[NABS-L] Spanish Class!

[ctate2076 at att.net]

Kendra: 

I just completed my A.A. and took two semesters of Spanish online, prior to COVID-19. I am not sure how your school will incorporate distance learning with a foreign language, but there are two online platforms that I have used. Vista Higher Learning (VHL), VHLCentral.com, was the most accessible of the two software platforms I used in conjunction with Spanish online. They recently updated the platform, so it will not be usable on Internet Explorer; I used Google Chrome for Spanish 2. The issue I had with their platform was the lessons that were matching exercises. They would present pictures of what would correspond to a vocabulary word and you had to match it. There was no audio description in either English or Spanish, so unless you are given multiple attempts on that lesson, you will run into issues. 

McGraw Hill was used for my first attempt at Spanish 2. Accessing the e-book and vocabulary was difficult. The navigation gave me trouble as well. That is why I withdrew and took the second Spanish 2 class the following semester with the instructor that taught Spanish 1. 

Your biggest accessibility issues will arise with the instructor lessons on the school's distance learning platform. Some instructor lessons may be inaccessible due to the pdf files they use. Also, there are some keyboard shortcuts you should learn, as this will make it easier to write your lessons in Spanish. On this note, those keyboard shortcuts will help you if the instructor uses VHL Central. Using a screen reader may make the accent buttons not work and you will have to type those in. 

It may seem like an insurmountable challenge, but you can be successful. Reach out to the instructor for the class as soon as you are able to. Of course, remain in contact with your school's disability office as well. I have not used Blackboard as a blind student, so I am not familiar with any accessibility issues, but I have used Angel and Canvas. Hopefully, your school will look into Canvas, as I have found that to be the most usable distance learning system. 

I hope this all helps! 

Buena suerte, 
Camille Tate

Sincerely,
Camille Tate 

President, Melbourne Space Coast Chapter, National Federation of the Blind, FL 
Board of Directors, National Federation of the Blind, FL 
Email: ctate2076 at att.net 
Phone: 321 372 4899 
-----Original Message-----
From: NABS-L <nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Kendra Schaber via NABS-L
Sent: Wednesday, July 1, 2020 10:55 PM
To: Jordan Mirander via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Kendra Schaber <redwing731 at gmail.com>
Subject: [NABS-L] Spanish Class!

Hi all! 
In the fall, I’m planning on taking the first class of two years of Spanish classes. I’ve never taken a foreign language class before. I know nothing about accessability, technology, ECT. I’m also going to take it online because my school is still vertual with acception of hands on classes that can’t be taught online. Since English and Spanish don’t require hands on which is unlike science, both my English and Spanish classes will be online and distance learning. I’m guessing that I’ll be stuck using Zoom which isn’t a problem since I’m racking up Zoom hours of experience as the result of Covid-19 anyway. In addition to Zoom, I have Voice Over on my iPhone and probably iPad. I’m supposed to get my first iPad this summer. I also have both JAWS and NVDA on a Dell PC computer. I have a Polaris Braille Sense that’s currently in the shop for repair. I should get it back before summer ends. I also have AIRA which is on my iPhone, also hope to get more of their distance learning services from them. I currently have Black Board but I think my school is switching online platforms. I’ll have to double check if they’re still doing this because I don’t know how Covid-19 related effects are going to impact the technical apps, software and so on with my school. I have YouTube, friends who either know Spanish or have just taken Spanish this last year. I have the usual Google, Drop Box, MS Office home vertion, Outlook, Safari, Firefox, Amazon, the usual book apps, Amazon Prime, Apple T.V., Disney Plus, Netflix and HPO. I also have Sero too. I sometimes use these services in school, pending class content. Outside of Shakespeare, I’ve used YouTube the most outside of in school content that envolves videos. In any case, I have these resources on hand without knowing which one I’ll be using, though probably sure that screen readers and Office Sweet plus internet browsers will be on the top of the list. What tools are commonly used in Spanish classes? What are the common accessability issues that blind students incounter while taking Spanish classes? Also, how would I go about language translation using JAWS 2020, NVDA and Voice Over on the latest IOS? 
I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read this post! I hope to hear from you guys soon! 


Thank you for taking the time for reading this email! I’m sorry for any errors that appear in this message! 
Stay safe and healthy! 
Blessed be! 
Kendra SchabeR
Chemeketa Community College
Honor Roll Student for fall term of 2019 National Federation of the Blind  Secretary of the Capitol Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Oregon Vice President of the Oregon Association of Blind Students: a devition of the National Federation of the Blind of Oregon 
Member of 350.ORG Salem     
 
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