new member

[Michael]

Hi. My name is Michael. I'm blind and I'm a freshman. My TVI forced me
to sign up for this site so I have a resource that I can get
information from. I look forward to meeting you guys.

[Caitlin Hernandez]

Hey Michael, Welcome to the list! Where are you from, and have you
been to the Braille Challenge before?

[Claire Stanley]

Hi Michael, nice to meet you. Tell us a little bit more about yourself. What are some of your hobbies?

Sent from my iPhone

[kwak...@aol.com]

Hey Michael,
Nice to see you on the list.
I am Miso Kwak, a high school junior living in southern California.
Look forward to get to know you more through the list.
Miso

[Amber Attaway]

Hey what's up? Your VI teacher made you join the list? Lol! Come on
now, we're cool. Seriously though, if you do have any questions, ask
us. I am a senior, taking some college classes for dual credit. It's
crazy, but I'm sure there's some things we can all relate with. Also,
if you just need to vent, ya know, blind people can understand each
other in a way nobody else can grasp. So that feels kind of good
sometimes too. Well, hope you contribute and hope to hear from you
soon. P.S. Can anybody wrap their head around the fact that it's
already December? I know I can't!

[kwak...@aol.com]

Hi everyone,
So I am in the process of creating a list of colleges I want to
apply.(I am a junior)
It's primarily based on whether it offers academics and extracuriculars
I like, size of school, location of school, etc.
Is there any thing I should consider as a blind student?
Miso

[Caitlin Hernandez]

Hi Miso -- I'd definitely look into Disability Student Services at the
campuses you're interested in. if you're planning an in-person visit,
you can call ahead of time and schedule an appointment with someone
from their office. If not, you can email or call and have a prepared
list of questions. How difficult is the campus to navigate as a blind
traveler? What kinds of accommodations will they give you in regards
to class, accessing materials, receiving one-on-one tutoring if you
need it, etc.? Think about what assistance you get in high school and
how it will carry over to college in an ideal situation, and see if
the campuses seem willing to meet your needs and to listen to what you
require and hope to obtain from them in order to be competing on a
level playing field with your sighted peers.
Hope this helps as a starting point.

Best,
Caitlin

[kwak...@aol.com]

HI all,
I hope everyone's doing well.
When it comes to writing essays for my English class, writing itself
can be time consuming and hard, but I sometimes feel like I spend more
time and energy on making sure that my final draft is in correct MLA
format and the Work Cited Page.
I use easybib.com for Works Cited, so it does not take forever; but I
always have someone sighted with me to make sure everything gets into
MLA format including the Works Cited page.
double spaced, underlines for book titles, indent for new paragraphs,
etc.
Is there any way I can do this all by myself and check everything is
done right?
Miso

[Claire Stanley]

Miso,
I wish there was. I personally haven't found anything that makes it
easier. In fact, I believe as an adult and someone who is blind,
sometimes you have to accept what you cannot do and spend your time on
your strengths. That is why I paid little attention to formating and
things of that nature with my papers in college. When I was done with
the writing portion, I would then turn to close and trusted friends to
help with things like MLA formatting or footnotes. If anyone has found
a way, please, please let me know. But like I said, I think its one of
those things that we have to learn is part of the "sighted world" and
sometimes the responsible thing to do is ask for assistance.

On a more entertaining note, I had a dream that I was at the Braille
Challenge last night. Random right? Apparently I loved the Braille
Challenge so much I now dream about it.
Claire and Kodiak

[kwak...@aol.com]

Hello fellow students,
This is Miso Kwak, a junior attending Diamond Bar High.
I would appreciate if you could take a time and answer following
questions for a club I am involved at my school.
The club is called Origami for Hope, and I am a secretary for the club.
THe club was created with the purpose of holding an exhibition with the
origami production for blind and visually impaired people where they
can touch our production and appreciate the art.
We are in the process of planning the exhibit so we would like to ask
some questions to possible audience.
Please be honest and realistic.
1. In your opinion, if you were to go to exhibit, where you could touch
origami productions, would you benefit from it? Do you think would you
enjoy the exhibit?
2. Is city of Los Angeles an accessible location to hold the exhibit?
(in blind and visually impaired person's perspective)
3. Any other concerns,advice/tips/etc.
Please e=mail your feedback in your earliest convinience, to my e-mail
kwak...@aol.com, either within or off of the list.
Sincerely,
Miso Kwak on be half of Diamond Bar High School club, Origami for Hope

[Amber Attaway]

Hi. I can only answer one of those questions, since I don't live in
L.A. and haven't really been around the city much. I know i would love
it if there were an exhibit like that for blind people. I think it is
really important for blind people to see as much artwork as they can,
because sighted people get to see it everywhere. On walls, in
buildings, everywhere. Blind people don't hardly ever get to see
artwork and envoque those parts of the mind that process creativity
like that. That's just my opinion. I wish I could come to L.A. and see
your stuff.

