[nabs-l] Readers

[Sherry Pablo]

Hi Anna,

I am also a Biology major and had those exact same questions when I
went back to school after losing my sight. By this time, I was only
taking upper division science courses like Biochemistry, Immunology,
and Molecular Endocrinology, so I can relate to your needs of having a
reader who understands the material and can explain it well.

There were a few ways I found readers. Once, my DOR counselor referred
one to me who was vendorized with the state I live in. There were
times the volunteer notetaker in my class agreed to work with me every
couple of weeks to go over material I had questions on. Sometimes, I
would work with my classmates in a study group; this was usually
before a big exam. There were a couple of times that I was directed to
someone known by the DSS office who tutored someone in the past.
Another time, I posted a job listing on the student job website for my
school advertising for a science reader, listing the specific classes
and help I needed. Another great resource is your professor's office
hours if they have them. A couple of my professors would stay after
class to answer my questions.

Understanding the material as best as you can will help in managing
time with a reader, especially if they are being paid. I usually can't
do more than 3 hours with a reader at one time. I typically met with
someone twice a week, depending on the number of classes I was taking
and the difficulty of the material. Also, if you will be working with
someone throughout the semester, give them a copy of your syllabus if
they are not in the class so they know what topics you will be
covering each week. My reader liked to prepare a little by skimming
through her old notes or a textbook. And, always let them know what
goals you want to accomplish for that day's meeting.

Hope this helps,
Sherry



On 7/19/16, Laura via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I took Biology last year and used a biology major student to read. As I am
> a
> visual learner and did not always get what he was describing we went low
> tech sometimes and got out the legos or playdough, we used kits for some
> DNA
> and other sort of cell things that the dss office had, and reached out to
> the art  department, that has a 3-d printer to print some cells. All of
> this
> helped me to understand and grasp to concepts. I hope this is a help I know
> sometime we forget the low tech of learning  because of the bad old days of
> straws and cottonballs to demonstrate. But  we should not get stuck in the
> idea of technology as the be all answer. just keep learning and trying
> different things, and you will discover what works best for you and your
> learning style.
>
> Laura
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Anna via
> NABS-L
> Sent: Monday, July 18, 2016 7:18 PM
> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> Cc: annajee82 at gmail.com
> Subject: [nabs-l] Readers
>
> I'm just wondering about everyone's experiences with readers.  I've really
> only had two semesters in school since I went blind, and am still
> struggling
> to work out the whole reader thing.  I am a Biology major so the material
> of
> my classes is quite technical.
> I have struggled to find readers that are really good in explaining things.
> They are always people who have taken the class or a similar class I'm
> working on, cause otherwise they wouldn't even be able to describe or say a
> lot of the stuff they need to read.  I guess my question is where do you
> find the best readers, and how do you manage your time with them.
>
> Thanks,
>
>
> Anna E Givens
>
>
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