Category: accessible Devices
Hello everyone!
My mom does not believe that I will survive college. She always tells me how people will take advantage of me because I'm blind, and that people are out to get me, and that there are a lot of bad people out there. She tells me that because I'm blind I'm naive and base things off hearing and don't see the visual parts of our world.
So she really wants me to buy a GPS. I have the money for the trekker and other systems, but have a few questoins regarding their usage.
1. I saw the other gps board topic before, very interesting. Any opinions on which one is useful? note: I don't want to get a cell phone GPS. Chances are that in College I will discontinue my cell phone service, or if I get one I'll get a prepaid phone.
2. Mom thinks that a GPS will help me get around college. Is this true? I'm being told by a lot of blind friends that in no way shape or form will it have college campus locations set. Sure, I could set landmarks/POIs, but that's about it...
3. How useful is a GPS? I mean really, if I went outside of campus, would I be able to get around without one if my orientation skills are average/I haven't traveled much around the city because I lived sheltered away in the woods and suburbs where no sidewalks exist?
4. I'm not for all that mom says. I really am not. I have confidence in college and can travel around my local school just fine, and have done street/shop travel with my ONM. (so I know about the whole perpendicular traffic/when to cross/how to know when to cross/different types of streets). I'm not gonna say college wil lbe easy, because I know I'll face some challenges when it comes to getting to place to place. I don't want to turn this topic into something else really, but is college that horrible? Will homosexual people really go grab me from the behind, force me down and rape me/will all my devices and gadgets be stolen?
Thanks guys... :) I hope I'm not bringing this board topic too out of it's intent.
All the best,
Tomi
Hey
Ouch, no no, you'd have to go to some pretty horrible college to experience anything like what you just described.
Firstly, get in touch with their disability office and get an O&M guy to work with on campus. I did that for college, the guy knew the area, worked with other people on campus, and he taught me what I needed to know in no time. This was 98 to 2002 so I never thought of using GPS and I don't see the reason to if you live on campus (not saying you shouldn't, GPS is very cool, but you can easily get by without one).
I found on campus living a lot of fun, I came from a super protctive family where I never had to do any chores and I did minimal O&M and I came from another country with a lot less grasp of the English language than I previously presumed myself to have.
It turned out fantastic. I got involved in the marching band, made some friends and had a great time.
Depending where you go, some college can be located in bad neighbourhoods, so you may want to stay on campus after nightfall or get college security to assist (I think moost colleges have security guards, busses and other precautionary measures).
I had no one grab me at all, a few offers of intimate relationships, but from girls, and I was quite happy about it, though I actually didn't do much bad stuff (or good stuff) in college. I got drunk a few times, studied hard, played a lot of music and had a fantastic time.
Regarding your other questions above. If you intend to live on campus you'll probably get an internet and phone contract so you can usea cheap desk phone and for a marginal fee. I don't like Skype as my only in and out line, it cuts out from time to time and the quality, Skype to Skype, if fantastic, but with Skype to phone you don't always have that good a connection (I mostly use it on calls to Europe and to people with not the fastest connections, so the problem may lie there).
Also, in case you do ever get attacked while walking, you may want a device that you can call 911 from and they can locate you based on the devices location, which you can do with cell phones but not with any Voice over IP device.
College is safe, fun, and a must-have experience, especialy for those who are super shelterred by their families, it's a nice next step into the world. I understand where you are coming from and, may be a little bit, how your mom feels, so let her come with you and tour the campus, stay for a few days, talk to the disabilities resource people, may be even an O&M guy, come up with study and living plans and then I think, if she's reasonable, she'll calm down and let you get on with the fun.
I can't speak to the IPod Touch, except it is hard to operate with a keyboard, but it has cool features too. I am not tempted right now, because I don't commute much, but I certainly may consider it down the line.
Cheers and good luck
-B
Journalist, you seem like a fairly well-rounded and level-headed person. Wildebrew's post was spot on, but let me help break it down for you a bit from personal experience.
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1. I saw the other gps board topic before, very interesting. Any opinions on which one is useful? note: I don't want to get a cell phone GPS. Chances are that in College I will discontinue my cell phone service, or if I get one I'll get a prepaid phone."
GPS units are still overall expensive and, at times, can seem like more of an irritation than they are worth. I'm not trying to discredit them; I have Wayfinder Access on a Nokia n86 and I use it from time to time especially when off campus in the city or late at night. Yet I don't think that everyone needs one or should spend money on buying a unit -- especially for a stand-alone unit (not on a cell phone) that often just means extra to carry around.
I would not discontinue your cell phone service. Chances are high that you'll often be out and about away from your dorm and a cell phone can be a lifeline. Moreover, most people use them as their primary phone and all-around messaging device.
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2. Mom thinks that a GPS will help me get around college. Is this true? I'm being told by a lot of blind friends that in no way shape or form will it have college campus locations set. Sure, I could set landmarks/POIs, but that's about it..."
