CathyAnne Murtha

I’ve been using Windows 7 for several months now.  Prior to Windows 7, I had Vista since its release date.  For Vista users who upgrade to Windows 7, you’ll notice a significant difference in performance.  Windows 7 manages memory more efficiently and the operating system is more.. well, zippy is the first word that came to mind.

Vista was sluggish and slowed down my system considerably.  I liked the many features of Vista but will admit it had its drawbacks in memory management and crashes.  Windows 7, on the other hand, is high efficient, boots quickly and has many new features I enjoy.

Libraries gather the contents of folders together and display them in one view.  I have textbooks and works in progress in various folders and drives.  With the library feature of Windows 7, I can display all of my work in one view.  It’s a nice addition.

For those who liked the Windows XP menus, you won’t be able to switch the Windows 7 menus.  You’ll need to get used to the Windows 7 (very Vista-like) Start Menu.  I find it more efficient than the old menus ever were. I encourage you to give it a try.  I think you’ll get to like it and wonder why you didn’t switch in the first place.

The Task Bar is new and improved with a lot of functionality.  You can pin and launch applications from the Task Bar.  The Quick Launch no longer exists because the Task Bar now does all that the Quick Launch did and much more.  It’s full of keystroke-driven commands.

The Jump lists of the Task Bar and start menu are time savers that I use regularly.  You no longer need to open a recently used folder or open Word, Windows Explorer or other applications to find documents of folders you’d like to access.  Just open a Jump List and select the option.

The Windows Search has changed and the specific search criteria isn’t accessible with either screen reader.  Microsoft did, however, offer text alternatives that you can input into the Instant Search of Windows Explorer.  I’ve grown used to them.  It kind of reminds me of the command line interface of DOS a bit.  I’ve grown adept at locating exactly what I want on my computer by using the Instant Search with the proper parameters.  I think most blind people will pick it up relatively quickly.

As I finish my Windows 7 textbook, I’m finding new features hidden in nooks and crannies of Windows 7 that are happy surprises.  I’m glad I upgraded and can happily recommend to anyone tired of a sluggish Vista to upgrade to Windows 7.  You won’t regret it.

Preparation makes the difference between an average class and a learning experience.  With solid preparation, you can insure you teach skills in an ordered fashion and that you fully engage your students in the training. Preparation doesn’t involve just knowing the program well.  An outline, application exploration and oral practice all help insure an optimal training experience for students.

An outline for each class insures consistency among sessions and facilitates organization.  When working from an outline your students benefit by learning the same material.  You won’t forget to discuss an aspect of the Desktop if it’s in your outline.  You’ll never have to backtrack.  You insure one topic is covered completely before moving on to another skill.  Forward momentum in a training session lets students easily digest the information in each class. If students record your classes or if you provide pre-recorded lessons, organization insures students can review a topic in its entirety.

Before each class, spend some time exploring new aspects of the application or operating system you plan to teach.  Use keystrokes you wouldn’t normally use.  Experimentation uncovers pitfalls your students may encounter as they explore the application.  Make notes of problems you create for yourself and how you resolved the issue and note any unique navigation you may encounter.

If a command works differently than expected, you can help your students understand these unique circumstances and avoid confusion.  By familiarizing yourself with the application, you gain a unique perspective that may prove invaluable in the classroom when a student encounters an issue with which you’re familiar.  By taking time to explore the program, you don’t need to waste valuable class time troubleshooting these issues.

Practice your presentation.  Take some time to talk out loud in the privacy of your office or home.  Work through your outline and work out how you will succinctly explain each topic to the best of your ability.  Remember to incorporate concepts and controls.  Pull out your digital recorder or launch a recording application on your computer and record your presentation.

Listen to yourself and give an honest critique of your performance.  Were there lots of ums and ahs?  These verbal fillers are distracting and unnecessary.  Work on removing them from your vocabulary.  Did you thoroughly cover one topic before moving to another?  How was your tone of voice?  Did you sound nervous or confident?  Be honest with yourself and spend some time prior to each lesson practicing and improving your presentation skills.

George once told me that all trainers should be good actors.  I laughed when he first told me that and then I thought about it.  I hated to admit it, but he had a point.  Sometimes things happen that are beyond our control - students get frustrated and computers experience problems that interfere with a smooth training experience.  That’s where our acting comes into play.

No matter how frustrated, annoyed, exasperated, tired or distracted you are, it’s important to keep a smooth, calm and even tone in your voice.  Keep your voice and posture pleasant and reassuring.  Even on the worst of days, computers are supposed to be an enjoyable experience for your students.

After each class, evaluate your own performance as you would your student’s.  It’s not only important to prepare prior to class but finish with an honest critique of your participation in the experience and update your materials as required.

