[Blindmath] Consultation regarding an Academic Mission Needed

[Hamid Hamraz]

Thanks a lot, these are absolutely useful!
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Birkir R. Gunnarsson" <birkir.gunnarsson at gmail.com>
To: "Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics" 
<blindmath at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, June 03, 2012 11:36 PM
Subject: Re: [Blindmath] Consultation regarding an Academic Mission Needed


> Hi
>
> How familiar are you with programming languages and accessible 
> environments?
> That is the largest payoff, in my experience. If you know that you
> will be using .net or Eclipse, or some other environment, start
> learning it now and practice.
> Also find books like "teach yourself Java in 21 days". They are on
> Bookshare, but also accessible for some fee ($20 a month I think) via
> O'reilly publishing (their html bookself).
> And go to town with those books, do the exercises, study the chapters,
> become comfortable with the programming language and environment.
> The math is kind of a secondary thing. Discrete mathwas the easiest
> math course I took at the undergraduate level, that and linear
> algebra. I hard a hard time with differential equations and advanced
> claculus, whether it is me or accessibility or a combination I don't
> know. I got acceptable grades (b+ I think in both) but had a hard time
> with it.
> So focus on computer science and if you need to drop a course or
> postpone it, make it math.
> See what MathPlayer can do for you with MathType (both from 
> www.dessci.com).
> Learn LaTeX if you don't know it already.
> Check out www.access2science.com for resources for all of these things.
> And, most imporantly, be optimistic and do not panic. I find that with
> programming and math, especially, myself and other people I have
> helped end up being so worried about whether they can do it, and so
> afraid of the consequences of failing, that they spend more energy on
> that than on learning the subject matter, and it distracts them
> hugely.
> If you fail in the beginning, just try again, and you can do it.
> I know this is a bit more pep talk than something overly useful, but I
> think you might benefit from it.
> Cheers
> -B
>
> On 6/2/12, Tim in 't Veld <tim at dvlop.nl> wrote:
>> Hamid,
>> What graduate program will you take in which university? Do you depend
>> on speech or can you effectively read large print?
>>
>> Regarding course load you'll just have to see how it works out - it all
>> depends on your individual circumstances, time you can commit to the
>> courses and previous experience. If you just turned visually impaired it
>> would be reasonable to assume you'll probably need some extra time for
>> your program but nobody can give you a generalized advice. Just check
>> how it goes only don't carry on trying to keep up with all courses for
>> too long if you notice you can't keep up, drop one of them in time.
>>
>> Your equipment list looks good. You may consider a magnification product
>> such as Magic for which you can download a demo at the freedom
>> scientific website to check if this is effective for you. Jaws is
>> probably the best screen reader for programmers and even supports
>> Microsoft visual studio 2010.
>>
>> A large screen is very beneficial when programming, but what size you
>> need depends entirely on your residual vision and the only way to find
>> that out is by trying a few options. Personally I have a very limited
>> vision and a 19" screen is optimal for me, larger screens or widescreens
>> just make it harder for me to keep an overview of the screen.
>> I have my monitor on a monitor arm, so I can bring it very close to my
>> face. If like many visually impaired users you have to bend over your
>> desk to see your monitor I highly recommend a monitor arm, the Newstar
>> D940HC is a very flexible choice.
>>
>> On 6/2/2012 11:54 AM, Hamid Hamraz wrote:
>>> Dear all,
>>>
>>> I am going to start a computer science graduate program in US in the
>>> upcoming fall. However, this is my first academic mission after I got
>>> visually impaired. The standard load for a semester would be 3 graduate
>>> courses. On the other hand, as you know, we blinds and VI folks are
>>> remarkably slower in CS-related assignments like math, programming, etc.
>>>
>>> Now, I greatly appreciate it if experienced people in the list offer me
>>> suggestions regarding the course load, etc. Besides, I should order
>>> VI-related equipment for my workplace well in advance. So far I've 
>>> thought
>>> about these:
>>>
>>> 1. A large LCD (+25 inch)
>>> 2. Headphone
>>> 3. Scanner
>>> 4. Printer
>>> 5. Whiteboard (on which I can read single letters and digits or very 
>>> large
>>> figures/diagrams)
>>> 6. Software (JAWS and Open Book to which I am very well accustomed)
>>> 7. An ergonomic keyboard with many extra function keys
>>>
>>> Please note that I can not read Braille effectively (mostly because of
>>> some very little tremor in my hands and fingers).
>>>
>>> If anybody has some other things to add to the list, I'd be glad to 
>>> hear.
>>>
>>> Look forward to hearing back both your academic and non-academic 
>>> advices.
>>>
>>> Many thanks,
>>>
>>> Hamid
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
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>
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