Electronic Proceedings of the 12^th Asian Technology Conference in Mathematics

Abstract for 12901

Using MS Word and Field Codes for Teaching Calculus for the Blind

Authors: Felino Pascual

Affiliations: Mathematics/Statistics, Winona State University

Keywords: Undergraduate Level, Calculus, Blind, Braille

At Winona State University, we have had a few blind students major

in or take courses in the mathematical sciences. This talk relates

some of my experiences in teaching calculus to a blind student in a

classroom situation, including some of the problems we faced, and

the strategies, technological and non-technological, that we used to

get around these problems. During lectures, I used MS Word, which

made typed transcripts of the lectures immediately available for

Braille translation. I also used a standard feature of MS Word

called Field Codes with which I could create mathematical

expressions that could be rendered in Braille. The talk will feature

some examples of Field Code-generated expressions and the creation

of shortcut keys for these expressions.