[BlindMath] BlindMath Digest, Vol 151, Issue 1
marywoodyard at comcast.net
marywoodyard at comcast.net
Fri Feb 1 13:53:58 UTC 2019
Kendra,
I have two suggestions for you that will not answer your conundrum but may help you in your journey. First, my son found it helpful to get an accommodation from the DRC to have the same tutor from the tutoring center be available at a predesignated time for tutoring. This way once an issue was identified, the tutor would consistently know how to address it and you were t starting over with whoever is at the desk at the tutoring center. Second, of you feel that a sighted person needs up be assigned to you to help decipher some of the reading on the calculator ask for an assistant for the class for this purpose. The assistant might need to go to the tutoring center with you. My son was able to get an assistant for a Biology lab which helped immensely - not only for him but for the two sighted students in his lab group. Sometimes assistants are needed for speed in any subject. My son has a friend who is s music major and had an assistant to scribe original Compositions. The Braille student was extremely competent in Braille, but the process was so time consuming, they gave him an assistant. If you feel like having a consistent tutor and a scribe or reader will help you, ask for one. Technology has a learning curve for all of us (sighted and blind) and if a scribe/reader will help you catch up ask for one. Your teacher has gkready notes the time you take doing the problems. When you have more experience, you will probably get faster.
Mary Woodyard
> On Feb 1, 2019, at 7:00 AM, blindmath-request at nfbnet.org wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: Technical gaps that need to be filled for math classes.
> (vincentfmartin2020 at gmail.com)
> 2. Voice activated screen reader graphic calculators?
> (Kendra Schaber)
> 3. Re: Voice activated screen reader graphic calculators?
> (kperry at blinksoft.com)
> 4. Re: Voice activated screen reader graphic calculators?
> (Sabra Ewing)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2019 08:43:24 -0500
> From: <vincentfmartin2020 at gmail.com>
> To: "'Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics'"
> <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [BlindMath] Technical gaps that need to be filled for
> math classes.
> Message-ID: <002801d4b96a$f029f320$d07dd960$@gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
>
> Sabra,
> Can you send me your e-mail address?
> Vincentfmartin2020 at gmail.com
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: BlindMath <blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Sabra Ewing via BlindMath
> Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2019 9:59 PM
> To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Sabra Ewing <sabra1023 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [BlindMath] Technical gaps that need to be filled for math classes.
>
> I don't think that using YouTube is a very good idea. You think they are describing everything, but they aren't. They are showing screenshots of what is on their screen and they expect you to be able to follow that. If you have a case open with vocational rehab, they may be able to have an instructor who can teach you about the devices. If you live near a training center, you could see if they could sign you up just for one class to learn it. Also, the braille sense has a users guide that is built into the actual device I believe. Our use the braillenote, but I believe that is also the case with the braille sense. You could also come up with a list of the questions that you have and call technical support for the company. This calculator is so new that I did not have access to it in college. I had to get through my math classes without a graphing calculator. So if using it really is too hard, you can just make it through the class without it. If it becomes all about working a Calculator and it's not really about learning the math, then that isn't good. You can find the minimum and the maximum algebraically, and you can also use XL to do a lot of things. You may also want to look into math tutoring. I know how to do what you are asking, and I still have all of my math notes and my work from my classes including algebra. I don't really have anything better to do, so if you wanted to contact me privately, I could help you over the phone for free. I graduated from college, but I don't have a job right now, so I am basically just available whenever except when I am doing something with the NFB. Like I said, I would just do it for free because I just want to do something instead of just going to the movie theater every so often. I do you know how to do the things that you are asking, but I don't know how to use that calculator. But for basic algebra, I didn't really need a calculator. It just became a problem after I left algebra and went into things like geometry and calculus. But it might be easier for you to find someone locally depending on what you wanted to do. It would be best if you could get caught up, and then get tutoring on the topic before you actually go to class so that you can just be reaffirming what you already learned and seeing if you have any questions instead of constantly losing your place, not understanding it, and things like that.
>
> Sabra Ewing
>
>> On Jan 30, 2019, at 7:34 PM, Bill Dengler via BlindMath <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>> Kendra,
>> For finding mins and maxes, there?s a ?minimum/maximum indication? that can be turned on in preferences (indications menu).
>> This plays a tone near the min or max to help guide your ?guess? when calculating.
>>
>> Bill
>>> On 30 Jan 2019, at 21:27, Doug and Molly Miron via BlindMath <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> Good day Kendra,
>>>
>>>
>>> Have you worked through the Osterhaus tutorials for the TI-84? I don't remember that they came with the calculator but they are available on the APH web site. Also, it's a good thing to spend some time exploring the calculator in its help mode.
>>>
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> Doug Miron
>>>
>>>> On 1/30/2019 7:07 PM, Kendra Schaber via BlindMath wrote:
>>>> Technical gaps that need to be filled for math classes.