Go over your outline and add any material that you may have encountered in class.  If a student asked a particularly probing question that you found valuable, incorporate it into your outline.  Some material may be unclear and you found a better way to express the thought - edit your outline to reflect the changes.  You’ll benefit most by doing this editing immediately after the training class when your thoughts are fresh and memory clear. If you recorded the session, listen to the recording the next day.

Listen for those verbal fillers of um and ah. Check your tone of voice and make notes on what you’d like to change the next time you teach the class.  If you feel it would be valuable, incorporate the notes into your outline.  Every trainer’s goal is to provide a positive environment in which students can thrive.  Listening to your own presentations allows you to make the changes necessary to insure that environment exists in your classroom.

By taking time to prepare comprehensive updated class materials and taking time to evaluate your own skills, you create a positive environment in which students can learn and thrive.  Pleasant environments and confident teachers promote learning.  Take the time to be the best trainer you can and you’ll find yourself in high demand with a reputation in which you can take pride.

Students learn best when they are engaged in and enjoying the training experience.  There are a number of things you can do to make your classroom a place where students look forward to visiting and where they enjoy learning.  Be concise, encourage practice of skills, allow your students  opportunities to problem-solve and let them know their feelings aren’t unique and you  insure a positive learning experience for your students.

I employ the following in my classrooms:

1. I Keep my lectures short and to the point and take frequent breaks to ask for input from your students.  If students aren’t forthcoming, I ask direct questions to draw them out and encourage participation.

2. Practical skills allow students to participate in the training.  I Incorporate skill they can take home and use in their everyday life.  The more they use their computer, the more information they’ll retain.

3. I Create problems your students can solve.  In live training situations, I remove a shortcut, change a view, edit a screen reader dictionary entry to say something funny or ridiculous and continue to challenge them until the skills are second nature.  This reinforcement is an invaluable teaching tool.

4. My training environment is relaxed and fun. Students who enjoy an experience are more likely to learn.

5. I Humanize myself by sharing small anecdotes about my first experiences with computers.  Mistakes or funny things I did when I first encountered computers.  My students know that I was  once overwhelmed and confused by computers.  As with lectures, I keep the stories short and relevant.

6. My classroom is a safe place where the worries of the world disappear.  Students have a variety of real-life issues and problems. I encourage them to drop the baggage on the doorstep and make their time with me a time dedicated to self-improvement.  It’s okay for them to be selfish and think only of their own success when they enter my classroom.

Making the classroom a relaxed sanctuary where students are challenged to improve themselves and leave each day with new skills they can practice sets the foundation necessary for a successful outcome.

We all know the power a computer pocesses to change one’s life. I mix the above with a solid lesson plan, regular testing and ongoing communication with rehab counselors or employers to create an environment that helps students take their first vital steps into the world of computing and a new life of independence.

The educational experiences of blind students run hot and cold. Their is little consistency in the experiences of individual students.  The quality of education varies among institutions and states.
From pre-school to post-graduate education, both students and administrators need to take a look at the opportunities afforded blind consumers and take steps to prepare blind students from the earliest of ages for the educational and professional challenges that lie ahead.

In many colleges and Universities, blind students dictate answers to essay questions, English compositions and literacy tests to an individual who types the answer onto a computer.  It’s difficult, if not impossible, to perform a competent edit of a document when you aren’t allowed to access the information first hand.

These students emerge from college with a degree but no knowledge of the technology required to help them succeed in life beyond the doors of our educational institutions.

A blind consumer denied the training necessary to access a computer and the Internet independently ultimately finds employment in entry-level positions with no hope of advancement.

Every school, from kindergarten to universities should have a computer lab with screen-reading technology.  It doesn’t have to be a separate room cordoned off for the exclusive use of blind and visually impaired students.  Simply pick a cache of computers and install screen readers so students can participate in their own education.

Instruction in the use of computers should begin at the earliest of ages.  They should learn along side their sighted peers.  Special care should be taken to insure qualified instructors teach the concepts and controls of the operating system and applications to these students.

The days of learning by rote and memorizing keystrokes are behind us.  Blind and visually-impaired students deserve a comprehensive education in the use of the most recent versions of screen-readers, Operating Systems, Applications and the Internet.

In many states, tests are required to graduate high school.  I contend these tests should include computer comprehension for all students.  In college, nearly every course in which studnets participate include one or more research papers.

To compete on an equal basis, students need access to library materials, the Internet, and a computer. All of these elements can be placed in a students hands by administrators who take the steps to insure all students have an equal chance at success.

By affording blind and visually-impaired students the same opportunities as their sighted peers, administrators and teachers place a student’s future firmly in their own hands.  They’re able to compete on an equal basis and rise above the entry-level to a future of their own design.

