[nabs-l] Help with Powerpoints and german Class

[Tristan Torres]

Hi all. I know some of you are starting classes today, and I hope that your first day of classes have gone well, or at least better than mine has. Mine involved a broken cane. Typical Monday, Eh? At any rate, I was wondering if any of you could give me some tips on how to gain the most out of a language class as a blind person. I am taking an introductory German course, and was wondering specifically if there were any blind people who took that. If not, that’s okay too. I have already asked a blind person I know, and he recommends i get a tutor to go over any materials that I might have missed, due to a combination of not knowing the language, and what can often times be a very visual class. Do you think this is a good idea? Also, my German professor, as well as all of my other professors tend to use powerpoint a lot in their lectures. They’re often posted on blackboard well before the class so that anyone can look at them and prepare for upcoming lectures. I know that powerpoint can be successfully read by a blind person using the right program, but I was wondering if there was a more streamlined and accessible alternative to a powerpoint? In the past i have just gone without relying on the powerpoints, but think it might be helpful if I end up missing a lecture, or in the case of german, needing to be prepared before the class starts. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Looking forward to hearing from you all. Tristan