[nabs-l] Efficiency and Productivity

Fri Aug 22 20:55:13 UTC 2014

Thanks for the suggestions and the encouragement, everyone. I am sure
most of the suggestions that you guys have given will be immensely
helpful.
I'm pasting below the text of the mail that I sent in response to
Arielle's query which, unfortunately, only went to her:
Arielle, I am using JAWS 15 on a Windows 7 machine, so the technology
is fairly up to date. Some problems are with regard to specific
features such as
reading comments, footnotes and using track changes in Word; finding
text and reading comments in PDF documents; preparing long PPT
presentations with
graphs and charts; using the internal applications designed by my firm
which are almost always partly inaccessible, etc.
Even otherwise, I take a lot more time than my sighted  colleagues for
reading long 50-100 page documents.

Cheers,
Rahul

On 23/08/2014, Cindy Bennett via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi Rahul,
>
> I think your list of challenges may have just gone to Arielle. Would
> you mind sending them to the list? I think she gave some great
> solutions though. As for speed of JAWS, I gradually increased mine 5
> points and then waited a couple of weeks and then increased it again.
> I do slow it down 10 points when I am reading textbooks or other heavy
> material.
>
> Cindy
>
> On 8/22/14, Arielle Silverman via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Also, if you use Gmail, you can send a PDF to yourself as an
>> attachment, then click "view attachment as HTML". You'll get an HTML
>> version that is very easy to navigate with JAWS.
>> Arielle
>>
>> On 8/22/14, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Hi Rahul,
>>> Thanks for clarifying. I have a few quick suggestions and others may
>>> have
>>> more.
>>> 1. Try increasing the speech rate of JAWS by opening the JAWS program
>>> and pressing Alt to get into the basic menus. Increasing the speed
>>> should make reading line by line go faster. You don't want it to be so
>>> fast that you can't understand, but just try increasing by 5 or 10%.
>>> 2. I suggest partnering with a sighted colleague, if possible, to work
>>> on the PowerPoint charts and any inaccessible software. You can still
>>> do the majority of the thinking, but just utilize the sighted person's
>>> efficiency with the mouse-clicking in those situations. There is
>>> nothing wrong with using a reader, hired or otherwise.
>>> 3. To quickly read Track Changes comments, use control-shift-apostrophe.
>>> 4. Sometimes it's necessary to ask your employer if you can use a
>>> different program to do the work; for example reading a file in Word
>>> instead of in PDF format.
>>>
>>> Good luck and congrats on the internship!
>>> Arielle
>>>
>>> On 8/22/14, Derek Manners via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>> Hello, I can definitely understand how you feel. I think there are
>>>> three
>>>> things I'd keep in mind.
>>>>
>>>> 1. Any new job takes time to get in a rhythm where you are getting
>>>> things
>>>> done quickly.
>>>> 2. Practice makes perfect, just as any job takes time to learn, so does
>>>> using assistive tech.
>>>> 3. It's perfectly fine work at your own pace. Your goal should be to do
>>>> the
>>>> best you can under the circumstances and just look for ways to do
>>>> better.
>>>> I
>>>> work faster/hard than some of my sighted colleagues and I work
>>>> slower/less
>>>> hard than others.  The main thing employers want to see is improvement
>>>> and
>>>> a
>>>> good attitude.
>>>>
>>>> Best
>>>> Derek
>>>>
>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>
>>>>> On Aug 22, 2014, at 3:19 PM, Rahul Bajaj via nabs-l
>>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi all,
>>>>>
>>>>> I often find it hard to maintain the same level of productivity as my
>>>>> sighted colleagues. I guess this can primarily be attributed to the
>>>>> fact
>>>>> that I have so far been merely a casual user of assistive technology
>>>>> which
>>>>> is perhaps why I am not able to use it as expeditiously as I should be
>>>>> able to in a professional setting.
>>>>> That being said, my uniform experience has taught me that jaws is
>>>>> often
>>>>> unresponsive and unreliable. This makes it virtually impossible to
>>>>> work
>>>>> with the same level of efficiency as a sighted person.
>>>>> Most blind students get double the time that their sighted
>>>>> counterparts
>>>>> get for writing exams. However, this is not really a feasible option
>>>>> in
>>>>> the private sector where you are not only required to do your work
>>>>> well
>>>>> but are also expected to complete your tasks expeditiously.
>>>>> My inability to meet the latter requirement has often been a source of
>>>>> frustration for me during my internships. My employers have never
>>>>> raised
>>>>> any objections about my inability to complete the same amount of work
>>>>> as
>>>>> my sighted counterparts within a given time period. I guess this is
>>>>> reflective of the low expectations that society has from blind people.
>>>>> Be that as it may, this has greatly reduced my job satisfaction and
>>>>> has
>>>>> been a major cause of concern.
>>>>> I'd like to know what you guys think about this. Has anyone here had a
>>>>> similar experience?
>>>>> What strategies would you recommend for effectively grappling with
>>>>> this
>>>>> challenge?
>>>>>
>>>>> Best,
>>>>> Rahul
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
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>
>
> --
> Cindy Bennett
> Treasurer of the Greater Seattle Chapter and of the National
> Federation of the Blind of Washington
> Affiliates of the National Federation of the Blind
>
> clb5590 at gmail.com
>
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