[nabs-l] Questions About Connect Math and Math Reader

Sun Jan 22 19:43:56 UTC 2017

Hello Vejas,

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my message. The suggestions you offer in this email sound like good ideas. Unfortunately, since I was not able to find a way to gain access to the course materials for my math class before the drop deadline last weekend, I felt like I had no other choice but to drop my math class. I simply cannot afford to take a class if I am not able to pass it, and the disabilities office was not willing to work with me so I could receive the accommodations I needed for this particular class.

I really like the idea of the disabilities office asking the various departments to find readers. This sounds like a good policy. However, my college does not do this. Instead, they hire their own readers by advertising their positions in the same manner as any other student job on campus.

I also like the idea of finding and using my own readers. However, I am currently not in a position to be able to pay readers out of my own pocket. And I simply did not have enough time to advertise and hire a volunteer reader before the drop deadline last weekend. And even if I could have found a volunteer reader for this class, I still would have needed to convince the disabilities office to let me use this reader, especially for tests and exams. Since the disabilities office was rather adamant that the person they provided me was the one and only reader I could use for this class, I was not quite sure how well I would have been able to successfully argue for the use of my own reader for this class.

Anyway, I appreciate your suggestions. I wish I could have been able to apply these suggestions to my situation. Instead, I felt like I had no other choice but to drop my math class this semester, and since the disabilities office does not appear to want to work with me, I am not completely sure what to do to complete my math requirement for my degree.

Thanks,
Elizabeth

-----Original Message-----
From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Vejas Vasiliauskas via NABS-L
Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2017 9:53 AM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Vejas Vasiliauskas <alpineimagination at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Questions About Connect Math and Math Reader

Hi Elizabeth,
I'm going to be starting my math course today.
I can't assist you with Math-Connect, as I have never had experience it.
As for your reader question: in my disability services office, although I have not yet had experience with my reader, they pick by department.  So for example if it ever came down to me needing a reader in Spanish, they would go to the Spanish d"partment, meaning that they would get someone who is familiar with the language.  If I for some reason will not work well with a particular reader, then I would try another one.  Have your disability services told you if their system works similarly?
Your Disability Services sounds unsupportive, and finding a reader off them may not be the best course of action.  You could also try asking around.  You could write up some flyers and put them all over the school, and then you could interview them.
As an aside, if you do decide to try to get a reader with DSS, be prepared for them to ask you on the spot before meeting the reader what time you will want to work with the reader (which I can appreciate that, given all other classes and activities, can be difficult to know initially) Vejas

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Elizabeth Mohnke via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org Date sent: Thu, 12 Jan 2017 13:19:36 +0000
Subject: [nabs-l] Questions About Connect Math and Math Reader

Hello All,

I currently do not have the time to go into too much detail regarding my situation.  However, I have a few questions about being able to gain access to the course materials used for my math class.

First, does anyone know if there is any way to be able to gain access to the Connect Math online platform using either JAWS or NVDA? I have tried using JAWS on an older desktop computer I have at home, and the website was pretty much useless to me.  However, I know my computer is a bit old, and so this may be part of my problem.  I have not had the chance to try Connect Math on the few computers on campus that have JAWS installed on them to see if it works on the computers on campus.  I have not had a chance to test the Connect Math website with NVDA, but this would be an option for me as well.

However, I have been told that the Connect Math online platform is not accessible using a screen reader.  So I am not quite sure how effective it is for me to find a screen reader to use with this platform.  The last time I took a math class, I used a reader for my class.  Since this worked well for me before, I thought it would work well for me  again.  However, when I used a reader in the past, the reader had a lot of experience working as a reader, and was fluent and  efficient in being able to read and write the math material for me.

However, that was quite some time ago, and things have changed a bit since then.  The current reader I have been given for my math class by the disabilities office is a new reader.  In addition, she has not taken the math class I am currently trying to take, and stated that she is not good at math when I was trying to work with her during my first class period the other day.

When I tried explaining to the disabilities office the importance of having a math reader who is knowledgeable and fluent in math, they made the assumption that I was expecting my reader to be able to explain things to me as a tutor.  However, this is not what I am expecting from my reader.  I simply want someone who can read and write the course material in a smooth efficient manner as my time working with this person is limited to a certain amount of time.  However, the people in the disabilities office could not and did not appear to want to understand why this would be important to me.

My meeting with the disabilities office turned into a rather rude and hostile meeting where I was told that I had absolutely no say in whether or not the reader that was assigned to work with me was efficient and effective in providing me with equal access to the course material.  It felt as though they were simply dictating what accommodations I could use and that would work best for me while personally attacking me and accusing me of making accusations that had absolutely nothing to do with my accommodations.  It felt as though they were not interested in listening to me or help me find a solution that would work best for me.

So now that I have rambled, I am wondering if anyone knows how I could use a screen reader with the Connect Math online platform as well as help me find a way to explain to the disabilities office the importance of having a math reader who is knowledgeable and fluent in math.  I am currently not on any of the math or science email lists.  So if anyone on any of these lists would want to forward this email to those email lists, I would greatly appreciate it.  It is only the beginning of the semester, but with all this stress of trying to figure out how to work with the disabilities office, it feels more like the last week of classes rather than the first week of classes.

Anyway, any positive support or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Elizabeth
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