Article
Automated Translation
Taking a college math course? Here is an opportunity to receive your math textbook in braille!
From a math expert
As we know, most of us are able to get braille textbooks for our STEM students if they are in grades K-12. However, when they head off for college, they are often subject to a rude awakening. Many of us have EXIT type programs in our various states; TSBVI has such a program and others have similar transition programs. I’m planning on passing this information along to the director of our EXIT program because one of our EXIT students was trying to take Calculus and having quite the time trying to find her required textbook in braille in time for her to enroll in the course.
Please read the announcement to see who is eligible and pass this information along to any individuals who you think would benefit from this opportunity.
-Susan Osterhaus
A new math translation option
For the past few years, the Automated Translation team (AMT) has been developing software to automatically translate printed mathematics text into Nemeth Braille. Success in this effort should result in providing Braille textbooks to blind students in a timely manner and at lower costs to universities and community colleges. Our work has been successful enough so that we are now ready to look for a test case for our new software.
If you are a student majoring in STEM who will need a braille textbook, or a faculty member who will have a student who requires a braille textbook for a core STEM class, we would like to talk with you to determine if that textbook would be suitable as a test case. We will also consider other course materials such as lecture notes written in LaTeX. If you are a non-stem student who needs to fulfill a one math course requirement, we would also like to hear from you. With our automated software, blind students can expect to receive their Braille textbooks in time for their courses and disabled student service offices can expect to provide Braille textbooks at a much more reasonable cost.
If you are interested, please contact me at [email protected].
Please provide me with your contact information, the institution you are attending and the course for which you will need the Braille textbook. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you.
Dr. Al Maneki
Senior STEM Advisor
NFB Jernigan Institute
443-745-9274
[email protected]
