[BlindMath] [Blindmath] NFB stem convention.

Wed Mar 29 00:54:12 UTC 2017

Yes Daniel, I did know it was you I met but I try not to broadcast people's movements that might not be public information on public lists.

I wonder if you over-estimate the pool of resource that might help STEM students with the latest tools that will make a difference. I'm involved with the planning of the event at the NFB Convention and would point out to you that this comes at practically no cost to the attendees except that they must travel and have accommodation. It does come at a cost though, probably in the order of USD3000 for me alone.

I have to say that were I  a student who is seriously interested in having a career in STEM today,  I would have paid to attend the Summer University events in full, and coming from my corner of the world that's a hefty investment. I'd love to find more "experts" closer than a 12 hour flight but there are none. In addition, coming to a single event in life is not a good recipe for success in my opinion; everyone else in the workplace must have ongoing training and perhaps as blind people we ought to be ready to invest more than our sighted peers. I consider that to be a reality and fortunately, so does my boss.

I do wish there were more events being held, but you've overlooked the fact that these events do not plan themselves and that the cost of the people providing workshops is far from trivial. On top of that, keeping up with the latest tools that can make a real difference and are proven successful for a broad range of people is also time-consuming. The STEM students of today do not need to be introduced to half-baked solutions that end up costing them time and energy. Unfortunately, there are numerous examples of people that do not look for the right assistance, or choose to ignore the good advice that is on offer. Remember the old saying that anyone who is not willing to learn from history's mistakes is destined to repeat them. <sigh>

I do look forward to your attendance this July in the Netherlands. Perhaps you will be sufficiently inspired to run a similar event in the UK sometime.

Jonathan

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindMath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Dániel Hajas via BlindMath
Sent: Wednesday, 29 March 2017 9:40 a.m.
To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
Cc: Dániel Hajas
Subject: Re: [BlindMath] [Blindmath] NFB stem convention.

Hello Jonathan,

I attended the event in France myself in 2014. We even spoke for a few moments and I attended a few workshops held by you such as, R or R & LaTeX. Thanks for the hint on the Blind Science Conference in July, I'll make sure to look that up and if possible attend.

That's sad to here that there isn't enough support from students; however, I believe it is an overstatement that anyone, at anytime can attend such events from across the globe if they want to. For students and professionals, US but even foreign countries in Europe might prove to be at an inconvenient distance, both space, time and money wise.

Perhaps an annual STEM Access event on national levels would boost the interest, along side with international events.

Daniel
> On 27 Mar 2017, at 14:55, Godfrey, Jonathan via BlindMath <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hello Daniel,
> 
> I have travelled to Europe five out of the last six years to be part of Summer University and similar events. These events have been hosted in Austria, Germany, France, The Netherlands, and the Czech Republic. In addition, I've been to the UK and Germany in 2015 and offered one-day sessions.
> 
> Promotion of these events has taken place on this list occasionally but has definitely happened. I've even reached out to people I feel ought to have attended and been given such messages as "sorry, I'm too busy" and the like.
> 
> With the exception of perhaps the events in the Czech Republic in 2011 and  in the Netherlands in 2015, the support from students has proven quite underwhelming to say the least over the last five years. In fact, the very viability of the Summer University event is in question as a consequence.
> 
> We do hope that we will reach more students by going to the NFB Convention where many students will be going anyway. I am pretty sure that anyone wishing to attend from any part of the globe could do so.
> 
> In addition, a two-day workshop is being held in the Netherlands just before the NFB Convention event. Please google "Blind Science Conference" for more information.
> 
> Cheers,
> Jonathan
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: BlindMath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
> Dániel Hajas via BlindMath
> Sent: Monday, 27 March 2017 10:45 p.m.
> To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
> Cc: Dániel Hajas
> Subject: Re: [BlindMath] [Blindmath] NFB stem convention.
> 
> Are there any plans to host similar seminars in European countries? I believe NFB has divisions in the UK as well, which would benefit all those students and accessible STEM experts coming from farther field.
> 
> Daniel
>> On 9 Mar 2017, at 03:30, John Gardner via Blindmath <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> The meeting is the National Federation of the Blind convention and is 
>> in Orlando, Florida beginning Monday, July 10 and ending on Saturday, July 16.
>> Info on convention at:
>> https://nfb.org/convention
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Blindmath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
>> Doug and Molly Miron via Blindmath
>> Sent: Wednesday, March 8, 2017 7:18 PM
>> To: john.Gardner at oregonstate.edu; blindmath at nfbnet.org
>> Cc: Doug and Molly Miron <mndmrn at hbci.com>
>> Subject: [Blindmath] NFB stem convention.
>> 
>> Good day John,
>> 
>> Where is this meeting taking place, and what is the last day?  Thanks. 
>> 
>> Regards,
>> Doug Miron
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