[nabs-l] Question about Readers

Mon Oct 10 03:15:49 UTC 2016

Yes, you should have the option to get the book in word if you  would
prefer it that way. Just because Tom may prefer pdf's doesn't mean
that you have too. They just have to break it down for JAWS purposes.

On 10/9/16, Vejas via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Thank you so much for this information.
> A couple more questions for Kaiti or anyone else. My DSS seems to be very
> firm about PDF's, but I will talk to them and I know  I am only their second
> blind student, so they are just going off of what he said. I like the idea
> of Word or Plain Text, do you know if any particular  software is required
> for them to do this? Also is there a particular law  that allows me to have
> books in any format that I can use in case there is resistance?
> Vejas
>
>> On Oct 9, 2016, at 17:08, Kaiti Shelton via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Vejas,
>>
>> Based on my university disability services experiences thus far, here
>> is what I think.  You should be able to request the book in a format
>> that is accessible to you.  If they only are offering you PDFs which,
>> let's face it, aren't the most accessible thing out there, they should
>> at least offer you the option of getting your books in word or plain
>> text format.  My university allows students to choose between these
>> three formats for print materials, with the recommendation being that
>> PDF documents be used by students with learning disabilities since
>> they preserve the format the best, and that screenreader users use
>> either word or plain text.  If they give you a book in a format that
>> isn't working due to accessibility problems for you, you should be
>> able to ask them to change it so it is accessible.  In any case, they
>> should be proofreading the materials.  I don't personally mind a typo
>> here or there, but if there are tons of typos I do ask the disability
>> services to review the book and make corrections.  If they are
>> hurrying through it to get the book done quickly you can also ask them
>> to just give you the first few chapters so they can focus on doing
>> those well, then work on later chapters ahead of time as the semester
>> progresses.  AS long as they have a copy of your syllabi they should
>> be able to do this, and it hasn't been an issue when they've needed to
>> give me my books in chunks before.
>>
>> For readers, one thing I'd recommend is asking to meet with the
>> potential hire during the hiring process if the disability services
>> office helps you find a reader.  I know at least at my university we
>> have a lot of foreign students who go for the jobs in learning
>> services, but that can sometimes cause issues due to language
>> barriers.  I'm not advocating that you resist working with a foreign
>> student, just make sure you can understand them and they have a fairly
>> fluent knowledge of the English language and the words they might
>> encounter in the readings.  I had some issues with a DSO-hired lab
>> assistant from Saudi Arabia, and although he was really helpful and
>> did his best most of the time the language differences made
>> communicating about anatomy terminology difficult because he wasn't
>> fully confident in English, let alone with latin terms that were also
>> new to me that I needed to learn propper pronunciations for.
>>
>> Other than that, I'd definitely also make sure the person you
>> eventually work with is okay with you recording them.  It's nice to
>> have lectures on file, but you would definitely want to make sure
>> they're okay and give consent as recording someone without their
>> knowledge or approval isn't fair (or technically legal and some people
>> are very uptight about that).  I don't see why you couldn't take notes
>> as the reader reads to you like you would during a lecture with a
>> professor in class, but you should always feel free to ask readers for
>> spellings of unfamiliar words, for information in footnotes, etc.
>> HTH.
>>
>>> On 10/8/16, LaKeria Taylor via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> Actually, I would take the book back and make them fix it everytime it
>>> has errors. It is their job. I would not use a reader just to read a
>>> book unless it was completely visual, which one of the stories in my
>>> literature book is.
>>>
>>>> On 10/8/16, David Andrews via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>> If you are going to use a human reader then use the book itself. The
>>>> only reason to scan a book is to produce an electronic copy. And yes,
>>>> hopefully that copy is accurate.
>>>>
>>>> Dave
>>>>
>>>> At 08:24 PM 10/6/2016, you wrote:
>>>>> Hi All,
>>>>> I was wondering if any of you have used readers to read a chapter
>>>>> from a textbook, and how exactly you would go about this process.
>>>>> Although I have the textbook I need, it has been scanned by
>>>>> Disability Services and there are tons of errors, making some parts
>>>>> confusing to read.
>>>>> Do you just tell the reader when to stop so that you can take notes
>>>>> on a particular topic?
>>>>> Would it be appropriate to ask my disability services office to
>>>>> check for spelling/accuracy, or is that not really their place?
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>> Vejas
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> NABS-L mailing list
>>>> NABS-L at nfbnet.org
>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>>> NABS-L:
>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/lakeria2009%40gmail.com
>>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> NABS-L mailing list
>>> NABS-L at nfbnet.org
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>> NABS-L:
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/crazy4clarinet104%40gmail.com
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Kaiti Shelton
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> NABS-L mailing list
>> NABS-L at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> NABS-L:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/alpineimagination%40gmail.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> NABS-L mailing list
> NABS-L at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> NABS-L:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/lakeria2009%40gmail.com
>