[nabs-l] class notes

Thu Feb 27 00:51:36 UTC 2014

Arielle,

When I say it's fast paced, I'm referring to foreign language and math
classes. I'm taking statistics right now and my professor projects his
materials on the board using an old style overhead projector, which
means there's no power points or anything for him to send for me to
follow along. He also does a lot of math problems on the board where
he will verbalize formulas and numbers on my behalf. However, it's
extremely difficult for me to follow which numbers he is manipulating
with and which symbols he is using. With a note taker, they can take
down all that information for me so I can pay more attention to what
my professor is saying, instead of struggling to write down every
correct number. I want to add that I actually do take my own notes as
well, but they're more of the concepts that my professor is
verbalizing instead of the numbers. I've figured out this system for
myself through trial and error. I took a math class during freshman
year and I was taking my own notes and I did terribly on my first exam
because my notes weren't clear at all. DS provided me with a note
taker and I've done a lot better since then. With foreign language,
it's more an issue with learning how to spell the words and how they
fit together. I did fine with pronunciation and all that, but my
spelling was atrocious. Some people are going to say use the textbook,
but a lot of my professors rely more on their lectures than textbooks.
They never test materials from textbooks, only from lectures. Also,
you and other people have mentioned you like to take your own notes
because you want to deem what is and is not important, I am exactly
the same way, but there's not really a difference in opinion when
everything written is important.

