[nabs-l] Is It just Me: Academic Challenges

Tue Jul 19 20:03:03 UTC 2016

Jameyanne,

I think one of my biggest issues time consumer or whatever you want to call it is that I have not been using jaws for the past six years. I've also been out of the educational environment for 13 years. When I did use JAWS, I knew the basics but not a lot of the advanced commands. I also have not been a lifelong braille reader. I don't really know a lot of the symbols for things other than words and some punctuation. I don't know a lot of the markup language for links lists or whatever identifiers they use to indicate things within a grade 2 braille document. I am one of those visually impaired visual learners. That is why braille helps me understand it and remember it better. I wish I knew some practice techniques to build speed and accuracy.  

Aimee

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jul 18, 2016, at 10:14 PM, Jameyanne Fuller via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Amy,
> I haven't started law school, butt I volunteered for the NH disabilities rights center this past year, and they showed me how to use Westlaw and how to do footnote citations. I found footnotes worked pretty well with JAWS in MS Word, and I didn't have any trouble using the Westlaw website on my laptop. Then again, I wasn't doing very complicated stuff, so I might not have the full picture.
> Jameyanne
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Aimee Harwood via NABS-L
> Sent: Monday, July 18, 2016 9:49 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Aimee Harwood <awildheir at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Is It just Me: Academic Challenges
> 
> Hello Ashly.  I will agree with you on the extra time and fewer credits.  I wish those who take full credits and or double major would write a book on their process.  I would love to be able to do that.  
> 
> As far as research goes, I am in law school and I use the iPad version of lexis nexus and WestLaw which are pretty accessible.  Blue book citations can be fun.  I have not been required to use footnotes as of yet.  Footnotes will happen in the spring. Aimee  
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Jul 18, 2016, at 5:50 PM, Ashley Bramlett via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Jameyanne,
>> 
>> I agree. You said it nicely to summarize the challenges of research. I also found all that to be the case. I know some NFbers are against extended time, but   I find it necessary to do well. I use extended time on exams. For assignments, I sometimes get extentions particulary for research.
>> 
>> For research, databases are a mixed bag. Yes, jstor is fairly usable but the pdfs are usually scanned images.
>> I have had the same difficulty citing sources because I don't always know the page numbers since that does not scan well or if I use a reader, the reader forgets to announce pages.
>> I also take extra time in the library finding print material such as books.
>> 
>> Time management is a good thing to master. For me, I did my homework and reading late afternoon and evening. II t also depended on my reader's schedule. Typically, my readers were available at 3:30 or later. Often, I'd use a reader right before dinner or right after dinner at 7:30.
>> Like some of you, I also threw my energy into academics and neglected sleep.
>> 
>> Great discussion. I always took less credits than most students and took longer in college. I thought I was the only one though as many blind students here take 18 credits and double major.
>> 
>> So, yes its challenging but you have to find what works for you.
>> 
>> Ashley
>> -----Original Message----- From: Jameyanne Fuller via NABS-L
>> Sent: Monday, July 18, 2016 4:33 PM
>> To: 'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'
>> Cc: Jameyanne Fuller
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Is It just Me: Academic Challenges
>> 
>> My answer is also yes and no. I find I can search within a textbook or
>> article faster because I can use a search function to find exactly what I'm
>> looking for. On the other hand, I've also found that I take in and remember
>> information better if I read it in Braille than if I listen to it using
>> JAWS or the speech on my BrailleNote. It's faster to listen, but I
>> inevitably lose focus or fall asleep. Like Cricket, sleep is always like my
>> last priority, which is a bad idea. On the other hand, I don't read Braille
>> quite as fast as my sighted peers read print, so sometimes listening
>> becomes the only option if I want to keep up. One solution I've come up
>> with is to have something to do with my hands while I'm listening to an
>> article or textbook. I make gimp lanyards, fiddle with a puzzle, draw with
>> my tactile drawing board, knit, wander around cleaning up my room and
>> folding laundry and such. It's not a perfect solution, but it helps.
>> In terms of research, I think that definitely takes me more time,
>> especially since I need assistance finding books in the library and then
>> have to wait for the disabilities services office to scan them. Databases
>> can be a mixed bag. I've found JSTOR to be pretty accessible.
>> One problem I've had a lot is the lack of page numbers in scanned documents
>> or even page numbers in strange places so I could never tell what was on
>> which page and it was never consistent across the scanned documents from
>> disabilities services. I usually figured it out for each book and made sure
>> to make my professors aware of the problem so they wouldn't take points off
>> if my intext citations cited the wrong page or so they would give me a
>> phrase to find in the book rather than a page number when discussing things
>> in class.
>> Take all of this with a grain of salt, because I was last in school two
>> years ago, and things might be different for me when I start up again this
>> fall.
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Karl Martin
>> Adam via NABS-L
>> Sent: Monday, July 18, 2016 3:55 PM
>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Karl Martin Adam <kmaent1 at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Is It just Me: Academic Challenges
>> 
>> Well, the answer to this is yes and no.  I find that I read significantly
>> faster than cited people because my text to speech set to the top speed is
>> faster than they can read, and it's significantly easier for me to find
>> things in the book because I can search while they have to flip through
>> their paper copy.
>> Doing research on the other hand is much more time consuming for me because
>> of the difficulty of using databases and because of the inaccessibility of
>> print books in the library that sighted students can use.  I also have
>> usually needed a sighted person's help getting my papers correctly
>> formatted so everything looks right on the page.
>> 
>> HTH,
>> Karl
>> 
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Christina Moore via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> Date sent: Mon, 18 Jul 2016 15:21:59 -0400
>> Subject: [nabs-l] Is It just Me: Academic Challenges
>> 
>> Hello Everyone,
>> 
>> I am wondering if it is just me or do other blind people have challenges
>> academically that are due to their blindness.
>> Does anyone else find it challenging to search for information in a
>> textbook? Do you feel it takes longer for you to complete assignments
>> because it takes you longer to read information that is given to you
>> utilizing text-to-speech software? Does anyone else find it challenging to
>> take online tests/exams in the allotted time?
>> I know that is quite a few questions but I?셫 wondering if it is just me or
>> if other people have these experiences.
>> What do you do to manage your assignments, papers and research
>> articles/information?
>> Thanks for any and all responses.
>> Christina
>> P.S. If I am set to no mail will I receive the responses to this question
>> since I posted it?
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