>>>> Hi all!
>>>> I?m taking college algebra which has an awesome teacher and awesome support from my school?s Disability Services. Dispite this awesome support, the longer I?m in this class, the farther south I seem to be treading. No, it?s not entirely because I can?t solve a quadradic equation to save my life. It?s because I keep running into some major ethical and technical gaps that really need to be filled. I have an Orien TI84 graphic calculator, a Polaris Braille Sense with the Polaris Math app, a Dell laptop computer with both JAWS and NVDA installed on it, an iPhone SE with Voice Over and of course, this math class requires braille textbooks.
>>>> I?m not here to ask for spasific help in one area here. But I have quickly spotted some major gaps that I think all math students are facing that need to be dealt with asap.
>>>> Technology:?
>>>> Orien TI84 graphic calculator:
>>>> This graphic calculator is an awesome tool when you have mastered it. The ethical problem here is for those of us who are in our 30s and who are also not computer programers and who are also not young enough to have a sixth sense on how to figure out how to work technology. I?m one of the amiture folks who knows how to work technology once I have learned how to use this technology. I have noticed that the calculator is not as simular to the normal vertions as everyone wants you to believe. Whenever I have gone and had a sited person, tutor or teacher show me how to work this calculator, we often run into technical hang ups with the accessibility. For example, just before this writing, I was sitting in my math classroom after class itself had ended with my math teacher. He was walking me through how to discover the minamun point on a coordinent plane. We have noticed how much I?m slowed down when reading the points to hunt for this minamum. My teacher and I couldn?t figure out how to get the calculator to quickly list off this information without spending five minutes, (not egzaderating) just to read through the points to find the minamum. We have noticed that if I were to get ten of this kind of problem in my homework, that if I were to try this kind of problem without a pair of sited eyeballs, it would take me literarly, all day just to get through just that set of ten math problems. This example is just one of a few that I could list off the top of my head that are of this nature. While I?m on the same thread, this ethical technical issue also connects up to a bigger picture. I have noticed that everyone wants to point people like me to the usual resources like the school?s tutoring center, etutoring and of course, Professor U Tube and Professor Google and the manuals that are better served in the recycling bin. Sure, everything but the mannuals do have their place. Don?t get me wrong! But for people like me who are not born with NASA technical brains, we actually need our own teacher who already knows this calculator and who can actually teach better than the tutors that come from most school?s tutoring centers. The ethical issue is just as much a technical issue. These experts don?t igzist in most places where accessible tech is taught. I had to put out a call for help on the math list. Luckily, I managed to get a blind calculus student in college who knows this calculator. But I could just as easily have not found any one at all who could help me out. I also got more of the expected feedback in which I was told to go to the usual resources. But what people don?t truely don?t understand is that those resources leave just as many gaps as they fill whenever they do help out. Also, the U Tube vidios have so much visual information that they leave more gaps for a blind audience than they actually give to that same audience. Also, when you do run into something that is remotely useful, it costs an arm and a leg for those of us on SSI. So, either way, we are doomed for aquiring the right resources that are actually going to assist us normal non NASA brained folks.
>>>> The Polaris Braille Sense:
>>>> The Polaris Braille Sense is even more of a specialty piece of technology than the calculator. This awesome braille note taker is so new that there is not enough useful information that is presented in such a way that a blind person would benefit from when trying to learn how to use this note taker by using U Tube vidios. Just like the calculator, there are not enough specialty tech teachers who knows how to work this device. As the result, it can and does take months just to learn how to use the Polaris Braille Sense. There is a deeper layer with this device that I believe it leaves even more gaps than it actually fills. This gap is the Polaris Math app. True, this app is useful when you know how to use it, particularly when you need to send your teacher several coordinent plain graphs as homework or in a test. The problem is that there isn?t enough information that?s out there that a blind person would benefit from. Today, I watched a vidio which left out a few very small but critical gaps such as where the graph button is for example. Vidios like this often helps the sited person more than the blind person who is required to use this app every time they go to turn a graph into their math professor. Again, there are too many people who promptly point out the usual resources which do have their place but they also don?t understand that such resources leave more gaps than they fill. We simply need more blind tech specialists to teach the non NASA brained college student. Even my own tech teacher is a non NASA brained blind tech teacher. Because of this, her skills are limited even though she specializes in teaching access technology. But she even needs such experts to farther expand her education.
