[BlindMath] Help in Determining Engineering Design Accommodations

[Donald Winiecki]

Nic,

I have seen similar issues at other colleges and universities. You are
focusing on the relevant issues specific to the instructional outcomes of
the course. As a faculty member in a college of engineering I will propose
that the answer to your question is a qualified yes.

The answer is "yes" because -- as you note -- none of the instructional
objectives of the course name SolidWorks. With that in mind you should be
able to meet the objectives using any relevant engineering design tools and
software.

This means that the entity at your school that determines accommodations
could include a statement in your accommodation letter that instructors --
with support of their departments -- should be expected to seek and support
use of accessible tools and software that both meet standards for the
curriculum and which enable you to accomplish course objectives. Those
tools and software should be available from the start of the course. The
last element about timing is both critical and obvious for your success.

All of this emphasizes that new forms of orchestration have to occur
between the entity that determines accommodations and the departments and
faculty from which you take courses. The entity that determines
accommodations will (properly) be very shy about telling instructors what
media to use and how to teach, but it can emphasize that media, methods,
and materials must be accessible to you and available from the start of the
course. With this emphasis you can nominate OpenScad as the proper tool in
this case. The instructor will then have a chance to evaluate OpenScad to
verify that it can in fact provide support for the curriculum.

All of that said, while objectives in the syllabus do not implicate
SolidWorks, in my experience engineering faculty are consistent in the
assertion that SolidWorks is the state of the art tool most commonly used
in professional practice and should be the principal tool used in an
engineering design course. This implies that there is a vocational
objective unstated in the syllabus, about preparing students for the trade
of engineering by helping them gain familiarity and proficiency with
SolidWorks.

If the same exists at your school, this suggests there may be a bit of
resistance from faculty for adopting a tool other than SolidWorks. If the
entity responsible for naming accommodations at your school is direct about
selection and use of accessible media, methods, and materials, you then
have a legally-supported reason for pushing to use OpenScad, regardless any
hesitation on the part of engineering departments and faculty.

HTH,

_don 😷


On Sun, Sep 20, 2020 at 9:58 AM nspohn0--- via BlindMath <
blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> Dear all,
>
>
>
> I have struggled to get the proper accommodations at my university for my
> Intro to Engineering Design class. I had to switch professors after three
> weeks into the semester. My new professor wants to work with me, but he
> does
> not know how we can accommodate for using Solidworks. Here is what my
> professor told me:
>
>
>
> My professor has informed me that the class is continuing to use Solidworks
> for a project. The class is given a tutorial that teaches students how to
> design the form of a robot. (i.e. hip, torso, etc.). The robot project uses
> the tools in Solidworks to learn the software and design philosophy of CAD
> software. After this, about halfway through the semester, students will do
> a
> personal project where they create something using their own imagination or
> try to make a digital model of a physical object of interest to them. (ex.
> Boat, bike, favorite video game character, etc.). My professor says the
> personal project accounts for 20% of the class.
>
>
>
> I know I have asked before about what to do in this situation, but I
> believe
> I am in a position where my university is willing to listen. If OpenScad is
> the only 3D CAD program accessible to the blind, I was thinking of asking
> the university to find someone to teach me the program so I can learn a CAD
> software. However, the head of the engineering department told me that the
> point of the class is to learn the following concepts:
>
> 1.           Apply engineering design to address design opportunities.
>
> 2.           Use systems thinking and apply it to engineering design.
>
> 3.           Develop professional skills necessary for becoming a
> successful
> engineer.
>
> 4.           Communicate engineering concepts and designs.
>
> 5.           Gain experience in hands-on fabrication while developing a
> "maker" mindset.
>
>
>
> What you don't see in these overarching objectives is "learn SolidWorks".
> What you do see is to be able to communicate concepts and designs and to
> get
> hands-on fabrication experience.  So, why do we have the students learn
> SolidWorks?  It is not to make draftspeople of them, but rather so they can
> communicate their concepts and designs and to be able to use a tool
> (CAD/SolidWorks) in the development of that maker mindset.  In that sense,
> other tools/modes are possible.
>
>
>
> Should I be asking for someone to teach OpenScad to me so I can communicate
> my ideas? With that, should I ask for a human reader that can describe what
> I have drawn on my screen? Are there other tools or is this the best route?
> I am curious to hear from blind engineers who are in the field.
>
>
>
> Thank You,
>
> Nic
>
>
>
>
>
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