I've had very mixed results actually using a GPS on a college campus. Campus's can be very different from normal city blocks or streets in their geography and general nature; full of random paths and sidewalks going everywhere, buildings placed all over the place and trees / paths / construction / shortcuts left and right that make GPS units hard to calculate accurate routes in large open spaces.
For campus orientation, request help from a friend or a cane travel instructor to orient you to major buildings such as the student center and your classrooms. Learn some of these routes well and then start to fill in the rest on your own. Consider your campus a large map; at first, only concentrate on understanding essential areas (your dorm, the dining hall, your class schedule) and learn how to get around from these places to others easily. After a while, when you are more comfortable with your campus, you can start to fill in the missing pieces by exploring on your own, using landmarks and friends, and finding shortcuts, paths, and other places on campus that you have not yet explored. Starting small could make or break your confidence and concentration depending on your previous experience with travel in unfamiliar areas. My personal suggestion is to start with a specific place or building and move from there. Find your dorm and learn how to travel to your science classroom. Next, learn to travel from your dorm to your history building. Soon you'll start to find patterns and connections in your routes which will allow you to move away from a fixed-route travel person.
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3. How useful is a GPS? I mean really, if I went outside of campus, would I be able to get around without one if my orientation skills are average/I haven't traveled much around the city because I lived sheltered away in the woods and suburbs where no sidewalks exist?"
Yes and no. Blind people have been able to get around fine in plenty of environments without GPS. I do think that GPS can be very helpful especially off-campus when on the town. However, chances are you'll be outside of campus with friends or with a group which might limit the need for GPs. Again, you're going to have to consider the price / benefit ratio for you as an individual when considering buying a GPS. I have personally found it useful and fun but not necessarily essential. If you work with a state agency for the blind or have other funding available to you you may be able to request GPS as an accommodation.
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4. I'm not for all that mom says. I really am not. I have confidence in college and can travel around my local school just fine, and have done street/shop travel with my ONM. (so I know about the whole perpendicular traffic/when to cross/how to know when to cross/different types of streets). I'm not gonna say college wil lbe easy, because I know I'll face some challenges when it comes to getting to place to place. I don't want to turn this topic into something else really, but is college that horrible? Will homosexual people really go grab me from the behind, force me down and rape me/will all my devices and gadgets be stolen?
I'm glad you have confidence in yourself despite your mom. Do not worry about people stealing your devices or raping you. Horrible is a word I have almost never heard used in reference to college. Many people actually claim college is very different from most other social settings in that people are very open-minded and easygoing. Chances are seriously low you'll be picked on or even noticed all that much. At best you'll find a ton of friends and gain many experiences; at worst, you'll feel isolated and alone in such a large and unfamiliar environment. Let's be honest, though: college is college. Your chances of sinking or swimming in college aren't necessarily all that different from any other environment or situation. I find there can be some overexaggerating to the idea that cliques don't form in college and that everyone is friends with everyone, but you're likely to love college and everything that goes with it. Try and find a core group of friends either in your dorm, your classes, or in a campus organization to keep you grounded and together. On a campus with twenty thousand students, the feeling of having hundreds of acquaintances but no close friends has got to be one of the absolute worst feelings in the world.
College can, If nothing else, be a place to start new and fresh personally, socially, and academically; don't sweat the small stuff and try not to let new experiences pass you by.
-Brice
Just to add one more thing to the last post, which is excellent.
I'd go with a Wayfinder GPS on a cell phone. I know they are discontinuing the support, which really means prices are going down. I saw it advertized for $200 and you might be able to squeeze it lower, this is probably a $1000 less than a stand alone unit would cost (not sure on this), if you do not have a Nokia N82, N86 etc, you can get them off here or local Craigslist for $200 to $300. Wayfinder will be supported for a while yet, so this way you can figure out if GPS is useful for you before you invest big money in a stand alone GPS device.
Best way to gain friends in college is through hobbies, I made friends through marching band, musical interests (played in a couple of shows set up by students) and sports. I found the fist half of first semester to be lonely and difficult but after that I started making friends and settling down and after that it was a fantastic experience.
From personal experience, I would say GPS is not critical for traveling around a college campus. There are way to many obsticles and things in the way for GPS accuracy. I learned my routes on campus by walking with my sited friends and some help from my parents. I now know the campus like the back of my hand, so its very easy to get around. GPS is definitely not necessary.
Yeah, however if you really must have one, I think most newer note takers come with a GPS feature.
Hey, I am kind of going through the same situation. Thanks for all of the advice you guys!
Macy
It depends on the campus. I went to a large campus where I would routinely have to walk a mile or more to get from class to class and found the GPS useful. I was also able to use it to store roots for places that weren't on campus but were close such as party stores or friends apartments. If you can afford it I would suggest getting it, it's a lot easier then having to repeatedly walk a route with sited help until you memorize it. With the GPS you only have to walk it once.