[kwak...@aol.com]

Thank you for those who already responded to my email below.
I apologize if this causes any inconvinience for you, but I would like
to ask a few more things.
In addition to

1. In your opinion, if you were to go to exhibit, where you could touch
origami productions, would you benefit from it? Do you think would you
enjoy the exhibit?
2. Is city of Los Angeles an accessible location to hold the exhibit?
(in blind and visually impaired person's perspective)

New questions
3. In blind person's perspective, what's the ideal size of exhibit hall
and exhibit structure? Would it be helpful if there was sighted person
available as a guider?
4. Would it be a good idea to include sighted, general public as a part
of audience?
5. Any other concerns,advice/tips/etc.

Please e=mail your feedback in your earliest convinience, to my e-mail
kwak...@aol.com, either within or off of the list.
Sincerely,
Miso Kwak on be half of Diamond Bar High School club, Origami for Hope

[Amber Attaway]

I think it would be a good idea if at least a few sighted people were
there to point out things that the blind people couldn't see such as
color, how shiney something is, or other things about the appearance
of the artwork. Also people will definitely need a guide. Another
thing about having a sighted person around is that a sighted person
would be able to encourage the blind person to really touch all over
the project and get to know all of the aspects about it. As for the
exhibit structure, it really doesn't matter. These are just my
thoughts.

On 12/21/11, kwak...@aol.com <kwak...@aol.com> wrote:

[kwak...@aol.com]

HI all,
I hope everyone's doing well.

Since I am taking SAT reasoning in January, the date is quickly
approaching.
I have a question regarding essay portion of the test.
When you took it, did you type essay into Braillenote or any
computerlike device and print it, and just sent it along scantrons?
Or did you write the essay with Brailler and your VI teacher translated
it into the answer sheet?
According to my accomodations from COllege Board, I am not supposed to
use any computerlike device.
It says that I should tell my proctor what to write down on the answer
sheet.
In my opinion, writing essay this way is simply ridiculous so I asked
to change the accomodation so I could use Braillenote, but the COllege
Board denied my request.
For AP tests, which are also administered by College Board, regardless
of my accomodations, I typed my essay, printed it, and sent it along
the scantron(my school's dean told me to do so).
I do not think there was any negative consequence.
Do you think it's okay for me to type the essay, print it, and send it
along the scantron for SAT reasoning as well?
Please give me some feedback based on your experience and logical
thinking.
Thank you.
Miso Kwak

[Caitlin Hernandez]

Hi Miso,
I was able to type my SAT essays on the BrailleNote, print them out,
and then have a teacher/proctor/scribe translate them by hand onto the
answer sheet that the sighted students were using. Alternately, if the
college board won't let you use the computer, or the BrailleNote (as I
did), you might have to use the Perkins Brailler, and then dictate
your essay to the proctor/scribe. I just had to do this for the CSET
and CBEST; it's possible these college board/essay administrator types
are all buckling down and prohibiting all special devices. it's
incredibly ridiculous, but what can you do? I, like you, can
definitely not dictate an essay comfortably; i have to write it to
think through it clearly. So the Brailler was tedious, and of course I
made mistakes, but i simply corrected them later, when i was dictating
the essay to the proctor.
Hope this helps!

Best,
Caitlin

[kwak...@aol.com]

HI everyone,
I would like to start a blog about ways of lives for the blind and
visually impaired in addition to my own life(Braille, tons of
misconceptions, etc)
I am looking for an accessible blogging website.
I created Tumblr account, but it doesn't seem very accessible.
I created wordpress.com. It seems accessible but a bit complicated so
it will require for me to play around for a long time.
I also have blogger.com account.
This account was created, originally, for one of my classes(had to make
a blog for a project)
It was accessible until, I, curiously and accidentally, hit new
interface version.
It seems like there is no way for me to turn it back to the previous
version.
So, in summary, do any of you have blog?
Or do you know anyone who is blind and does blog with screen reader?
I use a screen reader that almost no one uses in America, but I assume
the screen readers are structured generally similar.
SO, you could give me feedback based on JAWS or Windows Eye.
Thank you.
Miso Kwak

[Caitlin Hernandez]

Hi Miso,
Blogs are awesome! I used to use LiveJournal.com, but it is woefully
inaccessible now, unless you purchase a paid account. I now have an
account on DreamWidth.org, although I don't write, just read...My
blogging days are over, mostly for lack of time. But i definitely
recommend DreamWidth. They care a great deal about accessibility and
have a wonderful interface.
Be sure to send us a link to your blog if you get one going!

Best,
Caitlin