[nabs-l] Reasonable technology requests from Rehab andsomeother college questions

Mon Apr 25 16:12:03 UTC 2011

Good points Arielle.
The only thing I would add is to keep consideration that our technology is expensive and I would hate for any of it to come up missing or stolen. So maybe at first unless you know someone and can trust that person get a single room until you get there and get to know others and have made friends. Maybe second semester or second year 
you can get a roommate with someone you know.
Anmol
I seldom think about my limitations, and they never make me sad. Perhaps there is just a touch of yearning at times; but it is vague, like a breeze among flowers.
Hellen Keller

--- On Mon, 4/25/11, Arielle Silverman <nabs.president at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Arielle Silverman <nabs.president at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Reasonable technology requests from Rehab andsomeother college questions
> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Date: Monday, April 25, 2011, 12:24 AM
> Hi Jordan and all,
> 
> When I applied to college, because of advice from my DSS
> counselor and
> encouragement from my parents, I disclosed on the housing
> application
> that I was blind. I was assigned a single room, and
> initially I was
> assigned a handicapped-accessible room. I fought to get a
> non-handicapped room, but decided to keep the single
> because I feared
> that my technology would crowd out a roommate. As it turned
> out, I
> brought a Braille printer that I didn't ever use. If I
> could do it
> over again, I would never have told housing that I had a
> "disability"
> or requested a single. I made an effort to socialize with
> my
> floormates, but still I felt I didn't quite click with the
> other girls
> on my floor and I really think if I'd have had a roommate
> it would
> have been a lot easier to get in the social swing.
> Nowadays, most
> college students come with a computer of some sort and I
> think many
> also bring a printer. You can get a scanner that's
> integrated into
> your printer, so if you have a scanner/printer, a computer
> and
> screen-reading software, you really have no more equipment
> than your
> sighted dorm-mates will have. Even if you splurge and also
> get a
> Braille Note, Pac Mate or other portable notetaker, it can
> easily fit
> on your desk, and if you bring a laptop or netbook, your
> equipment is
> even more compact. So don't worry about any special
> housing
> accommodations, unless perhaps if you have a guide dog.
> 
> Arielle
> 
> On 4/24/11, Nicole B. Torcolini at Home <ntorcolini at wavecable.com>
> wrote:
> >     I just want to make a few
> points.
> >
> > The notetakers are definitely catching up on the
> technology, but there are
> > still things that you can and will need to do on a
> computer that you cannot
> > do on a notetaker. One of these things is formatting.
> Teachers in secondary
> > school tend to be much more relaxed about formatting,
> but, in college, what
> > passed in secondary school probably will not pass in
> college. I hardly ever
> > turn any thing in directly from my BrailleNote.
> >
> >     I don't think that the person
> was using the Braille display *instead* of
> > VoiceOver. I don't know how it works on Apple
> products, but I know that, on
> > windows computers, you have to have a screen reader to
> act as a driver for a
> > Braille display.
> >
> >     To answer the question of why
> you would need both speech and Braille,
> > some things are easier/faster to do listening and some
> are better done with
> > Braille. For example, I would find it very hard to
> listen to math. On the
> > other hand, I can understand JAWS talking a lot faster
> than I can read, so I
> > listen to things for which it is not critical that I
> know every little
> > punctuation mark.
> >
> >     One last comment about
> emailing work. In college, most things are not in
> > a format that can be read on the BrailleNote. Most
> professors use PDF. Some
> > use PowerPoint. Very few use word documents. Even if
> they do, most use docx
> > files and/or files with formatting that the bn does
> not support.
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Chris Nusbaum" <dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com>
> > To: <davidb521 at gmail.com>;
> "National Association of Blind Students mailing
> > list" <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> > Sent: Sunday, April 24, 2011 8:26 PM
> > Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Reasonable technology requests
> from Rehab andsomeother
> > college questions
> >
> >
> >> Hi, guys.
> >>
> >> Just a few thoughts on David's suggestions. 
> I agree with your comment
> >> about the laptop vs the notetaker.  With the
> newer versions of the
> >> notetakers like the Braille-Note Apex that I have,
> you can do most
> >> anything that you could on a computer with your
> notetaker as it's all
> >> computer technology now instead of PDA
> technology.  However, if you're
> >> doing a Internet research project or something,
> the more tools in your
> >> toolbox, the better.  I know that some sites
> are accessible to screen
> >> readers but not to notetakers, and vice
> versa.  So I would reccomend
> >> definitely seeing if you can get both.  Now
> keep in mind, as I said
> >> before, rehab probably isn't going to get all the
> technology you need for
> >> you, but you never know.  You might need
> another funding source, like a
> >> Lions club or another foundation like the I CAN
> Foundation that I
> >> mentioned in the last email to you.  On the
> display vs notetaker and
> >> Braille embosser topics, I would suggest a
> notetaker over a Braille
> >> display for its portability and convenience. 
> I would reccomend a
> >> Braille-Note Apex over the Braille-Sense, based on
