[nobe-l] Accessibility questions for teaching math to thesighted

Thu Jul 23 03:27:29 UTC 2015

I'm glad that's not what I want to do. Did I tell you to contact tom
Ley? He teaches high school math though I no longer no where. Pam
Allen at LCB should be able to put you in touch. Your message sounds
like you were watching me teach math but I had an aide or two to write
on the board for me. I never liked performing math operations nor
trying to convey them. I don't think math is all that or all there is
either.

On 7/22/15, Ashley Bramlett via nobe-l <nobe-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi David,
>
> Good luck in these endeavors.
> I would think showing sighted people graphs would be challenging as you
> cannot draw them on a board as a sighted person does.
> I would think the best accessible way to do calculations is in excel.
> Unless you can afford to pay for the text to be brailled which is the best
> way to read the text, I think your best bet is audio. scanning produces too
>
> many errors.
>
> I'm a young adult looking for work and have an interest in working with kids
>
> being a tutor or paraprofessional.
> I'm just trying to figure out what I want to do. I finished undergrad with
> my liberal studies degree and have not ruled out grad school to study
> special ed with teaching blind students or learning disabled students. but
> I'd like to  work first before committing the time and money for grad
> school.
>
> So I'm on list to learn how others teach, tutor or do similar tasks.
> I'm open to many jobs that will use my skills.
>
> I cannot offer much help, but I also wanted to write in and echo your
> sentaments.
> Your rehab case in Ohio sounds similar to my situation! Its refreshing to
> hear someone's struggles too.
> You said,
> "The way Rehab works in Ohio, is that you have to get the
> job first before Rehab will buy any technology. How can I start a job
> without the technology to start the job with? "
>
> Absolutely, valid questions and concerns.
> I, too, am in that boat. I requested technology to learn it and use so I can
>
> bring it to work when I get a job. I'm looking for office entry level jobs
> in communication, outreach, or program assistance.
> I'm actually a part time tutor at the community college where I'm taking
> class electives now.
> But rehab will not buy or eeven lend me technology now.
> I need that technology to learn and familiarize myself with it so I can hit
>
> the road when working, not trying to learn technology and the ropes of my
> new job. How can I get the job and honestly say to the employer I can do the
>
> job without having the technology in my hand and knowing it when I start the
>
> job?
>
>
> Like your state, they want you to have a job offer before buying tech.
> But how can I start a job without the technology
> to perform the job? In my case, I need a braille display so I can see my
> writing and more effectively edit it.
>
> Unfortunately, I do not think translation software and a romeo from 2005
> will do the job.
> If you need to emboss graphics, the tiger embosser is a good fit. Also, I
> heard later translation software from duxbury systems
> will convert math better. You could try to convert the text, but it may not
>
> work well.
> You might see if a lighthouse for the blind will emboss the text for you and
>
> they might charge less than other companies.
>
> I hope you get access to the text and it works out for you.
> Its unfortunate many rehab agencies do not support our employment goals and
>
> shove people into call centers or try to shove them to do that work.
> There is nothing wrong with call center work,  IMO, but if your talents and
>
> dreams lie elsewhere, then rehab should support that and help you find the
> resources to make that a reality.
>
> Glad you are searching for ways to fulfill your dreams. That is what NFB is
>
> about.
>
> Ashley
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Moore via nobe-l
> Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2015 5:15 PM
> To: National Organization of Blind Educators Mailing List
> Cc: David Moore
> Subject: Re: [nobe-l] Accessibility questions for teaching math to
> thesighted
>
> Hi Chase and all on this list,
> Thank you so much, Chase, for the info about the TI-84 graphing
> calculator. That will definitely let me present graphs and tell the
> sighted what to do on their calculators. That is a huge part of what I
> would need to do. If anyone can discuss editors that would allow me to
> edit and manipulate math equations so I could present them to the
> class, I would be so grateful. I have heard about Lean Editor, and
> heard that the new Beta is coming out for trying soon. To read math
> texts the class would be using, are getting a audio recording of the
> text or doing OCR with Infty reader the only choices? I have a Braille
> translator from 2005, and an old Romio Braile embosser. Would that
> work for obtaining Braille formats of the math materials? How
> expensive is Infty reader if I would need that. I hear it is quite
> expensive. The way Rehab works in Ohio, is that you have to get the
> job first before Rehab will buy any technology. How can I start a job
> without the technology to start the job with? I appreciate any help
> you have no matter how small. I do have a case open with Rehab, but
> all they are doing for me is helping me to find a call center job. I
> have a real God-given talent for explaining math in a way that will
> allow many kinds of students with different learning needs to
> understand the concepts. The sighted people I have helped orally with
> math, tell me they never understood the concepts the way I explain
> them in their entire lives. If I can present the material like a
> sighted teacher, my dream would be fulfilled. I love teaching math
> much more than using math to do applied problems like being an
