Category: Cram Session
Hi. I just had a meating yesterday with the people at the DSS department at my college, and we were discussing how to better serve blind students (mainly the advantages of getting their Braille printer going again). Their very helpful, but I've been to another college that had the Braille option already available, which would've worked perfectly for me if I didn't slack off there. *smiles* But I was just out of high school at that time, so I guess most people do that at first or at some point. (I had left that school since it was a university, and am now at a community college. And I'm doing a lot better at the college by the way. *smiles*) But anyways, so my question is: How many of y'all are totally blind and in college? And how do you read your handouts/textbooks? I mean, is there a Braille printer?, do you hire a reader?, use a scanner?, order the books on tape?, record lectures?, or how else do you read things for college, ore what is available for you there? I'm curious, and so are the people at my DSS office. *smiles*
Leilani
Hmm, you really need to use a mix of many methods. I think I made use of evertything possibly availible to me when I was in college.
I tried to catch up with professors before semester started to get an idea of their book selections. This requires you t know what you want to take beforehand and be organized about it. You can even go as far as t get the professor to recommend some text books even if those are no the ones the professor will be using to teach and then see if they're availible through rfbd e.g. Most times they were not for me but when they were having that extra time was very helpful.
I used readers as much as I could and note takers too, but I used note takers mostly for extremely visual classes like e.g. math or programming where a lot of the information presented was visual and on slides. I looked for ebooks and I sometimes even tracked down the author's contact information and contacted the author or the publisher to get an electronic version of the book.
Scanning was a very quick and powerful tool for lecture notes and books, I used it extensively and should have used it even more, n retrospect. I had a friend of mine take notes but in general I think hiring your friends as note takers may not be the best idea, I had some aawkward moments where my friends thought they would automatically get that job when I knew they would not take good notes they were basically expecting me to get them money through this service, I'd go with a stranger or then at least with a friend you know is good and gets good grades and takes good notes.
Online lecture notes were very very helpful and lots of professors post those by now and reading them before class helped a lot. :)
I'll let you know if I think of something else. I used braille very little, as little as I could actually, it's too slow for reading long texts and for things like programming the electronic version was better anyway.
cheers
-b
Hey there,
I agree with WB, you really need to mix it up. I scan some of my hand outs, and my books are also scanned for me. Sometimes, when I write notes I will print them off and study them that way. We also have a system at our school where profs put notes up on the net for everyone to access, and that's very helpful
Oh, I do use different ways of getting things done. I try to get my books on CD from the publisher. If I can't, and if it's a popular piece of literature, I'll get it off Project Gutenberg or Bookshare. Or else I'll scan it (which is usually what ends up happening). *smiles* I also scan most handouts that teachers give out. With notes, I usually record and a notetaker from DSS also takes notes, and then I sometimes have a family member read the notes so I can type them. Also, I've had where some teachers email me things like PowerPoint notes and sometimes their syllabi, or where they give me a copy of their notes. If and when we get the Brailler going, I will also be able to get many of those things in Braille. *smiles* Also, I'm waiting to be accepted to Bookshare (as I've done everything to sign up and am now waiting to hear from them), and so I think that will be a big help too. *smiles* I was and am just curious to know how other blind college students get their work done and all that.
Leilani
Well I'm nto dealing yet lol so this topic interests me hehehe.
I posted this to Caitlin's box too for her school project. The last two sentences are different though, so I hope Caitlin reads this. I get materials either by having the disabled student services office read them or scan/type/proofread them into the computer (many materials scan badly),
obtain them directly from the professors in electronic format, or directly from the publishers. Along with having materials put into accessible formats, I also use the DSS office to take tests when the professors do not have them in electronic format, or when the material is better interpretted when read by a human. I got mobility training using a cane, and I use paratransit
or someone's ride frequently. I would recommend small schools, or schools with small class sizes and buildings that are easy to find. I'm not going to
give out the college I go to for security reasons. Especially in high school,
they hype up how much work you'll need to do in college. The work load is erratic, so it can be especially difficult to work during college. Sometimes
you'll get an assignment fairly last minute, so be prepared for that. Learn to take really good notes, and know from the get-go that you can't read every
page in the textbook, that you'll have to read more at first, and then see how much the teacher uses the textbook. Try to take Advanced Placement courses
in high school and join extracurriculars because they will be helpful for scholarships. However, keep in mind that Advanced Placement classes aren't accepted
at all colleges, and even if they are, they may not count toward your core requirements. For example, AP Western Civilization did not transfer in as the
Western Civilization core but as an elective. This meant I had to take another core class other than Western Civ to keep the AP credits. Also, electives
are useful in college to figure out what you want to do, but try taking mostly core classes at first. Ask around about professors, but take advice you
receive with a grain of salt. Check ahead of time before you go to the school to see how the DSS office is ifyou have a disability, and try to get in touch
with other disabled students who go to the college. The DSS coordinator might be able to arrange a meeting. Also, if you transfer from school to school,
you'll probably lose credits because different schools have different program requirements. This means you might even have to take classes over again.
Become familiar with the structure of command. Know the people you would speak to if a professor and DSS coordinator do not work well together. Get to
know department chairpersons, as they can often get you into closed classes and help you with difficult professors. Check to see how frequently the courses
for your desired major(s) are offerred. A double major is helpful because it can make you look more well-rounded. One thing I forgot to tell Caitlin is about the advisors. In my experience, if an advisor makes a mistake in scheduling, you're responsible, and you get screwed in the end, so it's helpful to ask several people to check to make sure the classes you're taking are the right ones. be familiar with the handbook, and know your rights.