[NFB-Science] Technical gaps that need to be filled for math classes.

[Lloyd Rasmussen]

It has been reported on the Blind-math listserv that it would cost at least 
6 million dollars to bring the Graphiti into production. Even if it could be 
produced in quantity, it would probably cost several thousand dollars per 
unit. It's a very promising product, but I don't think anybody is going to 
spend the money it would take to bring it into production.
I had one braille math textbook in college, just over 50 years ago. The rest 
of my texts in math, science and engineering were on tape. In several cases 
I supervised the reading of those tapes by paid student readers. I admit 
that I have an aptitude for mathematics, or I wouldn't have gone into 
electronics engineering, and I had some good braille textbooks and 
instruction at the Iowa Braille and Sight-Saving School right before 
entering Iowa State University. I didn't try to do very many of the 
exercises in my college math classes, but concentrated on learning the 
material, taking notes in class, and passing the tests that were given. And 
I flunked and had to retake one of my courses in linear differential 
equations because I didn't keep up with it.
Just because braille textbooks are expensive does not mean that they will be 
produced quickly enough. The number of people who know how to transcribe 
math into braille is quite limited, and they are working hard to get 
textbooks done in the K through 12 arena. There are lively arguments among 
experts as to how to best represent math in the EPUB file format so that it 
will look right to sighted users and at the same time be accurately and 
usably represented in braille and/or speech.
Virtual Pencil was, I think, mostly designed to teach math concepts at lower 
grade levels than what you are working with. Again, more work is being done 
to make math and science accessible to the larger number of students in K 
through 12 than at the college level. Making progress on the TEACH Act would 
help.
You have come to the right place to talk about these issues, and to 
sometimes find solutions. But STEM fields are in a constant state of change, 
and we as blind people have to be really creative in order to make progress 
and be successful.
There may be too much emphasis on solving these mathematical functions 
graphically, when an algebraic or calculus solution is usually more 
accurate. On the other hand, scientific data is usually found as coordinates 
of multiple variables in space and time, and it's a struggle to represent 
them accurately in two dimensions or to find trends that represent real 
effects.
I hope you can get the help you need with the calculator and the notetaker. 
But no matter what happens, problem-solving is the name of the game in 
science.

Lloyd Rasmussen, Kensington, MD