[nabs-l] Efficiency and Productivity

[Cindy Bennett]

Hi Rahul,

I think your list of challenges may have just gone to Arielle. Would
you mind sending them to the list? I think she gave some great
solutions though. As for speed of JAWS, I gradually increased mine 5
points and then waited a couple of weeks and then increased it again.
I do slow it down 10 points when I am reading textbooks or other heavy
material.

Cindy

On 8/22/14, Arielle Silverman via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 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
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> nabs-l mailing list
>>>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>>> nabs-l:
>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/dmanners%40jd16.law.harvard.edu
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> nabs-l mailing list
>>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>> nabs-l:
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/arielle71%40gmail.com
>>>
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nabs-l mailing list
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nabs-l:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/clb5590%40gmail.com
>


-- 
Cindy Bennett
Treasurer of the Greater Seattle Chapter and of the National
Federation of the Blind of Washington
Affiliates of the National Federation of the Blind

clb5590 at gmail.com