Overview of Math Accommodations
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OOvveerrvviieeww ooff MMaatthh AAccccooHighmm Techmm Centeroodd Trainingaatt Unitii oonnss 21050 McClellan Rd. Cupertino, CA 95014 www.htctu.net Foothill – De Anza Community College District California Community Colleges An Overview of Math Accommodations 10:00 A.M. Introduction and Expectations PowerPoint: Overview 11:45 A.M. Lunch 1:00 P.M. Manipulatives * Geometry Protractor, rulers, raised line drawing kit * Algebra Magnet boards Additional options for Braille readers * Cubarithm board * Math Window Counting * Chisenbop * Abacus 2:00 P.M. Break 2:15 P.M. Calculators *Orion *AGC *MathTrax 3:30 p.m. PIAF and Scientific Notebook * Creating graphs & Exporting to tactile graphics * Creating matrices 4:00 P.M. Q&A Evaluations 4:30 P.M. End http://www.htctu.net rev. 10/27/2011 Day Two 9:00 A.M. Introductions and Expectatoins Overview of Access Technologies Intro to Math ML 10:15 A.M. Break 10:30 A.M. Math Type * Creating Equations using MathType MathPlayer MathDAISY MathTalk: http://www.mathtalk.com/demos.htm 11:45 A.M. Lunch 1:00 P.M LaTeX * Creating and Reading Equations with LaTeX * Exporting LaTeX equations * Creating equations in MathType * Creating equations in Scientific Notebook and saving as TeX Scientific Notebook * Entering equations 2:30 P.M. Break 2:45 P.M. Workflow: Book to E-text with math Infty & Chatty Infty 3:30 P.M. R-Project for Statistics vs. SPSS with JAWS script 4:00 P.M. END Objectives Participants will be able to do the following: • understand the complexity of creating math access • understand and use a wide range of manipulatives • use finger counting • know when to recommend Nemeth or DotsPlus for Braille users • understand how to create Nemeth and DotsPlus Braille • understand how to create and use Math ML • create e-text with math equation software http://www.htctu.net rev. 10/27/2011 • be familiar with computer programs designed to support math access http://www.htctu.net rev. 10/27/2011 Math Accommodations Issues Accessing books/problem sets Doing homework/tests Getting information in class Tips for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students 1 Suggestions for Instructors Face the students – Do not talk facing the board Repeat student questions – The deaf student may not have been looking at the questioner Make sure you can be seen clearly – Do not stand and talk in front of a bright window Use gestures – Pointing to what you’re talking about is helpful Build in pauses – Deaf students do a lot of multi-tasking, allow some pauses Tips for Students with Upper Limb Impairments Software Math equation programs allow keyboard entry – Scientific Notebook – MathType (plug-in for Word) MathTalk allows voice entry –Requires MathTalk, Dragon NaturallySpeaking and Scientific Notebook (all three!) 2 Books Scan to PDF Read on-screen Foot pedal mouse Use Dragon to advance pages onscreen Remove spine and rebind to lay flat Use hardware page-turning systems Tips for LD Students Verbalize Instructor side – Concrete, specific descriptions – Verbalize equations and operations Student side – Verbalize the process – Have students explain patterns they see 3 Strategies Spread one semester courses over two Teach strategies, not just algorithms Tactile graphs Manipulatives Color highlighting Draw pictures Self-help Work in quiet without clutter Videotape students studying – Students may be totally unaware of what they are doing while studying— videotaping provides feedback Word Problems Learn key words – “and,” “sum,” “increased” mean add – “take away,” “difference,” “less” mean subtract – “of,” “times” means multiply – “per,” “out of,” “ratio of,” “quotient” mean divide Highlight what is important – Look for key words List information Draw pictures 4 Auditory Math Math books in MathML – Create in MathType or Scientific Notebook MathPlayer reads and highlights – Free download from Design Science – http://www.dessci.com/ Read&Write Gold, Dolphin Tutor, and WYNN work with MathPlayer – Kurzweil only works from the Web interface. Online Help ModuMath Tutorials – Video tutorials for basic math and algebra – http://www.modumath.org/ ALEKS – Assessment and learning – http://www.aleks.com/highered/math/ Khan Academy (videos) – http://www.khanacademy.org/ MuchoMath Professor Larry Perez at Saddleback College – [email protected] You Tube math videos – www.saddleback.edu/faculty/lperez/ 5 Learning Styles for Math Christine Tunstall at Mt. SAC – Instructional Specialist in ABI Resources to help students learn how to learn math http://elearn.mtsac.edu/ctunstall/dsps 30/ Tips for Low Vision Students Software for Writing Math Keyboard entry – Scientific Notebook –MathType Equations can be enlarged Voices what is written – Chatty