[nfbcs] LaTeX [was "Re: Computer science mentors?"]

Thu Mar 29 17:44:13 UTC 2018

Point taken.

-----Original Message-----
From: John Heim [mailto:john at johnheim.com] 
Sent: March 29, 2018 12:55 PM
To: sarah.jevnikar at gmail.com; 'NFB in Computer Science Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [nfbcs] LaTeX [was "Re: Computer science mentors?"]

If you are a new college student, I can almost guarantee that one thing you will be shocked at is how much you are expected to do for yourself. 
It's a shock for nearly every freshman student and sometimes more so for disabled students who often have overly protective parents. A good example of how much you're expected to pick up on your own is latex itself. I used to teach a mini-course on latex at the University Of Wisconsin. But I don't do that anymore because students are expected to know it by the time they get here. And if they don't, they are expected to google it and get themselves up to speed.

By the way, the better the school, the more they are going to expect you to do on your own. Part of having high academic standards is demanding a lot from the students. A good school also has good safety nets but the school's reputation depends in part on putting out graduates who can make it in the real world. In the real world, you are going to have to take it a step further. You're going to be expected not only to pick things up on your ow, you are going to be expected to decide for yourself what you need to pick up. Maybe someday latex will be obsolete. 
You are going to be expected to recognize that and to  advise your employer to  switch to something new. It's even more true in academia where researchers are expected to break new ground all the time.

If you are interested in a career in technology, the best skills you can develop are those that allow you to learn things on your own. No question.

On 03/29/2018 10:03 AM, Sarah Jevnikar wrote:
> Thanks everyone! Also thanks to whoever changed the subject line.
> I currently have MiKTeX, Winedt and Notepad++ installed and am making use of bookshare books and Google, but I've been spoiled with step-by-step courses in life so need to get used to a more self-directed way of learning. I also need to get over the intimidation factor. And learn how to use Winedt...
> Thanks again!
> Sarah
> 
> 
> Sarah Jevnikar
> http://www.twitter.com/sarahjevnikar/
> http://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahjevnikar
> sarah.jevnikar at gmail.com
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of John Heim via nfbcs
> Sent: March 29, 2018 10:12 AM
> To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List
> Cc: John Heim
> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] LaTeX [was "Re: Computer science mentors?"]
> 
> I do exactly the same things. I've been using latex since long before the world wide web existed but now a days, I google it. The wikibook on latex is an excellent place to start. After creating the doc in latex, I convert it to a pdf with pdflatex and that's the document I sent out.
> This is all linux, of course. That's another issue.
> 
> 
> On 03/29/2018 06:33 AM, Christopher Chaltain via nfbcs wrote:
>> While you're waiting for Tyler, I'll just say that I used on line
>> tutorials and examples when learning LaTeX. For example, if I want to
>> use LaTeX to write a personal letter, I'll Google for LaTeX and
>> letters and find a ton of samples to choose from and use as a starting
>> point. I use pdflatex to turn my LaTeX markup into a PDF document.
>>
>>
>> On 03/28/2018 08:37 PM, Sarah Jevnikar via nfbcs wrote:
>>> Tyler, I'm sure I've asked you this before (so apologies for any
>>> spam) but how did you learn LaTeX? What do you use to compile it?
>>> Thank you,
>>> Sarah
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
>>> Littlefield, Tyler via nfbcs
>>> Sent: March 26, 2018 1:52 PM
>>> To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List
>>> Cc: Littlefield, Tyler
>>> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Computer science mentors?
>>>
>>> Kendra:
>>> I've never done anything with climatology, but I'm happy to help
>>> answer questions, give you pointers, whatever I can do. I used LaTex
>>> for all of my math courses. Please feel free to get in touch.
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> On 3/26/2018 1:25 PM, Kendra Schaber via nfbcs wrote:
>>>> Hi all!
>>>>    I’m looking for a mentor in the computer science field. I need to
>>>> learn computer science and know very little of this field. I have to
>>>> learn Latex and take a few computer science courses as part of my
>>>> climatology degree. Does anyone know where to find the right mentor?
>>>>
>>>> Blessed be!!!
>>>> Kendra Schaber,
>>>> Citizen Phenologist,
>>>> Aspiring climatology Student;
>>>> Preparing to attend Chemeketa Community College for a transfer
>>>> degree with a climatology degree at Oregon State University,
>>>> National Federation of the Blind, Capitol Chapter, Salem, Oregon.
>>>> "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear" Author Unknown.
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>> om
>>>
>>
> 
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