[nabs-l] Assignments with copy editing

[Sean Whalen]

Hi Ashley,

 

Yes, I understand what you are saying. I was thinking that you could have
the reader there to notate the corrections you want to make after you find
them by reading a Braille copy of the article. True though it may be that
you could cheat by accessing notes on your BrailleNote if you were reading
the article on its refreshable display, you could certainly also cheat, by
having access to all your notes, as well as nearly unlimited time to look
for errors in the article, if you took the article home ahead of time and
transcribed it yourself. You see what I mean?

 

On a tangentially related note, and not having anything to do with you in
particular, Ashley, it drives me crazy sometimes how much leeway is given to
blind students on exams, when the leeway clearly opens up the option of
cheating for a student. I don't know if many professors/alternative testing
administrators just assume that these sweet little blind kids would never
cheat on an exam, or what, but many many times in college, the only thing
that stopped me from cheating my ass off was my own sense of what was the
right thing to do. It amazes me how many students are allowed to use
notetakers and laptops (with internet connections), get copies of tests
ahead of time, or email in test answers well after the testing period is
over.

 

If we want our work to be viewed just like anybody else's, it is important
that our accommodations do not compromise the integrity of our work.

 

It seems to me that, given your completely reasonable request to have a
Braille version of the articles you are to edit, the onus is on the school
to find a way to provide them to you.

 

Having them talk to GMU or another local establishment with Braille
production capabilities seems like a good idea.

 

Good luck,

 

Sean