Infty 6 Creating Large Print Start with PDF Crop pages Print to fit page (11 in. x 17 in.) Can tile pages – Portion of page enlarged to full sheet Enlarging Math in Word Math equations created with MathType plug-in – http://www.dessci.com/en/products/ Create a “Preferences” file – Can save multiple preference files Apply preferences Enlarge text with Ctrl + Shift + > Tips for Blind Students 7 Be wary of assumptions Blindness covers a range – Most blind folks have some sight – Many do see color Not all blind people read Braille – In fact, many CC students do not Not all students who read Braille read Nemeth math Braille Nemeth Braille Example Numbers – 1234567890 –⠼⠂⠆⠒⠲⠢⠖⠶⠦⠔⠴ Symbols – x² + 2x + 2 = 10 – ⠭⠘⠆⠐⠬⠆⠭⠬⠆ ⠨⠅ ⠼⠂⠴ Use Meaningful Words Use concrete terms Meaningless! – “Here is the equation.” – “We start with the equation and factor.” – “Set both factors equal to zero and solve to get the result.” Avoid – This, that, here, there, thing 8 In the following example, you would say everything! Don’t just write it; verbalize it! Say each step. 6x2 = 53x + 9 Subtract 53x and 9 from both sides 6x2 –53x –9 = 0 Trinomial factoring gives us (6x + 1)(x –9) = 0 Set both factors equal to zero 6x + 1 = 0 and x –9 = 0 Solve each equation…etc. Braille options Brailling math is expensive and time- consuming – Algebra books can cost $25,000+ – Calculus books can cost $100,000+ Check books already in Braille and see if instructor is willing to use the problem sets Work with an instructor on “independent study” with a book already in Braille Lots of Math in Braille! Alternate Text Production Center (ATPC) –www.atpc.net ATPC produces Braille and tactile graphics free for the CCCs – Sells books to those outside CCC system Must have syllabus to begin project – Do only required chapters – The more advance notice, the better 9 Other Nemeth Resources American Printing House for the Blind hosts the Louis Database – Anyone can search for Braille materials – www.aph.org Hadley School for the Blind – Free courses – www.hadley-school.org/Web_Site/ 2_b_ae_and_hs_program.asp Nemeth on Campus Scientific Notebook documents can be translated into Nemeth math Braille – www.mackichan.com – From other equation editors, save as LaTeX – Take into Scientific Notebook and save – Open with Duxbury Braille Translation Software (www.duxsys.com) Tactile Diagrams PIAF paper – “Pictures in a Flash” (www.optelec.com) – Microcapsule paper – Can start from any computer file 10 Graphics Printer Tiger Embosser – Embosses graphics in raised dots (www.viewplus.com) – Creates Dots Plus math Braille Other Tactile Strategies Be creative! Magnet boards – Letters and numbers can be purchased – Symbols can be cut from magnetic sheets Corkboard for graphics – Glue thread to make a grid – Push-pins and string for graphing Be Creative! Manipulatives – Many standard K-12 manipulatives will work Collage – Puff paint – Cut-outs –Real objects 11 Commercially Available Wikki Stix – www.wikkistix.com Sewell Raised Line Drawing Kit – www.maxiaids.com Non-slip abacus (Cranmer Abacus) , Braille ruler, protractor, compass, Cubarithm – www.aph.org MathWindow –www.mathwindow.com Scientific Calculator Orion TI-36X – Hand-held, talks – American Printing House for the Blind www.aph.org – MaxiAids www.maxiaids.com Other Calculators www.maxiaids.com – Search on “calculator” 12 Software Calculator Audio Graphing Calculator – Computer software, talks – ViewPlus Technology www.viewplus.com – Note: Graphs can be printed on Tiger Embosser or to PIAF paper MathTrax Free from NASA – http://learn.arc.nasa.gov/mathtrax/index. html Useful Sites http://www.inftyreader.org/?p=92 http://accessiblemath.dessci.com/ http://www.calstate.edu/accessibility/ tutorials/math.shtml 13 10/26/2011 Strategies for Math & Science Accessibility Ron Stewart Access Technology Instructor High Tech Training Center Unit California Community Colleges MathType • MathType is an equation editor for MS Office • Allows equations to be entered into MS Word documents much like the Equation Editor • Document with equations can be exported as: – Web page with MathML – Images (.GIF) – TeX/LaTeX 1 10/26/2011 MathPlayer • MathType provides export option to create Web pages from MS Word • Exported Web pages may contain equations presented as images OR MathML • Web pages and equations can be viewed in either Firefox or Internet Explorer (requires MathPlayer) Infty Reader • OCR application that recognizes STEM documents into editable content • Can convert to LaTeX, MathML, and XHTML • Recognized content may be exported to MS Word 2003/2007 for additional editing 2 10/26/2011 Infty Editor & Chatty Infty • Infty Editor is an authoring tool for math expressions • Chatty Infty is an extension of Infty Editor that provides speech output of math content