[nabs-l] College Readiness Tips

[Dezman Jackson]

Arielle,
This is good. I would go futher to say that students should absolutely be 
able to write in hardcopy braille preferrably with slate and stylus. So many 
times I've known students who've had electronic equipment breakdown on them 
and become nonfunctional as far as taking notes because of poor or 
nonexistent braille skills. I'll admit that my slate and stylus skills are 
not great because I grew up mostly being taught on a perkins brailler. 
However, I could definitely get by with reliable notes if I had to. Just my 
two cents.

Dezman
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Arielle Silverman" <arielle71 at gmail.com>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, October 31, 2008 5:13 PM
Subject: [nabs-l] College Readiness Tips


> Hi Joe and all,
>
> Since a lot of the questions that blind high school students (and
> their parents and teachers) ask concern the skills that students
> should master before starting college, I think we may want to include
> some guidelines in  the high school tips part of the Web site
> describing what blindness skills are most essential for success in
> college and the goals that high school students should be held to in
> their blindness training. Here are my  suggestions for both "minimal"
> and "ideal" levels in each blindness skill area that I think high
> school students should strive for when preparing for college. This is
> just my opinion, though, so I welcome contributions or corrections
> from any of you. We can either try to incorporate this into the top
> ten list or set up a separate page dealing with this issue.
>
> Braille:
> Minimally, students should be able to take notes reliably either in
> hard-copy (paper) Braille or using a Braille notetaker, and be able to
> read the notes back later to use for studying.
> Ideally: Students should be proficient enough in Braille to be able to
> read a speech aloud in a class presentation.
>
> Computers:
> Minimally: Students should be able to use JAWS (or its equivalent)
> with basic word-processing, email and Internet programs.
> Ideally: Students should be able to use spreadsheet (i.e. Excel),
> PowerPoint programs (or their equivalents) and learn new programs on
> their own whenever possible.
>
> Travel:
> Minimally: Students should be able to get around their high school
> campus independently and efficiently (without being late, leaving
> class early, etc.) They should also be able to learn basic routes
> between their college classrooms and have some familiarity with public
> transportation systems in their hometown.
> Ideally: Students should be able to use appropriate techniques to
> orient themselves to a new campus or find new buildings on a campus
> they already know, as well as learn the layout of a new city and be
> able to travel to new places in the city in an efficient manner.
>
> Home Management/Daily Living:
> Minimally: Students should  be able to prepare a simple meal for
> themselves, do their own laundry, and shop with customer service (for
> groceries etc.)
> Ideally: Students should be able to prepare a romantic five-course
> meal for their significant other, and magically make their residence
> spotless the day after a party, at least when Mom and Dad are coming
> to visit!
>
> OK, so the last one is a bit of a stretch for many college freshmen
> (blind and sighted alike), but you get the idea!
>
> What does everyone think?
> Arielle
>
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