[nabs-l] nabs-l Digest, Vol 36, Issue 10

[Alysha Jeans]

Hi Chelsea,
Unfortunately, I think the issues you raise are pretty common, and I haven't 
found/heard an ideal solution to them yet. I took the AP calculus test with 
no problems, but I was lucky enough to have a vision teacher who knew Nemeth 
and who transcribed exactly what I wrote on my braille notes. If you can, 
try and get a scribe who knows something about math so they're more likely 
to transcribe your answers accurately. I don't remember having any issues 
with drawing graphs, but that's not to say that it couldn't happen. I know 
they replace questions on the braille calc test that would require graphing 
calculators with ones that don't, so perhaps they give free response 
questions that don't require lots of graph-drawing as well. Math/science 
standardized tests are always kind of a mess since you can't usually use the 
technology you're used to, and having your answers written by a sighted 
person is far from ideal, but it's still definitely possible to do well.
As for the virtual physics labs, it sounds like the community college might 
be your best bet. I would suggest working with a partner in your class, but 
it seems you're out of luck since it's distance learning. Way to go for 
taking the initiative to find a reader outside your school. Your school 
really should be providing you the assistance you need though, so I would 
really put pressure on them to get you an aid who knows something about 
physics/computers.
And as to your question about good physics programs, you should look into 
Rice University in Houston. I'm a senior there now studying electrical 
engineering, but I've taken tons of physics classes too, and it's a great 
school. There are lots of opportunities for undergraduates to get involved 
in research, and Disability Support Services actually gives me all my 
math/science books and homeworks in braille. Best of luck with your AP 
classes and college search!

Thanks,
Alysha
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chelsea Cook" <astrochem119 at gmail.com>
To: <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, October 10, 2009 9:58 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] nabs-l Digest, Vol 36, Issue 10


>  Hello,
>  I am a senior in high school enrolled in advanced placement
> (college-level) courses in Physics and Calculus.  The course
> content is not a problem for me, however, I am having issues with
> my physics class doing "virtual labs," essentially graphics-based
> simulations that are not accessible with JAWS.  A major portion
> of the grade calls for these.  Currently, I am having a sighted
> person sit with me through the lab, but I find that method to be
> inefficient for me to complete the various labs in a timely
> fashion, particularly since the person is not well-versed in either 
> computers or physics, and my school is reluctant to find someone who is. 
> (I'm currently looking around the community colleges.) I can't seem to 
> complete the labs at home because I
> have no one willing to sit and describe the interface to me.
> Another main issue with this course is that it is a
> distance-learning course: My school system is reluctant (at best)
> to provide transportation to and from the other high school, so I
> can't network with my peers as much as I would like to.  Any
> thoughts?
>  Also, concerning the AP.  exam in May: Has anyone ever taken an
> AP.  test in a science or math course before on this list? My
> teachers (vision and academic) and I are concerned about the free
> response questions, where graphs or drawings are often always
> required to complete the question.  We are not sure how the
> College Board will accept my answers, given that it is a
> standardized test.  I am a heavy Braille and JAWS user.  On the
> matter of scribes used for copying answers, I am concerned about
> the margin of error present.
> Any help would be appreciated,
> Chelsea Cook, in Newport News, VA
>
> PS.  Know any good physics or astronomy programs at a university you 
> attend or have seen? Let me know; I'm still looking!
> "I ask you to look both ways.  For the road to a knowledge of the stars 
> leads through the atom; and important knowledge of the atom has been 
> reached through the stars."
> Sir Arthur Eddington, British astrophysicist (1882-1944), Stars and Atoms 
> (1928), Lecture 1
>
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