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Braille for College Level STEM Courses

Handouts

Presented at 8:00am in Waverly on Thursday, November 16, 2017.

#9038

Speaker(s)

  • Christa Miller, Associate Director of Services for Students with Disabilities, Virginia Tech
  • Kelly Woodward, Coordinator of Accessible Materials and Adaptive Technology, Radford University
  • Chelsea Cook, , Virginia Tech Alumnae

Session Details

  • Length of Session: 2-hr
  • Format: Lecture
  • Expertise Level: Beginner
  • Type of session: General Conference

Summary

Receiving a Braille accommodation request for the first time can seem daunting, and for majors in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) even more so. This session will explore the lessons learned, questions to ask, How-to's, and resources to know for any higher education professional who needs to support a Braille reader in STEM.

Abstract

For any student, college level Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) courses can be both exciting and challenging. For students who read Braille, STEM courses increase the complexity of the college transition for the student and the college. In fact, it may be the first time the college has been asked to produce Nemeth Braille or complex Tactile Graphics. This session will focus on the experiences and best practices developed at Virginia Tech to provide Braille for STEM courses, as a reasonable accommodation. Planning ahead and good communication are key to a successful working relationship for all involved. Other topics covered include the top ten lessons learned, questions that parents and students can/should ask prospective colleges and universities, and other resources available for obtaining college level Braille for STEM courses. During the second hour of the session we will explore in-depth how various types of material were converted, transcribed, proofread and delivered.

Keypoints

  1. List 10 actions that promote a positive working relationship for all when requesting/providing a Braille accommodation.
  2. List 3 key questions parents and students should be prepared to ask prospective colleges about receiving Braille as an accommodation.
  3. Identify 3 publicly available resources for students to access college level Braille materials.

Disability Areas

Vision

Topic Areas

Alternate Format, Assistive Technology, Uncategorized

Speaker Bio(s)

Christa Miller

Christa Miller is currently the Associate Director for Services for Students with Disabilities at Virginia Tech (VT). She has a BS Electrical Engineering (2008) and MS Industrial Systems Engineering (2012) both from VT. She started working in VT's Assistive Technologies group in 2006 as a student employee teaching students how to use assistive and accessible technologies. From 2010 to 2015, she transcribed STEM materials into Braille, and then transitioned into teaching instructors to create accessible educational materials by design.

For the last several years, she's helped VT grow their digital accessibility footprint by helping to establish the centralized captioning fund, building up the campus' Accessibility Network, creating training on PDF accessibility, and leading cohorts of individuals preparing for the IAAP CPACC Certification.

Christa is an active member of regional and national disability and accessibility organizations (AHEAD in VA, AHEAD, ATHEN, and Accessing Higher Ground). When she has the opportunity, her research interests include accessibility in STEM courses and Universal Design for Learning.

Kelly Woodward

Kelly has worked in the higher education setting since 2009. She is the Coordinator of Accessible Materials and Adaptive Technology as well as a Disability Services Specialist at Radford University, Radford Virginia. Kelly is passionate about adaptive technology and accessibility. She assists, trains, and consults with students, faculty, and administrators on how to integrate assistive technology into course instruction and works with student to ensure equal access to instructional materials.

Chelsea Cook

Chelsea Cook graduated from Virginia Tech in 2015 with a Bachelors of Science in Physics. She has since interned with NASA and has recently relocated to beautiful Colorado.

Handout(s)

  • Braille STEM Top Ten List

    The top ten list of lessons learned by the Virginia Tech Braille team regarding producing Braille for STEM

  • Braille for STEM

    Slide deck for Braille for STEM produced by Christa Miller and Chelsea Cook from Virginia Tech.

Braille STEM Top Ten List Braille for STEM