[BlindMath] Advice for Re-Learning Math Concepts in Preparation for College

[Lanie Molinar]

Hi, all. I used to be a member of this list a long time ago but left when I
was no longer in school. Since I'm making a second attempt at getting a
college degree, I thought I'd rejoin. I'll be starting school in the fall
at Penn State University World Campus, taking classes online. I'm totally
blind and use a computer running Windows 11 with JAWS and NVDA.
Before then, I was told to take a placement assessment to see how my math
skills are. I found out that they could use some work, and this website,
called ALEKS by McGraw-Hill, has learning modules that are accessible and
supposed to help you practice. The problem is that the way they present the
math is so verbose with screen readers that I think it's getting in the way
of me learning as easily as I could. Here's one example:

Use the distributive property to remove the parentheses.
10 c begin exponent 4 end exponent ( 8 c begin exponent 3 end exponent + 9
c )

Simplify your answer as much as possible.

EXPLANATION

We use the distributive property and then simplify, as follows.
10 c begin exponent 4 end exponent ( 8 c begin exponent 3 end exponent + 9
c )
=
10 c begin exponent 4 end exponent × 8 c begin exponent 3 end exponent + 10
c begin exponent 4 end exponent × 9 c

=
( 10 × 8 ) c begin exponent 4 end exponent × c begin exponent 3 end
exponent + ( 10 × 9 ) c begin exponent 4 end exponent × c

=
( 10 × 8 ) c begin exponent 7 end exponent + ( 10 × 9 ) c begin exponent 5
end exponent

=
80 c begin exponent 7 end exponent + 90 c begin exponent 5 end exponent

I just got a Braille display earlier this month, so I'm wondering if there
are any resources that I could read in Braille that might help me prepare
better. Can anyone recommend anything? Also, I have a Perkins Brailler, but
as my family is preparing to move, it's put away. We also have limited
space. Can anyone recommend accessible ways of writing math on my computer?
Thanks.