> engineer. I love math just for math itself. I am very outgoing though
> and love working with and helping people with my math talents. I am
> not the kind of person who just wants to sit in a lab and do math
> computations all day to solve every-day life problems. I am definitely
> a research-academic person. Take care and have a good day.
>
> On 7/21/15, Chase Crispin via nobe-l <nobe-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hi David,
>> Orbit Research has adapted the TI-84 graphing calculator, which is the
>> most
>> common graphing calculator used in high school and college classrooms.
>> It
>> is sold by the American Printing House for the blind as the Orion TI-84
>> Plus
>> Talking Graphing Calculator.  This calculator allows a blind student or
>> teacher to use all functions of the calculator with speech or by
>> connecting
>> a braille display.  When you generate a graph, the graph is played with
>> tones.  The higher the pitch, the higher the coordinates on the graph.
>> You
>> can wear headphones to hear the audio move from left to right as it
>> traces
>> the graph, which can allow you to visualize the shape of the graph.  The
>> unit vibrates when in the negative region, and the unit makes various
>> beeps
>> to indicate maximums, minimums, intersections, etc.  Since this unit is
>> the
>> standard calculator with a speech unit on top, it is operated the same
>> way
>> sighted students would use the calculator, so you could tell them exactly
>> which buttons to press and let them look at the output on your screen.
>> You
>> could also print graphs from the calculator and display them on the
>> classroom wall or board.  If you want to learn more about the calculator,
>> search for it on:
>> http://shop.aph.org/
>>
>> At the NABS meeting at Convention, someone demonstrated a math editor
>> that
>> was fully accessible that would allow you to enter, manipulate, and
>> display
>> math equations, but I do not have the name of that product written down.
>> Hopefully someone else here knows about this software and can provide you
>> with more detailed information.  I hope this helps.
>>
>>
>> Chase Crispin
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nobe-l [mailto:nobe-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of David Moore
>> via
>> nobe-l
>> Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2015 4:07 PM
>> To: nobe-l at nfbnet.org
>> Cc: David Moore
>> Subject: [nobe-l] Accessibility questions for teaching math to the
>> sighted
>>
>> Hi All.
>> My name is David Moore from Columbus, Ohio.  I received my masters degree
>> at
>> Ohio State in mathematics education  I also received a BS in mathematics.
>> Now, I do some tutoring.  I tutor sighted college students one on one in
>> Calculus and other higher concepts.  With one on one tutoring, I have the
>> student read the problem to me and I tell him or her exactly what to
>> right
>> down as I do the problem in my head.
>> I learned math by listening to tapes and by reading my texts with the
>> Optacon.  I know what all the symbols look like in print, because of the
>> Optacon.  This leads into the help I would grately appreciate from all of
>> you.
>> I want to teach a classroom full of sighted students at the small
>> community
>> college level.  This has always been my dream.  First of all, How do I
>> type
>> out my math lectures so the content will look to the students as though I
>> wrote it on a board?  I use JAWS and Openbook.  That technology, however,
>> can't help me write or read math texts.  Next, How do I get JAWS to read
>> the
>> math content that I am typing into an editor so I can edit what I am
>> typing
>> just like in a word document?  Next, How do I read math texts that the
>> college or high school would use so I can prepare my lessons from the
>> texts?
>> I want to be able to read the math material, write out a lecture that I
>> would present to the students, and have a way to grade there work that
>> they
>> input.  I really need help from an experienced blind mathematics teacher
>> who
>> teaches the sighted.  I am a very slow Braille reader and know little
>> Nemoth
>> code.  I do all computations in my head and picture all graphs in my head
>> by
>> feeling with the optacon.  The problem is, I have no more optacon.  Rehab
>> took it back years ago, and I have never looked into getting another one
>> in
>> years.  I have just done a little bit of this one on one tutoring where I
>> just tell the student what to right down.  I didn't know how this
>> technique
>> would work in front of an entire class with nothing for the sighted
>> students
>> to look at.  In an Interview, I don't know how it would go if I said that
>>
>> I
>> would just stand in front of the class and tell them what to write down
>> with
>> no representation for them to look at.  Also, I heard that much math is
>> done
>> on graphing calculators compared to when I was in school in the 1980s.
>> How
>> would I access graphing calculators that students would use to do their
>> homework on?  With my few one on one students, I just show them how the
>> graphs look with my finger while they play around with their calculators
>> to
>> get something that looks like what I am drawing with my finger.  When I
>> try
>> writing print on paper or board, it goes all over the place.  I can
>> picture
>> the print in my head, but I have trouble writing it in any kind of
>> straight
>> line.  I would so much appreciate any help or suggestions you have for me
>> to
>> obtain that teaching job at a high school or small community college and
>> how
>> I could do all that is needed with assistive technology.  Thank you so
>> much
>> in advance.
>>
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>
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-- 
Danielle

Email: singingmywayin at gmail.com