>>>> Braille books:
>>>> I love braille dearly!!! However, I can?t stand the way textbook producers drag their feet with making braille textbooks when the schools who use them pay thousands of dollars just to make them. First of all, way too many hard copy braille textbooks are slower than the class that they are suposed to work in. My math class requires a textbook that my math teacher spasifically picked out for me to use in his class. I got the first part just fine and like normal. But from last week on, they got delayed. I waited a few days just in case the snail mail was delayed only to discover apon farther digging that they got delayed by at least 2 weeks. Even without any other technical problem, this issue alone renders a blind person unable to do their homework independently. I now have to have a reader to cover this gap. I have also noticed some errors in the braille translation itself. Mind you, that?s not including the unrealistic expectation for a math student of any form to read 14 vollums of an encyclopitia styled textbook in 2 weeks. I scated around that by jumping dirrectly to the homework and studdying the rest as needed. In any case, those pesky hard copy braille books also address some bigger ethical issues that are gaps for decades.
>>>> Braille graphics:
>>>> Braille graphics are crazy and hard to produce. However, they are highly needed in the math and science fields. Because of this, graphs has to come up here. There has been talk of a piece of technology that?s suposed to make 2 demintional graphs. But where is it? Why hasn?t it ever made it on to the markets? This needs to be addressed now!!! For people like me, I can?t read a braille math book on my braille display and get the information that?s needed when it?s presented in the graphs that I would get in a hard copy braille text book. A 3D printer can?t address them because the graphs are 2 dementional, not 3 dementional. I have had a picture in my mind of a whole page that?s full of nothing but braille pixles that can pop up anywhere on the page to. Either write in regular braille text form, Nemeth Code, UEB code or graphs or the combination. This kind of technology does not igzist. This kind of technology hasn?t even been invented yet. It?s 2019, not 1999 and I still have not seen such technology. I thought it would be out by now, particularly because of how fast most technology moves. Also, I would want this braille page of braille pixles to connect up to a braille note taker as needed. I would want to read my homework with this screen but with the note taker, I would also want to do my homework because a blind student couldn?t read their homework and write it at the same time which is what is needed by the student. Because of this, a blind person can?t work their math textbooks nor read graphs in less they are done in hard copy form. Hard copy takes up way too much space, is too comberson to be realistic and is also not always consistantly ethical because it?s not always on the same time, same place, same date and same leval playing field.
>>>> With all that on the table, here is what this does to a blind person based on my own experiences. This slows the blind student way down, so much so, that the student in question can?t keep up with the class at all. They can?t independently do their homework without help and regarding the technology, without the correct knowledge, the tech is rendered totally useless. There are far better ways to improve accessability. Why aren?t these issues even talked about, brought up nor even passed around in normal conversation? I don?t even know the answer. But I know that there are still way too many dangerous gaps that need to be filled in order to get more blind students into the STEM fields. What do you all think of the ethics of these gaps?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Thank you for taking the time to read this E Mail!
>>>> Blessed be!!!
>>>> Kendra Schaber,
>>>> Chemeketa Community College,
>>>> 350 Org,
>>>> Citizen?s Climate Lobby,
>>>> National Federation of the Blind of Oregon, Capitol Chapter, Salem,
>>>> Oregon.
>>>> Home email:
>>>> Redwing731 at gmail.com
>>>> Chemeketa Community College Email:
>>>> Kschaber at my.Chemeketa.edu
>>>> Phone:
>>>> 971-599-9991
>>>> "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear" Author Unknown.
>>>> Sent From My iPhone SE.
>>>> Sent from My Gmail Email.
>>>> Get Outlook Express for IOS.
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>>>> i.com> BlindMath Gems can be found at
>>>> <http://www.blindscience.org/blindmath-gems-home
>>>> <http://www.blindscience.org/blindmath-gems-home>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2019 19:19:53 -0800
> From: Kendra Schaber <redwing731 at gmail.com>
> To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
> <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: [BlindMath] Voice activated screen reader graphic
> calculators?
> Message-ID: <7A952B32-FF36-43B3-A6DC-F62058D2512A at gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
>
> Hi all!
> Today, at the end of math class, my math teacher came up with a good idea. He recamended that I should hunt for a nice graphic calculator that can be activated by voice commands, much like SIRI is opperated. He suggested that I get my hands on one called I think it?s called Pentel or something like it. I have not used this calculator for an iphone. I don?t know if it?s screen reader accessible. Does anyone know of a graphic calculator that can be opperated by voice, that?s software on a computer or smart phone and is screen reader accessible? I think that it might help me out in addition to the TI84 graphic calculator.
>
>
> Thank you for taking the time to read this E Mail!
> Blessed be!!!
> Kendra Schaber,
> Chemeketa Community College,
> 350 Org,
> Citizen?s Climate Lobby,
> National Federation of the Blind of Oregon,
> Capitol Chapter,
> Salem, Oregon.
> Home email:
> Redwing731 at gmail.com
> Chemeketa Community College Email:
> Kschaber at my.Chemeketa.edu
> Phone:
> 971-599-9991
> "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear" Author Unknown.
> Sent From My iPhone SE.
> Sent from My Gmail Email.
> Get Outlook Express for IOS.