Thanks,
minh

On 2/26/14, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Minh,
> When you say you need a notetaker because college is fast-paced, what
> does this really have to do with blindness? Why is it that a sighted
> notetaker can keep up better than you can? Or would you consider
> having another blind person be your notetaker?
> Is it that the sighted notetaker is copying stuff that stays up on the
> projector after it's been verbalized? Or is there something about the
> equipment you use that is slower than handwriting?
> I'm not trying to offend, just trying to better understand the situation.
>
> Arielle
>
> On 2/26/14, minh ha <minh.ha927 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I honestly don't like it when people say students "should" or "should
>> not" do something. I recognize that I am an individual and my learning
>> styles differ from that of other students and I am in no place to
>> judge others on the methods that they use to succeed. I'm sure that
>> there are blind students out there who only use note takers for taking
>> notes and still excel in their classes. Personally, I take my own
>> notes, but there are classes that I need someone else to take notes
>> for me such as foreign language and math because college is so fast
>> paced that if I were to take my own notes in these classes, I would
>> miss a ton of information. So I think students need to figure out what
>> works for them and stick to that, instead of doing what works for
>> someone else.
>>
>> Minh
>>
>> On 2/26/14, Kirt <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> I think there's a fair amount of research showing that people remember
>>> things more when we actually write them down and in my own life at least
>>> that seems to be very true. Therefore, one of the main things that makes
>>> notes most valuable is the actual act of writing. That being the case,
>>> it
>>> kind of boggles my mind how people who ostensibly want us to be
>>> academically
>>> successful Will, by paying people to pay attention for us, deprive us of
>>> one
>>> of the most effective means of facilitating that success. Of course I
>>> can
>>> see how there could be some specific exceptions, perhaps with attention
>>> disorders and learning disabilities, but I think, for most of us, taking
>>> our
>>> own notes gives us the best chance to succeed.
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>>> On Feb 26, 2014, at 3:56 PM, haley sumner <haleysumner at sbcglobal.net>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Hey everyone,
>>>> I am a junior in high school, and I, like the others, always take notes
>>>> during my teachers' lectures. Often, my teachers will send me their
>>>> powerpoint or outline that is being projected on the screen for the
>>>> other
>>>> students to see, so I will be able to follow along similar to my
>>>> classmates. If the teacher mentions something that is not included in
>>>> the
>>>> outline or PowerPoint, I will add this information as needed. Like
>>>> Sophie
>>>> said, taking notes definitely keeps me focused, for if I didn't do
>>>> this,
>>>> I
>>>> would easily get distracted and space off.
>>>> HTH, :)
>>>> Haley
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ------------------------------
>>>>> On Wed, Feb 26, 2014 2:36 PM PST Sophie Trist wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> I, too, take my notes using a braillenote. Someone said earlier that
>>>>> taking notes distracts them from a lecture. For me, the opposite is
>>>>> true.
>>>>> Taking notes keeps me focused. If I don't take notes, I sometimes
>>>>> space
>>>>> off and miss part of the lesson. What I do is, I take notes based on
>>>>> the
>>>>> teacher's lecture. Then, I read the chapter to reinforce the notes and
>>>>> cement my understanding of concepts I'm having trouble with.
>>>>>
>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>> From: Danielle Sykora <dsykora29 at gmail.com
>>>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>>>> Date sent: Wed, 26 Feb 2014 16:19:23 -0500
>>>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] class notes
>>>>>
>>>>> I am also a high school student and I take my own notes using a
>>>>> laptop. I believe that students should take their own notes as much as
>>>>> possible in order to develop the optimal understanding of a lesson.
>>>>>
>>>>> On 2/26/14, Lillie Pennington <lilliepennington at fuse.net> wrote:
>>>>> I'm in high school, but thought I would comment. Accept for math where
>>>>> my
>>>>> notes are brailled, I type my notes. If the teacher has an outline
>>>>> posted, I
>>>>> will use that. I was taught that having my notes done any other way
>>>>> was
>>>>> completely unacceptable.
>>>>>
>>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>>
>>>>> On Feb 26, 2014, at 3:44 PM, "Steve Jacobson" <steve.jacobson at visi.com
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Sorry, I cannot help commenting even though I have not been a student
>>>>> in
>>>>> a
>>>>> while.  We don't always know what other
>>>>> disabilities someone may have that might affect their abilities to,
>>>>> for
>>>>> example, multi-task, but learning to take
>>>>> notes is a skill that will benefit one for their entire lives on the
>>>>> job.
>>>>> One just isn't always going to have a
>>>>> scribe to take notes.  My guess is that for at least a while, it is
>>>>> not
>>>>> easy for sighted people to take notes and
>>>>> concentrate on lectures, either, but it is an ability that can be
>>>>> developed in most cases.  Having someone else
>>>>> take notes just means that one will need to develop this skill later,
>>>>> when
>>>>> getting your job done might be on the
>>>>> line rather than a grade.
>>>>>
>>>>> Best regards,
>>>>>
>>>>> Steve Jacobson
>>>>>
>>>>> On Wed, 26 Feb 2014 15:10:21 -0500, justin williams wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Except for a few instances, I have always taken my own notes; maybe 99
>>>>> percent of the time. That includes right now.  I use a lap top, but I
>>>>> have
>>>>> used a notetaker in the past.  Hand written notes must be typed in to
>>>>> a
>>>>> computer for you to do anything with them; probably in Microsoft word.
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kierra
>>>>> Davis
>>>>> Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2014 2:06 PM
>>>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>>>> Subject: [nabs-l] class notes
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Kierra Davis
>>>>> Hello All,
>>>>>
>>>>> Just a quick question.
>>>>>
>>>>> I want to know how do you get notes for your classes? Do you take them
>>>>> yourself? Do you have a note taker? Does the school pay them, or are
>>>>> they
>>>>> doing it out of kindness? If they are handwriting the notes, how do
>>>>> you
>>>>> get
>>>>> them into a format you can access?
>>>>>
>>>>> I know this is more than one question, but I just want to know how
>>>>> others
>>>>> are handling this situation.
>>>>>
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>>>>
>>>>
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>>
>>
>> --
>> "All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty
>> recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity:
>> but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on
>> their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible." T. E. Lawrence
>>
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>
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-- 
"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty
recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity:
but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on
their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible." T. E. Lawrence