> > Hi William, below are some recommendations, but they are just what 
> > has
> worked for myself.
> >
> > Learning Latex is great, not only for mathematics, but for other 
> > writing
> tasks as well. The beauty behind Latex is that you can manipulate a 
> lot of aspects of a document/file, but they are done using code 
> instead of using a mouse pointer.
> >
> > Regarding Braille, it is very useful when working with large systems 
> > of
> information, so I definitely suggest brushing up
> >
> > I am afraid that finding a fully accessible corse, or resources for
> studying mathematics at the higher level, is not as easy as it should 
> be. A lot of people who do study mathematics at a university level 
> find that for the majority of the materials, they will have to work 
> how to adjust the material in some way. I wish I could tell you which 
> way that is, but it differs from person to person. I personally find 
> that the best way is to write things in ascii notation, or as if you 
> were writing code. However, no resources that I have seen come that way.
> >
> > I am sure that I have missed other things, but I hope other people 
> > can
> also help me fill in the gaps.
> >
> > hope this helps
> > Regards
> > Santi
> >
> >
> >> On 16 Jun 2017, at 2:20 AM, Louis Maher via BlindMath <
> blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >>
> >> Hello Dennis,
> >>
> >> It has not yet been decided how this material will be archived.  I 
> >> hope
> for
> >> written notes from the presentations.
> >>
> >> Regards
> >> Louis Maher
> >> Phone: 713-444-7838
> >> E-mail: ljmaher at swbell.net <mailto:ljmaher at swbell.net>
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: BlindMath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org <mailto:
> blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org>] On Behalf Of Dennis
> >> Clark via BlindMath
> >> Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2017 10:44 AM
> >> To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics 
> >> <blindmath at nfbnet.org <mailto:blindmath at nfbnet.org>>
> >> Cc: Dennis Clark <dennis at dgclark.net <mailto:dennis at dgclark.net>>
> >> Subject: Re: [BlindMath] Seeking Resources to Self-Study Math for 
> >> Programming
> >>
> >> Hello Louis,
> >> Do you know if this seminar is going to be recorded so that it can 
> >> be accessed later by those unable to attend? It appears to be a 
> >> very
> valuable
> >> seminar with a lot of work being put in by those organizing it, so 
> >> it
> would
> >> be a shame to have all this information lost.
> >> All the best,
> >> Dennis
> >>
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: "Louis Maher via BlindMath" <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
> >> To: "'Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics'"
> >> <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
> >> Cc: "Louis Maher" <ljmaher at swbell.net>
> >> Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2017 7:42 AM
> >> Subject: Re: [BlindMath] Seeking Resources to Self-Study Math for 
> >> Programming
> >>
> >>
> >>> William,
> >>>
> >>> I do not know if it is possible for you to go the National 
> >>> Federation of the Blind (nfb.org) convention, but there will be an 
> >>> all-day seminar on accessing Science Technology Engineering and 
> >>> Mathematics
> >>> (STEM) on July 10, 2017.  Here is the announcement:
> >>> ----
> >>> STEM Tutorials for Blind Students to be Offered at the 2017 NFB 
> >>> National
> >>> Convention:
> >>>
> >>> Are you a blind student interested in studying science, 
> >>> technology, engineering, or math? Do you feel daunted by the 
> >>> prospect of doing lab work in a chemistry class or producing 
> >>> visually readable results in a math class? Perhaps you're a 
> >>> professional in a technical field who finds it challenging to 
> >>> produce graphs and charts for sighted colleagues? If so, then come 
> >>> to the convention of the National Federation of the Blind and plan 
> >>> to arrive in time for Seminar Day on Monday, July 10. The NFB in 
> >>> Computer Science, the NFB Science & Engineering Division, and the 
> >>> NFB National Association of Blind Students Division will host the 
> >>> STEM tutorial workshop. STEM educators and technologists will come 
> >>> from around the world to help blind students and professionals 
> >>> learn to use a variety of tools to assist them in excelling in 
> >>> their chosen technical field. Best of all, individual tutoring 
> >>> sessions will be offered throughout the week for those folks who 
> >>> want one-on-one training from experts who are familiar with the 
> >>> access technology they're teaching, as well as the technical field 
> >>> it's being used for. The topics to be discussed and for which 
> >>> tutoring will be available include: access math in electronic 
> >>> materials directly or to convert it to Braille; write math in 
> >>> formats directly accessible to sighted people; read STEM graphs, 
> >>> charts, and diagrams, and create simple graphics; and participate in chemistry, biology, physics, and engineering labs.
> >>>
> >>> There is no charge to attend either the seminar on Monday or the 
> >>> tutoring sessions throughout the week. The seminar on Monday will 
> >>> give an overview of the technologies to be taught, as well as an 
> >>> introduction to the tutors themselves. It is strongly recommended 
> >>> that folks who are interested in being a part of this invaluable 
> >>> opportunity plan to arrive at the convention in time to begin 
> >>> participating in events on the morning of July 10.
> >>>
> >>> For more information, contact: John Gardner, STEM tutorial 
> >>> coordinator, at john.gardner at oregonstate.edu.
> >>> ---
> >>>
> >>> Regards
> >>> Louis Maher
> >>> Phone: 713-444-7838
> >>> E-mail: ljmaher at swbell.net
> >>>
> >>> -----Original Message-----
> >>> From: BlindMath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
> >>> William Nutt via BlindMath
> >>> Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2017 10:40 PM
> >>> To: blindmath at nfbnet.org
> >>> Cc: William Nutt <williamdnutt at gmail.com>
> >>> Subject: [BlindMath] Seeking Resources to Self-Study Math for 
> >>> Programming
> >>>
> >>> I am planning to change careers to programming and eventually hope 
> >>> to return to grad school for a MS in Computer Science. It has been 
> >>> a long time since I did any math. In high school I went through 
> >>> Algebra II using braille, and in college I took statistics. I 
> >>> never explored math using my computer during this time.
> >>>
> >>> Since I want to study artificial intelligence, I need to brush up 
> >>> on pre-calculus and learn calculus, linear algebra, and discrete
> mathematics.
> >>> I
> >>> need to do this through self-study and do not have access to 
> >>> braille output.
> >>> My primary computer uses NVDA, and I have access to a Mac with 
> >>> Voiceover as well.
> >>>
> >>> I would appreciate answers to the following questions, since I do 
> >>> not know how best to proceed.
> >>>
> >>> 1. What do I need to learn so that I can embark on this self-study?
> >>> Should I learn LaTex or any other frameworks?
> >>>
> >>> 2. Where are the best places to learn this information?
> >>>
> >>> 3. Are there any other tools or tutorials I should be aware of? 
> >>> Has someone laid out a roadmap for this kind of project before?
> >>>
> >>> 4. What accessible resources do people recommend for learning math 
> >>> for computer science? What are the best ways to maximize 
> >>> accessibility with NVDA and Voiceover?
> >>>
> >>> Thank You in Advance,
> >>> William Nutt
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
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> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
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