[nfbcs] Best techniques for group computer science projects

Tue Oct 29 19:23:13 UTC 2013

Obviously it probably isn't all that common in industry, but it still 
happens. If you're working with someone to pinpoint an issue/etc I've 
had people gathered around the same computer. It happens, and shouldn't 
be written off.
On 10/29/2013 3:10 PM, Michael Forzano wrote:
> This idea of multiple team members sitting around working on the same
> code is new to me. I haven't encountered this in school or in industry
> (although I've only been working for a few months). I do see why this
> happened, since it was such a small project and you were forced to
> work in a group there was really no other way. But most group projects
> should be big enough that you can either bounce the code around
> between team members and iterate or divide the work among the team
> (Version control works great for both of these). Software engineering
> should definitely teach VC as part of the class. At my job, we usually
> have devs working on different parts of the code. After completing
> your change other team members review it. Demonstrating things in
> meetings is pretty common, but if the presenter can send you their
> presentation materials so you can follow along on your own system with
> Zoomtext you should be fine. We use agile development, so the issues
> you encounter could differ based on what model the company uses to
> develop software. I can't think of one that involves an entire group
> working on the same piece of code, though.
>
> Mike
>
> On 10/29/13, Suzanne Germano <sgermano at asu.edu> wrote:
>> For my internship last summer, when they used the 46 inch monitor on the
>> wall I used either my magnilink cctv camera which then put the image on my
>> laptop or I use mini binoculars. I use binoculars over monoculars due to
>> the increased files. And my desk was set up with dual 28 inch monitors.
>> When I worked as a VC++ programmer back in 2001-2002, I brought my own 19
>> inch monitor and zoomtext. I have had much less issues on the job. At
>> school everyone has a 15 inch laptop so sharing a screen becomes more of an
>> issue. Also with school, the dynamics change with every project. You are
>> working with different people that you do not know. Each has their system
>> set up differently. Also, so far then has been no version control being
>> done.
>>
>> I did download teamviewer and tried it with my macbook and ipad so that may
>> be a solution.
>>
>> I used to be as fast or faster than my peers. I am not sure why I am not
>> now maybe because I am 49 and not 30 and playing catch up on a lot of my
>> assignments. I was and still often am the first one done with a test.I took
>> many of my prereq classes 15+ years ago. So for calc 2 and 3 I did to did
>> way back in the recesses of my brain so I waste a lot of time reviewing
>> stuff.
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Oct 29, 2013 at 7:53 AM, Mike Jolls <mrspock56 at hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I think most of the respondents to this question are missing the whole
>>> point of the question.  Answers such as ... "the work should be divided
>>> up
>>> and each person does his part, so you shouldn't be in this situation ..
>>> you
>>> just have to focus on your own work " ... doesn't help solve the problem.
>>> The hard truth is that in this line of work, you WILL find yourself in
>>> this
>>> situation eventually in industry.  Colaborations do take place, and
>>> people
>>> sitting around the same PC discussing code ... well that just happens,
>>> and
>>> it WILL happen eventually.  So you better understand that situations like
>>> this are going to present themselves.  Despite all the accessibility laws
>>> out there, this is going to happen simply because sighted people can do
>>> it,
>>> and they WILL do it because they can.  And don't expect the sighted
>>> people
>>> to have a clue about what will help you.  They'll just say "do your
>>> best",
>>> or give you some platitude like that.  They don't know what you need.
>>>   You're going to have
>>>   to figure out how to solve the problem, or talk to people (this is a
>>> good
>>> place to do that) who have already solved the problem, then tell the
>>> professor or the people in industry what you need.  That has worked for
>>> me.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Being a low vision person myself and a ZoomText and Jaws user also, I
>>> totally understand the problem.  If sighted people are colaborating and
>>> don't want to use ZoomText because it gets in their way, you (the low
>>> vision person) lose information and can't follow along.  I get it.  I
>>> can't
>>> tell you the number of times in years past, before all of this wonderful
>>> technology, that I had to sit in group meetings with a big monitor
>>> mounted
>>> on the wall, and someone is deomonstrating a system.  Of course with the
>>> monitor being up on the wall, there was NO WAY I could see anything that
>>> was going on.  I simply had to sit through it and it was a total waste of
>>> time.  I got nothing out of the presentation bcause I couldn't see what
>>> was
>>> happening.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> One thing that has helped me ... which I'm not sure if it would help you
>>> here ... is for the presenter to be hooked up to a PC which is on a
>>> network.  Then, the network has some kind of SameTime software that
>>> allows
>>> you to take your PC, connect to the network and the SameTime session, so
>>> that you can see the same presentation on your own PC that the others are
>>> looking at on the other PC.  Now with it on your PC, you can activate
>>> ZoomText.  Now if you get lost, you just ask them to slow down for a
>>> second
>>> and tell you where they are on the screen, and it only takes you a second
>>> or two to catch up.  I have found this SameTime capability very helpful.
>>>   And when people know that you can keep up but just need a second to do
>>> it,
>>> they're OK with helping you out.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Hopefully you have access to something like that, because the sighted
>>> people I've worked with ... when I'm running ZoomText and they're trying
>>> to
>>> read my screen  ... can't deal with the loss of information due to
>>> magnification ... just as you can't can't deal with loss of information
>>> due
>>> to not being able to see what's going on.
>>>
>>> There's also another problem you face in industry if you're visually
>>> impaired.  That is ... you may not perform as fast as the sighted peer.
>>>   And that means you don't get the same reward at the end of the year when
>>> raises and promotions are being given out.  And boy is that a cold hard
>>> fact you have to deal with.   But that's another discussion topic for
>>> another time.
>>>
>>>
>>>> Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 17:58:05 -0700
>>>> From: sgermano at asu.edu
>>>> To: nfbcs at nfbnet.org; nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>>> Subject: [nfbcs] Best techniques for group computer science projects
>>>>
>>>> I have a group project in one of my computer science classes and
>>>> several
>>>> more to come before I finish the degree. Most sighted people sit around
>>> one
>>>> computer and all look at the screen. I use ZoomText so no one likes to
>>> look
>>>> at my screen since you lose so much view but obviously I can't see
>>> theirs.
>>>> What techniques do you find work best for situations like this. It is
>>> not a
>>>> situation that we could run dual monitors and mirror them with one
>>>> having
>>>> zoom text enlarged. I am also not super fond of that since what I see
>>>> depends on where they have the mouse which may not be the area we are
>>>> talking about.
>>>>
>>>> Thank you
>>>>
>>>> Suzanne
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