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2019 22:28:05 -0500
> From: <kperry at blinksoft.com>
> To: "'Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics'"
> <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [BlindMath] Voice activated screen reader graphic
> calculators?
> Message-ID: <001c01d4b9de$25b08270$71118750$@blinksoft.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
>
> This will make doing work in a group very difficult. People always think voice is the future for blind people till they sit down and try to use it. Just think of how fun it is to fight with the best voice activated devices, Alexa, Siri, and Google. Now add the problem of math. I say good luck but I wouldn't do it. At least not with the current power of voice activation.
>
> Ken
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: BlindMath <blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Kendra Schaber via BlindMath
> Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2019 10:20 PM
> To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Kendra Schaber <redwing731 at gmail.com>
> Subject: [BlindMath] Voice activated screen reader graphic calculators?
>
> Hi all!
> Today, at the end of math class, my math teacher came up with a good idea. He recamended that I should hunt for a nice graphic calculator that can be activated by voice commands, much like SIRI is opperated. He suggested that I get my hands on one called I think it?s called Pentel or something like it. I have not used this calculator for an iphone. I don?t know if it?s screen reader accessible. Does anyone know of a graphic calculator that can be opperated by voice, that?s software on a computer or smart phone and is screen reader accessible? I think that it might help me out in addition to the TI84 graphic calculator.
>
>
> Thank you for taking the time to read this E Mail!
> Blessed be!!!
> Kendra Schaber,
> Chemeketa Community College,
> 350 Org,
> Citizen?s Climate Lobby,
> National Federation of the Blind of Oregon, Capitol Chapter, Salem, Oregon.
> Home email:
> Redwing731 at gmail.com
> Chemeketa Community College Email:
> Kschaber at my.Chemeketa.edu
> Phone:
> 971-599-9991
> "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear" Author Unknown.
> Sent From My iPhone SE.
> Sent from My Gmail Email.
> Get Outlook Express for IOS.
>
> _______________________________________________
> BlindMath mailing list
> BlindMath at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindmath_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindMath:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindmath_nfbnet.org/kperry%40blinksoft.com
> BlindMath Gems can be found at <http://www.blindscience.org/blindmath-gems-home>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2019 02:06:23 -0700
> From: Sabra Ewing <sabra1023 at gmail.com>
> To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
> <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [BlindMath] Voice activated screen reader graphic
> calculators?
> Message-ID: <99777F86-68F3-4AFB-B9A2-E83FD2F197A7 at gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
>
> I do math on Alexa all the time.
>
> Sabra Ewing
>
>> On Jan 31, 2019, at 8:28 PM, Ken Perry via BlindMath <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>> This will make doing work in a group very difficult. People always think voice is the future for blind people till they sit down and try to use it. Just think of how fun it is to fight with the best voice activated devices, Alexa, Siri, and Google. Now add the problem of math. I say good luck but I wouldn't do it. At least not with the current power of voice activation.
>>
>> Ken
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: BlindMath <blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Kendra Schaber via BlindMath
>> Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2019 10:20 PM
>> To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Kendra Schaber <redwing731 at gmail.com>
>> Subject: [BlindMath] Voice activated screen reader graphic calculators?
>>
>> Hi all!
>> Today, at the end of math class, my math teacher came up with a good idea. He recamended that I should hunt for a nice graphic calculator that can be activated by voice commands, much like SIRI is opperated. He suggested that I get my hands on one called I think it?s called Pentel or something like it. I have not used this calculator for an iphone. I don?t know if it?s screen reader accessible. Does anyone know of a graphic calculator that can be opperated by voice, that?s software on a computer or smart phone and is screen reader accessible? I think that it might help me out in addition to the TI84 graphic calculator.
>>
>>
>> Thank you for taking the time to read this E Mail!
>> Blessed be!!!
>> Kendra Schaber,
>> Chemeketa Community College,
>> 350 Org,
>> Citizen?s Climate Lobby,
>> National Federation of the Blind of Oregon, Capitol Chapter, Salem, Oregon.
>> Home email:
>> Redwing731 at gmail.com
>> Chemeketa Community College Email:
>> Kschaber at my.Chemeketa.edu
>> Phone:
>> 971-599-9991
>> "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear" Author Unknown.
>> Sent From My iPhone SE.
>> Sent from My Gmail Email.
>> Get Outlook Express for IOS.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> BlindMath mailing list
>> BlindMath at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindmath_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindMath:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindmath_nfbnet.org/kperry%40blinksoft.com
>> BlindMath Gems can be found at <http://www.blindscience.org/blindmath-gems-home>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> BlindMath mailing list
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>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindMath:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindmath_nfbnet.org/sabra1023%40gmail.com
>> BlindMath Gems can be found at <http://www.blindscience.org/blindmath-gems-home>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
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>
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