[nabs-l] Consultation regarding an Academic Mission Needed

[Tony Olivero]

Hamid,

I have to agree with what has been said previously. I do not believe
that we are inherrantly slower in computer studies subjects. in fact,
if you were to consult the National Federation of the blind in
computer Science (a division of the NFB), you would find a number of
folks there who have competed on par with their sighted counterparts.
What makes the difference is the alternative techniques of blindness
we use to accomplish the assignments. While my experiences are in
undergraduate coursework, I believe they are still relevant and may
give you some things to think about when considering how you want to
proceed.

In 2001 I entered into a computer science program at Winona State
University in Minnesota. At the time, I was primarily using
magnification software to use my computer and a combination of
scanning and an electronic video magnifier to read materials. I will
point out that I knew of screen reading software like JAWS, and could
even use it, but I was still laboring under the impression that
magnifying my computer screen to nine times it's normal size was
faster and more efficient. It didn't take long before my grades caught
up with me and gave my ego a thorough beating. It became clear to me,
in the form of an academic suspension letter, that I was not in a
place where I could be an effective, officient, or competetive college
student.

In the following years, I realized that I needed to get over my
hangups and use the alternative techniques of blindness in order to be
a productive person. In the winter of 2010 i reentered a college
undergraduate program. now that I am relying on screen reading
technology, electronic versions of text, and occasionally brailled
materials, I am having a much more successful experience. I am also
more willing to learn the material when I have methods of taking it in
that do not leave me frustrated and exhausted (especially helpful when
one is also working full time :)).

I understand that you are not a braille user, but I would strongly
urge you to consider learning to use a speech output program instead
of relying on magnification. I think you will, after a little
adjustment time, come to find it is a more efficient, pleasant, and
productive experience. While I personally cannot speak to any
experiences at an NFB training center, others on this list can.
Adjustment to blindness training may be something you would find
benefitial too. Taking a little time now to learn these techniques,
and then entering your graduate program, will likely leave you in a
place where you feel more comfortable with yourself, and your ability
to complete your assignments. I know that if I hadn't taken the time
to perfect my use of nonvisual technology, I would not be effective at
either my job, or my academic studies.

I'm glad to see you have come to the NFB and NABS to ask quesstions.
This organization is all about mentoring others and passing along or
experiences in the hopes that you may learn from them, and yes even
from our mistakes. Is there a chance you will be attending our
national convention in dallas this year? If you have the opportunity
you will be able to interact with many folks who are in computer
related fields and can draw upon their wisdom as well.

I hope my thoughts have given you something to consider. please don't
hesitate to ask any further questions you may have.

