Learning math

I learned math as a blind student, with a slate and something called type. The slate was made up of a frame of holes and the type could be used to achieve 16 different positions. When the type was on its right side up, one could create numbers from 1 to 8 and when the type was placed on its wrong side, then the following could be had: 9, 0, plus, minus, multiplication sign, division sign, decimal point, and equals sign.

You could see then that the type had eight distinct sides and in actuality it was a very small entity made of lead. You had to place it in the hole of the frame and this is how figures were generated. The frame consisted of 16 columns and eight rows. A marvelous invention, in my opinion, for a blind person to have learned math to start with.

Much later on came talking calculators for us blind folks and this is the picture as it stands today. Many students do indeed use Braille to do their math as well. Others use the good old abacus.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to go out there and tell others about how blind persons learn Math. To learn more about the world of blind persons, visit www.nfb.org.
Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan.

Different methods of reading

I am often asked by sighted persons to describe how blind persons read. Do they do this only in Braille? By having someone read to them? Or how?

In response, this is what I say:

There are a number of ways that a blind person can read.
First, if they have enough vision to read large print, they can do this either with a magnifier or by using a close circuit TV device.
They can do it through Braille.
They can do it by using access technology on their computers. In this way, they can hear what they read.
They can do it through their IPads, IPhones, IPods, and other mobile devices.
They can do it by scanning their documents and downloading them to their computers and then using their access technology to hear what has been downloaded.
They can also download books and documents from the Internet to their computer and read it as described above.
They can use CD players that are equipped to read documents on CD.

So you see, there are several ways for us to read books and documents. In short, we can hear what you see on a page or screen.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and share my blogs with others. Visit www.nfb.org to learn more.

No way to verify

We are living in an information society and a knowledge based economy where one heavily depends on the other. Without information we are nowhere and without knowledge gathered from information we are unable to make decisions of any kind. So, just imagine not being able to make vital decisions because we are unable to verify the relevant information.

Does this circumstance really exist? Indeed, it surely does and it is the case for millions of blind, sight impaired, and deaf/blind persons worldwide. Why does this circumstance exist? Well, it all has to do with the inability of blind, sight impaired, and deaf/blind persons not being able to verify online information. Why is this? Because a lot of the information is inaccessible to these persons in alternate formats and more often than not, they need to depend on a sighted person to read it to them. This means that there is no mechanism for these persons to verify the information because they are unable to read it for themselves.

What does all of this mean? It means that without any dependable way of verification, blind, sight impaired, and deaf/blind persons are practically held to ransom so to speak. They are unable to verify information and accordingly they are unable to make safe and sound decisions for themselves. It's something like this: If you are unable to read something for yourself it only goes to say that you really cannot verify it. So then what's next? A call for information to be produced in alternate formats in a timely manner.

What is meant by the term alternate formats? In Braille, large print, and in e text format; that is, HTML, TXT, Word, RTF, and PDF that is appropriately tagged so that screen readers can decipher them.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to go out there and learn more about the meaning of alternate formats. Visit www.tbase.com to learn more.

In the Classroom

As someone who has had the good fortune of being able to obtain several degrees, I can tell you that education for blind persons is today more possible than probable.  I am proud to tell you that I am one ofthe first Blind persons in Canada to have obtained a Master's degree in

Business Administration and I am one of the first blind persons in the world to have obtained certifications in Microsoft systems engineering and Novelle network administration. 

 

My road to success has been one of bumps, lumps, but it has also been marked with great enjoyment, satisfaction, and an eternal gratitude to all those who have helped me along the way.  Many things have changed in the classroom since I first set out on my long journey and as time goes by we can certainly expect more changes to take place.  When I first started out, I used to take notes with writing devices that were very noisy.  These devices produced Braille and were called Braillers.  Then I graduated to taping my lectures and then coming home to listen to them and take notes on my Brailler.  Many of my textbooks were read onto cassette while others were put into Braille for me.  Sometimes, readers read to me.  The longer textbooks were taped and the more technical ones such as Maths were brailled for me.  My exams were put into Braille for me and I reproduced my answers by typing them out on a clunky typewriter.  Quite often, important technical texts were also brailled.  That was then and this is now.

 

In today's world, many students use computers as note takers and in several instances they have human note takers to take notes for them.  Their texts are on CDs and quite often, professors send texts of important information to students via email.  These texts are formatted in readable alternate formats such as Word, or in RTF or TXT forms.  The pursuit of the more technical courses such as Maths, finance, economics, accounting, and information technology has become much easier today but there are still several challenges to overcome.

 

With regard to where is best for a blind student to sit when in the classroom; I guess that it would be a matter of choice just like any other student.  For me, I used to tuck myself away at the far end of the room, on whichever side that was furthest away from the professor's lectern and towards the front of the class.  There are several organizations that provide reading services for blind students and I am going to recommend two to you; www.aph.org, and www.rfbd.org. 

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and tell others how blind students get along in classrooms.