[nabs-l] Efficiency and Productivity

[Arielle Silverman]

Also, if you use Gmail, you can send a PDF to yourself as an
attachment, then click "view attachment as HTML". You'll get an HTML
version that is very easy to navigate with JAWS.
Arielle

On 8/22/14, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Rahul,
> Thanks for clarifying. I have a few quick suggestions and others may have
> more.
> 1. Try increasing the speech rate of JAWS by opening the JAWS program
> and pressing Alt to get into the basic menus. Increasing the speed
> should make reading line by line go faster. You don't want it to be so
> fast that you can't understand, but just try increasing by 5 or 10%.
> 2. I suggest partnering with a sighted colleague, if possible, to work
> on the PowerPoint charts and any inaccessible software. You can still
> do the majority of the thinking, but just utilize the sighted person's
> efficiency with the mouse-clicking in those situations. There is
> nothing wrong with using a reader, hired or otherwise.
> 3. To quickly read Track Changes comments, use control-shift-apostrophe.
> 4. Sometimes it's necessary to ask your employer if you can use a
> different program to do the work; for example reading a file in Word
> instead of in PDF format.
>
> Good luck and congrats on the internship!
> Arielle
>
> On 8/22/14, Derek Manners via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hello, I can definitely understand how you feel. I think there are three
>> things I'd keep in mind.
>>
>> 1. Any new job takes time to get in a rhythm where you are getting things
>> done quickly.
>> 2. Practice makes perfect, just as any job takes time to learn, so does
>> using assistive tech.
>> 3. It's perfectly fine work at your own pace. Your goal should be to do
>> the
>> best you can under the circumstances and just look for ways to do better.
>> I
>> work faster/hard than some of my sighted colleagues and I work
>> slower/less
>> hard than others.  The main thing employers want to see is improvement and
>> a
>> good attitude.
>>
>> Best
>> Derek
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>> On Aug 22, 2014, at 3:19 PM, Rahul Bajaj via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> I often find it hard to maintain the same level of productivity as my
>>> sighted colleagues. I guess this can primarily be attributed to the fact
>>> that I have so far been merely a casual user of assistive technology
>>> which
>>> is perhaps why I am not able to use it as expeditiously as I should be
>>> able to in a professional setting.
>>> That being said, my uniform experience has taught me that jaws is often
>>> unresponsive and unreliable. This makes it virtually impossible to work
>>> with the same level of efficiency as a sighted person.
>>> Most blind students get double the time that their sighted counterparts
>>> get for writing exams. However, this is not really a feasible option in
>>> the private sector where you are not only required to do your work well
>>> but are also expected to complete your tasks expeditiously.
>>> My inability to meet the latter requirement has often been a source of
>>> frustration for me during my internships. My employers have never raised
>>> any objections about my inability to complete the same amount of work as
>>> my sighted counterparts within a given time period. I guess this is
>>> reflective of the low expectations that society has from blind people.
>>> Be that as it may, this has greatly reduced my job satisfaction and has
>>> been a major cause of concern.
>>> I'd like to know what you guys think about this. Has anyone here had a
>>> similar experience?
>>> What strategies would you recommend for effectively grappling with this
>>> challenge?
>>>
>>> Best,
>>> Rahul
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
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>>
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>