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

[J Acheson]

Math 

I have enjoyed reading the menu suggestions. It is great that so many people have jumped in. I hope I am not repeating herein what others have suggested.

1. Text books Homework, Quizzes, and Tests. 
Most college text books contain examples within each chapter. As a high school math teacher I use the examples contained within the book often times telling students to disregard the side notes that are placed in conjunction with each step of the problem. I do this so that I can interject my own explanations. In doing so students automatically receive to at least somewhat different interpretations, and my explanations are always more detailed than those provided in the textbook. It also gives me an opportunity to define the terms being used in the textbook so that students are able to independently use other examples in the text and examples online.  I then use problems contained within the exercises being careful to include some of the more advanced problems. I do this not simply out of convenience for myself. I have found that students often times disregard all the examples that are provided within a text. I explaine to my students that I am not only teaching them the math but also how to use a textbook and the resources it contains. 

Along with the purchase of the college textbook I would recommend requiring students to purchase the accompanying solution manual. I would assign students exercises from this resources in which they explain the reason for each step shown for a problem in the solution manual. 

You could use the online resources provided with most college texts to assign homework and even quizzes and tests. Students could be required to take the test in specified computer labs and a time limit could be set. In this manner homework would be automatically graded and so would quizzes and tests. In working with freshman college students I have noticed that many professors allow students to repeat homework and/or quizzes two or three times. Naturally there may be some addition and negation of problems so that the repeated quizzes are not always identical. 

One ongoing problem with textbooks in any subject area at the college level is the frequent change to new editions. Since you do not read braille well you could try to get these through book share, NIMAS, Learning Ally, etc.. You could then make it a point to reorder identical editions for as long as your community college would allow. With regard to this, you will naturally always be fighting the "publish or perish" drive of those who published college materials. 

Another consideration in  dealing with the textbooks is that if you are certain you would be able to use the same edition of a textbook, for example, for two years, hire a reader and have the reader record the portions you plan on teaching. 

Displaying Examples
A friend of mine, blind from birth, who was totally blind and in college to become a math teacher learned how to write on the classroom board. She used the top of her head, eyebrow bridge, nose bridge etc. to be able to position lines accurately to display the problems in proper vertical presentation. However you could use any number of things to create straight horizontal lines on which you could write. 

Another more contemporary way to write out problems for students is to learn the ASCII codes for the various math symbols. You could then prepare lessons in a wordprocessor such as Microsoft office/Word, and then convert those files into file formats for visual projection programs such as those used on a Promethean board or what ever your local community college utilizes.  

I use a Promethean board. Promethean files are created from PDF files. I use a new file page to display each additional step in a problem retaining everything previously shown. In this way I control when my audience gets to see the next step.

This method requires a bit of caution, however. Remember that sighted people are accustomed to seeing math written with certain perspective i.e., vertical and horizontal presentation. You may need to provide students with an interpretive sheet to explain some visual rearrangements that may Oak her. For example, if you were writing the fraction 1 1/2 you may consider writing it using only a space between the one and the one half or you may consider writing it as done in recipes as one space – space 1/2. Personally I would stick with the former method. Another example would be how to write an exponent. Well exponents are usually written as a superscript. However, in computer language it is preceded by a carrot symbol.  Since you may be using computer generated quizzes and homework, this would be a good thing to teach students as this is how they would most likely enter exponential values on those computer based activities.

Resources for your students 
Statistically we are often told that 70% of what we learn is from our visual sense. With this in mind and the need to appeal to your audience you should consider providing your students with links to online resources in which similar problems are solved.  Currently I have been using brightstorm.com because their videos or sequential and they are short. I provide students with a link to the videos I expect them to watch and I provide 2 to 5 questions for each video or sequence of videos. Purplemath.com is also useful, but it does not provide any video material. It is also not accessible. Both of these websites provide very simple instruction, and even at an advanced math level I find this is what students often need. It is not unusual to find calculus students who can't remember how to work a complex fraction problem. 

Calculator 
Recently on one of the NFB list to which I subscribe they post was provided about a Texas instrument Graffing calculator. I thought I had saved the post, but I cannot find it now. If it was somebody on this list that had posted the information, would you please post it again and if you don't mind send it to me directly?

I hope some of what I have said is helpful. 

I am sure you are embarking on a rewarding trek. 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jul 24, 2015, at 12:36 AM, David Moore via nobe-l <nobe-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Thank you Danielle, Ashley, Heather, and others for all of your
> suggestions. Thank you Ashley for telling me a little bit of your
> situation. I have always liked math and science ever since I was a
> child. I had some vision until I was 15, and learned these subjects in
> a sighted manner. Now, I can still visualize all of the print in my
> head and do each step in my head like I did on paper when I was
> sighted. I love to teach more than do, and math happens to be what I
> know the best. Well, the talking calculator would be great for me to
> use and I could present the graph on the whiteboard that Heather
> suggested. I want to make it clear that I, the teacher am totally
> blind. I, the blind person wants to teach the average sighted student
> at the small community college level. Most of my students would have
> just gotten out of high school. In words, as a one on one tutor,
> people tell me that I can explain math concepts that they never
> understood in their lives. I still need to figure out how I can write
> my lectures on a laptop and edit the math symbols just like editing a
> word document. Some people suggest learning the language of LaTeX,
> while a couple of people suggests getting Math Type to work with MS
> Word, and then getting LEAN which all working together would allow me
> to write out the math. Next, there is the issue of reading symbolic
> math texts. You cannot use a OCR problem like OpenBook to scan Math,
> because it doesn't understand math symbols at all. There only so many
> math texts you can get on tape. Freedom Scientific who raves about
> getting people jobs with JAWS and such has not done too much for me
> lol. Sure, I can do a lot on the computer, but nothing with math or
> science. Has anyone on here used Infty reader to do OCR on math texts.
> It is a math OCR program like OpenBook, but it can do the OCR on the
> math and science symbols. I hear it is very expensive, and like Ashley
> and I were talking about, Rehab will not purchase any technology until
> you get the job and tell you when to start working. How can you get to
> that point in a job search if you need $4,000.00 in technology? lol.
> Thanks Danielle, I will try to get a hold of Tom. Is his name Tom or
> Lie? How did you suggest for me to get a hold of him again? It is
> great to be talking with you all. Heather, what do you teach again?
> Keep in touch, Ashley, about how you are doing. It is sad, that blind
> parents raise their own children, but yet others will not trust you
> with their children. It is sort of like adopting. Anyone on the street
> can bring a child into the world, Yet, when you are a very stable
> person who is ready to raise a child, you are looked at through a
> microscope lol. Take care all, and keep the ideas coming. Any ideas
> are very welcome and will not be judged. I am a very laid back person
> who wants to teach so much and to have that influence in the classroom
> and teach what I love at the same time. Take care all.