[NABS-L] Food for Thought: Time Management Materials for Blind Students

[Nina Marranca]

I think that a lot of texts are suitable for both blind and sighted students. However, this could open up a very interesting discussion.
I think that time management, in terms of making sure that materials are available for you, accounting for extra times on exams, etc, is where this topic differs for blind students.

On 5/11/19, 18:28, "NABS-L on behalf of Tina Hansen via NABS-L" <nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org on behalf of nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:

    My name is Tina Hansen, and while I'm not a student, I have a friend who is,
    and I want to be aware of what's happening with students now.
    
     
    
    I have a food for thought question I'd like to put out there.
    
     
    
    I've been looking at the books and other materials on the general market
    concerning time management and work life balance. I know this is a critical
    concern of students, especially those juggling work, school and family.
    
     
    
    Many of the books have valuable information about how to organize your life
    and time, whether you're a student or not. They don't discuss college, but
    they do give valuable tips. I know that when I was last a student, I used a
    book on time management that wasn't targeted to students, but was incredibly
    valuable. Now that I'm no longer a student, I'm always looking for ways to
    improve my own time management skills.
    
     
    
    As far as work life balance, I view school much like work. For students who
    have their priorities right, school is like work. Deadlines for papers,
    tests, and so forth are not unlike deadlines for reports in the work place.
    
     
    
    However, I've not seen a lot in the audio book arena that is specific to the
    needs of college students. There are many texts on Learning Ally that
    discuss how to be successful in college, and all have valuable information.
    
     
    
    The closest thing to a targeted book on BARD that I found was Organizing
    from the Inside Out for Teens. Other than that, I've not seen a lot of books
    out there.
    
     
    
    In the past, there was more of a gap between the visual paper planners and
    those offered in the blind community. Most of the specialty note takers have
    some kind of planner, but they're costly. Before the iPhone, you either
    needed to improvise some kind of portable planner or buy the only Braille
    planner I know of, one from the American Printing House for the Blind. Yet
    many of the books still seem to talk about visual planners, at least, when
    it comes to the paper type. I have gotten to use my iPhone as a planner, and
    I'm so pleased at the many reminder and calendar apps created for it.
    
     
    
    In the past, before the age of the iPhone, I wondered if there was a need
    for anything that would talk about time management from the perspective of a
    blind college student. Given the recent increase in mainstream audio
    programs, I'm wondering if there is such a need. If there is, the material
    could simply come in the form of a single article, blog post or podcast. If
    nothing, there could be discussions on how to use your smart phone as a
    planner, and what apps are good for that purpose.
    
     
    
    If nothing, is there still a need for articles, blog posts or podcasts
    discussing time management and work life balance from the perspective of a
    blind college student? If there is the need, what would the material look
    like? How much should be offered? If there isn't the need, what's already
    out there? What blog posts, articles or podcasts are out there for any
    blind/visually impaired college student? Is there the need for targeted
    content? If so, what would it look like? Any thoughts? Thanks.
    
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