2019-05-30 20:49:29

Sorry for the double-post, but is Eclipse more accessible on Windows? I've had a lot of difficulty on Mac, but that may be because I don't know as much about the IDE itself.

A winner is you!
—Urban Champion

2019-05-30 22:29:46

Ditto to everything said above.
You're also in a really great position because you're an incoming freshman. I was a sophomore transferring into a new university going into my junior year while switching from music to computer science, and boy, let me tell you, that was one hell of a transition!
tongue
Don't get me wrong, it was worth everything I've been through, but it's not an ideal situation to be in.
My point is that your CS requirements will be taken in smaller doses which is a really great thing. I, on the other hand, will be taking 3 CS courses, calculus, statistics, and a writing-intensive English course all this fall because I finished all of my gen ed's (minus the English course) and have nothing but the major requirements. It'll be hell, but again, it's worth it to me.

As far as IDE's go, probably Windows? I still say don't bother, there's really no major need for it, but if you do go down that route, I'd think that Windows is going to be your best bet.
Again, check out mailing lists. program-l has tons of people who ask questions about these kinds of things. I'm sure I've seen Eclipse mentioned at least 6 times on that list, lol.

P.S.: really not trying to sound condescending or like a know-it-all when I post here -- reading back through some of the way I phrased things, I feel like it might come off that way.

What game will hadi.gsf want to play next?

2019-05-30 22:58:20

I've got a college algebra class to take -- because, apparently, the last two years of Algebra I've taken doesn't count as 'college algebra'. Weird. So I'll probably use Lambda for the assignments and see if the books can be gotten in MathML format. It'll be hard though.

"On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament!]: 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out ?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question."    — Charles Babbage.
My Github

2019-05-31 16:14:01

Hey guys. I just want to let you know that I would be happy to help all of you who need it. I was successful in my college classes, and have done plenty of work around making Math accessible for us. One of the many projects was to work on an accessible Equation Editor with Pearson, the publishing company. Also, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Chemistry, and Physics are all courses I am willing to help you all if you need it. If it has a strong mathematical background, I can definitely give it a shot in helping you as well. All you have to do is reach out via my contact below. I already have some of you reaching out, and I'm happy to help more. This can be a joint effort. I'm always happy when hearing other visually impaired people are achieving success in engineering/tech-related disciplines.

2019-06-01 16:07:22

@28, if you're in the states, your disabilities department should be and are [legally] responsible for and obligated to obtaining books. That's a reasonable accommodation. I don't know how it works elsewhere in the world.

Glad to see others showing support! STEM fields are most definitely the paths less-traveled by blind people, and it's truly a wonderful thing to be able to access a forum where you can get some great advice and help from those who have gone or are going through these kinds of feats.

What game will hadi.gsf want to play next?

2019-06-01 19:53:08

@30, I know, I am in the states. Even with assistance it may be hard. But I can probably do it -- I have my TVI on call, if you will; she's probably go some ideas of her own.

"On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament!]: 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out ?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question."    — Charles Babbage.
My Github

2019-06-01 20:39:23

Ah, gotcha. It usually takes some finagling and finding the right places (organizations or even other universities) to get these kinds of things to work.

What game will hadi.gsf want to play next?

2019-06-02 14:35:15

Post 28, have you taken a look at the OpenStax books? These have MathML in them, and if you download MathPlayer, you should be able to get NVDA to read them quite nicely. They might not be exactly aligned with your curriculum, but you can use simple reasoning to determine what your teacher is teaching that week, and read relevant material. That, and Khan Academy. That was a life-saver for some of the courses I took in college. Also, take advantage of tutoring and TA services. Each person has a process for what works for them, but if I'm being honest, from personal experience, relying on disability services and other people can sometimes just let you down. I'm not saying they're useless, but you might need to develop strategies of your own to get through some of the hard sciences, maths, etc.

2019-06-02 16:17:43

Speaking of asking other non-disability services related people, but how much does having someone else take your notes help? I have been able to quickly and efficiently take notes during high school, but I know that college is  a different beast. If I have access to the lecture slides (which I certainly hope I do), would it be necessary?

A winner is you!
—Urban Champion

2019-06-02 21:43:41

@33, I have heard of OpenStax and have used them in the past. I haven't heard of con academy though.

"On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament!]: 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out ?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question."    — Charles Babbage.
My Github

2019-06-02 21:47:39 (edited by leibylucw 2019-06-03 04:01:51)

I personally have a notetaker for the higher-level math courses. Calculus is a much different tiger than algebra, and writing in LaTeX or Braille during what can be a fast-paced lecture isn’t efficient for me. The notetaker is actually the TA I had for pre-calc. It’s important that if you do go down this route you find somebody who has 1) taken the course before and 2) gotten an A in that course, so it can’t be just any Joe Shmoe. That could be a difficult thing unless you talk to the right people, but it takes a lot of (what I think is unnecessary) stress off of me so that I can focus on the actual material and not the ways in which I access it.

Edit: As far as books, I say whatever works for you is what you should shoot for -- MathML-encoded Word or HTML files, Braille, audio, etc, who cares, as long as you can read it! You're going to have to work out some kind of process with the professor surrounding assignments and the appropriate demonstration of your understanding of the material anyways, so not having the curriculum's exact edition of the book or even the exact book itself shouldn't really be an issue. I think you'll find you won't have a "typical" undergrad experience. That's to say, because you will be finding ways to access courses in your own way, you won't be following procedures your classmates would. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, of course, but I think it can be expected when pursuing these types of fields -- just expect the unexpected. smile
Ditto to utilizing tutoring services and other resources. KA is a great resource, and you can even some great YouTube videos on things if you look for the right channels. I went to my pre-calculus TA [at least] 3-4 hours per week, and wound up with a great grade in the course. Don't ever feel like you're stupid. Everybody feels that way till things click. It can be frustrating when you encounter those CS gurus who get the 4.0 because they're just that good, but it's important you focus on how you can best understand the material and do well in class.

What game will hadi.gsf want to play next?

2019-09-22 18:37:50

I thought I'd bring this topic back up from the depths of the forum...
Mitch, how's college going? I think I saw on another thread that you're in your first semester, and I'm interested to hear how it's going for you so far.

What game will hadi.gsf want to play next?