> what I've heard about
> >> the Braille-Sense.  However, one of the NFB
> executives was showing me a
> >> Braille display called RefreshaBraille from APH,
> which he uses for his
> >> iPod instead of VoiceOver.  It really doesn't
> matter, in my opinion,
> >> whether you get a screen reader for your computer
> or a Braille display.
> >> It really serves the same purpose.  If you
> have a screen reader, it's
> >> already reading the screen, so why would you need
> a Braille display, and
> >> vice versa? On the Braille embosser, it all comes
> down to individual
> >> preference.  I used to love hardcopy Braille
> until I got the Apex.  Now my
> >>
> >> teachers email homework or classwork to me and I
> detach it right onto my
> >> Braille-Note.  I also email my teachers
> homework as attachments to emails
> >> instead of printing them out and labeling them in
> Braille, which saves a
> >> lot of time.  I also use the good old thumb
> drive all the time in school.
> >> What's awesome about that is that in the middle of
> class, my teacher will
> >> say "Chris, I need your thumb drive to put a paper
> on it for today." If
> >> he/she has an electronic copy in their computer of
> the worksheet, they can
> >>
> >> stick it on my thumb drive and I can import it
> into the notetaker.  It's a
> >>
> >> life saver! But if you prefer hardcopy Braille,
> it's a louder process and
> >> you'll use a lot more paper, but it's whatever you
> prefer.  If you have
> >> any more questions, let me and the list
> know.  Good luck!
> >>
> >> Chris Nusbaum
> >>
> >> "A loss of sight, never a loss of vision!" (Camp
> Abilities motto)
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: David <davidb521 at gmail.com
> >> To: "'National Association of Blind Students
> mailing list'"
> >> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> >> Date sent: Sun, 24 Apr 2011 20:38:29 -0500
> >> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Reasonable technology
> requests from Rehab and
> >> someother college questions
> >>
> >> Hi, Jordyn.  Here are some things to keep in
> mind.  Definitely try to get
> >> a
> >> laptop with a screen reader.  I know that
> some agencies may not purchase
> >> computers, but rather the adaptive devices like
> screen readers,
> >> notetakers,
> >> etc.  But there are always exceptions, it
> seems.  You'll want a powerful
> >> computer with quite a bit of ram and processing
> speed, as well as a
> >> decently
> >> sized hard drive.  As for OCR, if you're
> reasonably good with computers,
> >> look
> >> in to OmniPage, which is a mainstream OCR solution
> with excellent OCR
> >> accuracy.  I believe that it might be better
> than Kurzweil and OpenBook,
> >> and
> >> you should be able to get it for less than
> $200.  Be aware that OmniPage
> >> is
> >> not quite as easy to learn as OpenBook and
> Kurzweil, but if you are a
> >> decent
> >> computer user, you'll have little trouble with
> it.  As for the Braille
> >> display and notetaker, I would personally
> recommend a notetaker with
> >> Braille
> >> output, since it's very portable, and you can just
> open it and take notes
> >> immediately, rather than waiting for the laptop to
> boot up.  I'd get the
> >> notetaker before the Braille display, since most
> notetakers can act as
> >> Braille displays.  However, I don't think
> it's as convenient as a
> >> dedicated
> >> Braille display.  Maybe they'll get you
> both.  A Braille embosser would be
> >> nice, but they can be loud depending on the model,
> and that may be a
> >> problem
> >> in a dorm setting.  But if you really like
> using hard-copy Braille, then
> >> do
> >> try getting one.  It would be preferable than
> having to schedule time to
> >> use
> >> the university's.  Those are my thoughts.
> >> David
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On
> >> Behalf
> >> Of Jordyn Castor
> >> Sent: Sunday, April 24, 2011 7:09 PM
> >> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing
> list
> >> Subject: [nabs-l] Reasonable technology requests
> from Rehab and some other
> >> college questions
> >>
> >> Hi again guys!
> >> I'm going to college in the fall, as I already
> said yesterday.  This is
> >> why I have so many questions! I just want to be
> sure I'm doing
> >> everything right, and what better way to do this
> then asking other blind
> >> students? :) So, thanks for all your great advice
> on everything!
> >> My other question is, what are reasonable things
> to ask Rehab for in the
> >> way of technology?
> >> I'm thinking a laptop, 40 cell braille display,
> Window Eyes, and a
> >> printer scanner combo thinggy with software like
> OpenBook or Kurzweil.  I
> >> don't know if I'd get a notetaker though as these
> are super expensive.
> >> lol Any suggestions or other things you'd ask for?
> What are you all
> >> using as far as technology in college?
> >> My college also has a place where I can, I think,
> borrow technology like
> >> an embosser or Braille Display.  Should I use
> that rather than asking
> >> rehab for some of the things like the display and
> the printer? I think
> >> it would be awesome to have a printer in my dorm
> though lol!
> >> Oh, speaking of dorms, do most of you have a
> roommate or a single room?
> >> A lot of my blind friends seem to have single
> rooms because of the
> >> expensive technology, but, I want a roommate, I
> think.  lol Thoughts?
> >> Anyway, I'll stop rambling! :)
> >> Thanks again,
> >> Jordyn
> >>
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> >>
> >>
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> 
> 
> -- 
> Arielle Silverman
> President, National Association of Blind Students
> Phone:  602-502-2255
> Email:
> nabs.president at gmail.com
> Website:
> www.nabslink.org
> 
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