[nabs-l] Statistics Course

Sat Nov 12 17:49:15 UTC 2011

Hi all,
As I said, I have taken two undergraduate and two graduate statistics
courses. I agree that Braille textbooks are ideal, but I don't think
Braille is the only way to learn the material. In fact, due to
resource limitations at my university and some philosophical
disagreements I had with my DSS office, I never had a Braille stats
textbook, and I still did well in the course. For the first course I
used E-text, and for the second course I used a recorded book from
RFBD (now Learning Ally) on one of those old analog audiocassettes.
Believe it or not, I had a better experience with the audio textbook
than I did with the E-text, because some formulas and equations don't
read properly with JAWS, but the RFBD reader was great at reading
formulas and equations and describing diagrams. The secret when using
an audio textbook is to take detailed notes, preferably in Braille on
a slate or with a refreshable Braille notetaker like a Braille Note or
Pac Mate. Copy down all the formulas you hear verbatim, so you can
make yourself your own Braille equation book or file to study. Don't
worry about proper Nemeth code; the key is to write it down in a way
that makes sense to you, and that you can refer back to later. The
same notetaking method is invaluable to use in class. In
graduate-level stats, the textbook was optional and almost identical
to the lecture material. I had a PDF copy of the text, but never read
beyond the first chapter. (My sighted boyfriend didn't read the
textbook either, and got a better grade in the class than I did :).
I did my stats homework assignments on a regular computer in MS-Word,
but used my Braille Note as a notepad to copy down data sets and to
perform computations. Doing homework assignments on the Braille Note
itself is also an option, although making your answers legible to a
sighted grader requires some computer Braille knowledge, so I
preferred to write my answers on the computer.
Regarding an accessible stats calculator: again, I would recommend
www.graphpad.com/quickcalcs/index.cfm
It will do most introductory stat functions, is completely accessible,
and is Web-based, so it can be used on your personal computer without
having to purchase software. Despite the name, it is not graphical. In
fact, I learned about it when I was a TA for a research methods course
and my professor preferred teaching it rather than having our students
learn a software application. If you are about to enroll in stats, I
would suggest asking your professor if you can use Graphpad instead of
whatever software program the rest of the class is using. If you are
doing more advanced statistics work or analyzing your own data, you
may want to invest in a software program. Both SAS and R are
accessible, and R is free. (SPSS is more commonly used, but I have had
some accessibility issues with it myself and I have heard conflicting
things about whether newer versions are accessible). As a graduate
student I got my department to buy and renew my SAS license so I can
analyze my data, and I imagine most departments should be able to
provide this accommodation especially if you are on a graduate student
stipend.
Finally, regarding those pesky graphs and diagrams: In my experience,
graphs and diagrams are just one tool for understanding statistical
concepts. Statistics itself is not a graphical field; performing
statistical analyses requires the application of mathematical formulas
but not the interpretation of graphs. Stats is taught to sighted
students in a graphical way because this is the way many sighted
people prefer to learn, but it is just one way of communicating the
conceptual knowledge. Some blind students find the graphs helpful,
while other blind students prefer to focus on the formulas and the
mathematical side of things. Once you get beyond the first month of
the course, it is mostly about doing a calculation and seeing if the
number you get is greater than or less than another number you find in
a table (called the critical value). This is relatively
straightforward and requires no graphical information. By all means,
though, if you are having trouble following the course or think a
graph would be helpful, you should talk to your professor or teaching
assistant in their office hours, or hire a tutor. Most professors and
TA's would love to get more office-hour visits than they generally get
in a semester.
Again, I would be happy to talk one-on-one with anybody who is doing
statistics or social science research, or to present about techniques
for stats and research (including online and library research) at a
NABS conference call or breakout session. Some of this stuff is better
explained in person, but it is all important and relevant to most
blind college students at some point in your career.
Best,
Arielle

On 11/8/11, Marsha Drenth <marsha.drenth at gmail.com> wrote:
> I am currently enrolled in a statistics course. My college brailled the
> necessary parts of the book that I needed. I could have not done it without
> the book being brailled. So if I were to say the things that will make you
> successful in a statistics course, are: brailled book, accessible statistic
> calculater, and perhaps a tutor that can help you understand the graphics,
> diagrams and the like. I would say, you will need to push your college or
> university to Braille the book. Don't give up, because they will and can do
> it. Mine said they could not, but I made a good case in that it would help
> me understand the materials better.
>
> Good luck!
> Marsha
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Miranda Morse
> Sent: Tuesday, November 08, 2011 2:13 PM
> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nabs-l] Statistics Course
>
> Hi Everyone,
>
> For those of you have taken statistics, what is the best way to go about
> doing that?
>
> Should I get the book in braille, hire a reader, or has anyone successfully
> used a PDF format for this course.
>
> Miranda
>
>
>
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