Regards,
Tony

On 6/2/12, Joshua Lester <jlester8462 at students.pccua.edu> wrote:
> What about contacting these guys, to get your books in Braille, if
> that's what you prefer?
> http://www.mbvol.org
> Just wondering!
> Joshua
>
> On 6/2/12, Ashley Bramlett <bookwormahb at earthlink.net> wrote:
>> Hamid,
>> I'll start by saying  that I graduated from Marymount university, a
>> private
>> liberal arts school, a few years ago. I combined studies for a degree as
>> I
>> did not feel I could handle a full degree in psychology. At the time the
>> stats software, SPSS, was not accessible and I would have faced other
>> barriers. My degree was in liberal studies with focus in communication
>> and
>> psychology.
>> School is challenging at the post secondary level because you do not have
>> access to braille. In public school my Teacher of the vision impaired,
>> TVI,
>> obtained my books in accessible format either audio, braille or large
>> print
>> or a combo of those as well as brailled any handouts the class received.
>> Therefore when my sighted classmates got a worksheet, so did I and I did
>> not
>> have to wait for alternative forms of texts as I did in college. I did
>> despite requesting electronic formats way in advance of my classes!
>> I'm also not too active in NFB so my opinion may differ from others. I
>> know
>> we want to present a positive image, but IMO we may have to take it
>> slowly
>> at the beginning while adjusting to a new school, new major, and new ways
>> of
>> doing things.
>>
>> Anyway, that said, I wish you success in your
>> computer science studies. You might want to do two classes your first
>> semester. Where will you be studying? What country do you
>> come
>> from and were you educated there in a mainstream class or school for the
>> blind? Do you mind sharing what your vision impairment is? Its obvious
>> your
>> vision loss is new and I'm guessing probably a gradual loss. Maybe you
>> have
>> RP, retinitinis pigmentosa. I'm visually impaired too, so I  know the
>> benefits of seeing things where spatial relationships are involved.
>> However,
>> I also was taught braille and use that as my primary medium and print my
>> secondary one for reading.
>> I think by seeing something like say geometry figures or a diagram of the
>> heart, I can better picture it than if I learned it just by a
>> description.
>> So, for some of us vision impaired people, using it is effective and we
>> do
>> not have to use all nonvisual ways. Because you cannot read braille
>> effectively, I think using your vision may help a lot provided you can
>> see
>> large print well without fatigue.
>> BTW, you might be able to use jumbo braille a little bit even though you
>> have hand trimmers.
>>
>> I do not know computer science or math majors so my advice may be more
>> general and I'm imagining what might be useful to you
>> in this program of study based on the little I know of CS.
>>
>> You are right that getting special equipment will help your studies a
>> lot.
>> I use adaptive equipment all the time. For instance, I love my braille
>> note,
>> a portable PDA from humanware. In the US, we have a service that records
>> books on CD and digital form. It
>> is Learning Ally www.learningally.org.
>> I do not know if they provide service to study abroad students, but you
>> might check on that. Learning ally may have your textbooks in their
>> library.
>> If you choose to use them, you might want to buy a VR Stream and you can
>> use
>> an sd card to play their books. You could also buy a vr stratus which
>> plays
>> daisy cds. Both are available from humanware.
>>
>> These are some other ideas here. I know you will need a way to draw
>> things
>> in your CS studies. They use a lot of flow charts and also if you study
>> computer programming that has a lot of visual stuff too.
>> You already know about freedom scientific because you use jaws and
>> openbook.
>> If you tell us how you plan to read your books and take notes I might
>> have
>> more suggestions.
>>
>> Let me know if you need or want to know where to purchase these. The
>> first
>> four items are available from APH, American printing house for the blind.
>> Click on products and then low vision reading and writing to find these.
>>
>> 1. bold line paper or bold line notebook; these lines are easier to see
>> than
>> standard loose leaf paper.
>> 2. writing guides; these are templates which you slide a paper into and
>> write between the boxes of the template; good for writing straight if you
>> do
>> not have lined paper.
>> 3. large print ruler
>> 4. bold lined graph paper; might help as you draw concepts or if you take
>> math classes
>> 5. a CCTV, it’s a magnifier that you put a paper or book underneath it
>> and
>> it magnifies print on the screen
>> 6. a digital recorder
>>
>> Other tools for writing or drawing diagrams you can get at general
>> stores.
>> You could use Mr. Sketch markers some. They are multi clored and good for
>> drawing contrasting lines. You might also use graphic art tape, which is
>> in
>> red and black, so you could see and touch the lines if you used both
>> colors.
>> Crayola also makes some thick markers you might also be able to see well
>> and
>> find useful.
>>
>> Good luck.
>>
>> Ashley
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Hamid Hamraz
>> Sent: Saturday, June 02, 2012 5:54 AM
>> To: Blind Math ; National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>> Subject: [nabs-l] Consultation regarding an Academic Mission Needed
>>
>> Dear all,
>>
>> I am going to start a computer science graduate program in US in the
>> upcoming fall. However, this is my first academic mission after I got
>> visually impaired. The standard load for a semester would be 3 graduate
>> courses. On the other hand, as you know, we blinds and VI folks are
>> remarkably slower in CS-related assignments like math, programming, etc.
>>
>> Now, I greatly appreciate it if experienced people in the list offer me
>> suggestions regarding the course load, etc. Besides, I should order
>> VI-related equipment for my workplace well in advance. So far I've
>> thought
>> about these:
>>
>> 1. A large LCD (+25 inch)
>> 2. Headphone
>> 3. Scanner
>> 4. Printer
>> 5. Whiteboard (on which I can read single letters and digits or very
>> large
>> figures/diagrams)
>> 6. Software (JAWS and Open Book to which I am very well accustomed)
>> 7. An ergonomic keyboard with many extra function keys
>>
>> Please note that I can not read Braille effectively (mostly because of
>> some
>> very little tremor in my hands and fingers).
>>
>> If anybody has some other things to add to the list, I'd be glad to hear.
>>
>> Look forward to hearing back both your academic and non-academic advices.
>>
>> Many thanks,
>>
>> Hamid
>> _______________________________________________
>> nabs-l mailing list
>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> nabs-l:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/bookwormahb%40earthlink.net
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nabs-l mailing list
>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> nabs-l:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/jlester8462%40students.pccua.edu
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nabs-l mailing list
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nabs-l:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/anthony%40olivero.us
>