Trust is too freely given and too often betrayed in the blind community.  Some, with the best of intentions cause hardship and extraordinary expense by offering uninformed opinions of products and devices of which they know little but about which they have heard much.

Offering informed opinions to students based on the hearsay of others is a betrayal of trust.  I encourage you to do your homework, experience Operating Systems, applications and assistive devices first hand before steering a student in a direction that will hold them back or prevent them from experiencing cutting edge technology because you opted to take shortcuts rather than do the work necessary to provide an informed opinion.

The above may sound harsh but I can’t count the number of students who have called me on the phone or written email telling me of extra expense they incurred to downgrade Windows Vista back to XP or Word 2007 back to 2003.  Many were instructed to do so by their Access Technology Instructors.  My heart sinks every time I encounter a student who spent additional funds to remove an excellent Operating System or version of Microsoft Word.

Many of the trainers with whom I’ve spoken tell me they “heard” that Vista was inaccessible or caused problems on systems.  They read it on a mailing list or heard some people talking in a computer shop about Vista and its many downfalls.  I also hear tales of trainers who try the ribbon themselves for a few minutes and give up because it’s too much of a learning curve.  Based on limited experience, these trainers advise their students to remove Word 2007 from their computer.

If you want to call yourself an Access Technology Trainer, then it’s incumbent upon you to do your homework.  Try an operating system thoroughly for yourself.  Read up on hints and tips, experiment with the features, learn the terminology used for the operating system or application and ask questions of those who may have more knowledge than you.  Don’t put your faith in members of mailing lists or online forums. It’s impossible to gauge the skill of a stranger based on a series of email or occasional rants.  Some people are wonderful communicators but their computer skills are questionable, at best.

Students come to us trusting that we have done our homework and will share an informed and professional opinion.  It’s impossible to have the opinion of a professional when you trust the word of others.  Before you suggest a student remove an Operating System or application from a computer, think carefully about the source of your opinion.  If it’s anything less than personal experience and investigation from informed sources, you are well within your rights to offer no opinion and suggest other resources through which they can find the answers they seek.  Sometimes the best advice we can give, is none at all

Everyone should have a proof reader.  When I first started working online, my best friend, George, served as my proof reader.  When I needed to write something that made me uncomfortable or wanted to post an opinion to a mailing list that could be taken in a number of ways, I first called George.  I’d read my letter to him and he’d make suggestions to remove a phrase here, trim a sentence there and change all my pronouns to “I.”  He taught me to keep my missives “I oriented.”

If I expressed an opinion, it needed to be framed in the first person.  It was my opinion and no one else was obligated to agree with me or support my point of view.  Many letters that had the potential to be misconstrued and cause me extraordinary discomfort in our community turned into letters of which I could be proud and that caused harm to no one.  He taught me to communicate in a new and wonderful way.

I admit to an occasional tussle as I insisted there was only one way to say something and it had to be worded in the exact strong and assertive tone that I had used. George would quietly explain the facts and I would change my strongly worded sentence to one that was as profound but was less threatening to the reader.

Not everyone can have a George Buys in their life but you can benefit from his sage advice.  I’m sure he won’t mind if I share some of the most important skills he taught me when writing correspondence.

1. Keep everything about you.  Stay “I oriented.”  For example, “You aren’t doing the work in class and I’m going to drop you from the training class” becomes “I may not be the right trainer for you.  We’ve worked hard to help you succeed but I feel you may have better luck with another instructor.  I’ve included the names of some trainers may be able to assist you in your goals.  I wish you the best of luck.”

2. Avoid personal attacks or judgments. “Your style of dress is offensive to the other students.”  becomes “I enjoy wearing modern clothes and admit to letting myself go a bit in my personal if; however, in this professional environment, I found I gained more respect when I adopted a more tailored look.  We can offer assistance and suggestions to help you “dress for success,” please contact the office and schedule an appointment to meet with us. It can be fun to try new styles and change things up a bit.”

3. Don’t get bogged down in details, keep it simple.. “We’ve removed you from the training course because you’ve failed to attend class, haven’t submitted tests, refused to participate in class discussions, and are consistently late on days you do attend class!” becomes “Unfortunately, the requirements for continued participation in the training class haven’t been met.”

These are three of the main suggestions George had for me when writing letters to mailing lists, students and colleagues.  I continue to re-read my letters to this day with a critical eye.  I remove a phrase here, trim a sentence there and change all my pronouns to “I.”  Every time I write a letter, I ask myself, “What would George think?”  After I finish taking a scalpel to my work, I know the answer - George would be pleased.

Thanks Georgie!