[nabs-l] scanning books in Kurzweil was re: school is not accomodating

[Arielle Silverman]

You can scan books with it, one page at a time.
Arielle

On 1/21/12, Chris Nusbaum <dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Bridgit and everyone,
>
> Is there a way to scan books with Kurzweil? I thought you have to
> scan page-by-page with Kurzweil, but I have heard people on this
> list saying that they can scan books with it.  How do you do
> that?
> Thanks,
>
> Chris
>
> "The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight.  The
> real problem is the misunderstanding and lack of education that
> exists.  If a blind person has the proper training and
> opportunity, blindness can be reduced to a mere physical
> nuisance."
> -- Kenneth Jernigan
>
>  ----- Original Message -----
> From: Bridgit Pollpeter <bpollpeter at hotmail.com
> To: <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> Date sent: Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:56:57 -0600
> Subject: [nabs-l] School is not accomodating
>
> I have been very fortunate with my university experience because
> I
> didn't not have to deal with the issues I have read many others
> have had
> to face.  I'm no expert, but I believe universities and colleges
> must
> supply reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities
> which
> would include accessible formats for textbooks in a reasonable
> amount of
> time.  My campus DSO required all registered DSO students to
> contact
> instructors before each term with book info so the DSO staff
> could work
> on finding accessible formats and scanning material if necessary.
> Along
> with grad and honor students, students with disabilities on my
> campus
> qualified for early registration too which helped with the entire
> process.  And I also have Kurzweil at home so I have the ability
> to scan
> things at my own leisure.  My DSO also outsourced for Braille,
> but it was
> an option and it was done in a timely fashion.  I agree with
> others that
> you, Ashley, need to speak with your local agency for the blind
> along
> with your DSO, and it may be helpful to request advocacy help
> from any
> local Federation presence available.  I'm not sure of all your
> rights
> involved here, but I believe your DSO may not be working with you
> the
> way in which it should.
>
> The JAWS problem is a tough one as well.  Nowadays, laptops are
> quite
> light so "lugging" one around isn't all that bad.  I started
> using a
> Netbook for my last two years of university and loved it.  It
> weighs less
> than two pounds and works for what I need.  I can access the
> internet and
> use MS Office.  And of course JAWS was installed on it.  The
> keyboard is
> condensed and some of the keys are placed differently than a
> regular
> keyboard, but any laptop is laid out like this, and you adjust
> pretty
> quickly to the smaller keys if you use the Netbook enough, which
> if a
> student, I imagine you would.  A Netbook is just one option
> though.  I've
> not had problems with my Netbook.  If your DSO is not able to
> provide
> JAWS in a way that works for you, I suggest you have your own
> laptop.
>
> As for Braille signs, yes, Braille signs should be placed around
> buildings for blind people just as ramps and accessible bathroom
> stalls
> are suppose to exist for those in wheelchairs.  However, as long
> as room
> numbers and what office a door is, such as DSO or Registrar,
> that's all
> that's necessary.  Including instructors name on doors isn't
> practical
> for rooms at large as multiple instructors will use the same
> rooms, and
> for instructor offices, their office number should be made
> available to
> students on syllabi and by asking an instructor for it, or
> calling
> campus for it.  So I don't find it necessary to also place a name
> on a
> door if you have the number, and instructors don't always end up
> in the
> same office areas all the time, though typically they remain in a
> given
> office during their term as an instructor.  At my university,
> most
> instructor offices were large areas containing multiple rooms
> within one
> are for particular instructors such as all history profs.  In the
> same
> area.  So say room 140  will then hold multiple rooms within it
> so say my
> profs.  Room is 140 E.  These areas would have a receptionist
> working in
> the outer area.  Anyway, as long as you know where their office
> is
> located, you shouldn't also require a name along with the room
> number.
>
> Finally, the world is not set up for easy navigation- blind or
> sighted.
> Infrastructures, buildings, homes, neighborhoods, they're not
> always
> constructed for easy navigation.  As blind people, we need to
> understand
> and realize this.  We will encounter situations like this through
> life so
> we can't expect anyone to follow a certain way of designing space
> just
> for one purpose.  Fair or not, this is life.  I do not believe
> there are
> any ADA guidelines requiring buildings to have "easy" navigation
> for
> blind people, and I don't believe this is necessary.  If you are
> uncomfortable navigating a space, request help from an O & M
> instructor
> or perhaps a friend who is also blind who has good travel skills
> to
> help.  This is a touchy subject, I know, but the interior design
> of a
> building is not something a DSO or anyone needs to consider in
> terms of
> accessibility.  Again, fair or not, this is how it is.  I do not
> claim to
> be the best traveler, nor did I when sighted, but I do know that
> we
> can't complain about how buildings are structured just because we
> are
> blind.  We must take the initiative to learn areas we frequent,
> and seek
> the best travel instruction possible.  It can be an adjustment,
> and like
> anything, some will take to it quicker than others, but when we
> have no
> true mobility issue, meaning we have full use of our legs, there
> really
> is no reason we can't learn to navigate space independently and
> efficiently even in areas not designed with blind people in mind.
> No DSO
> is required to find a space "easy" to navigate when it comes to
> the
> services it offers.  This is something you and perhaps your rehab
> agency
> need to discuss.
>
> Sincerely,
> Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
> Read my blog at:
> http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
>
> "History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
> The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan
>
>
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