Summary of course taken

I was a third year Modern History and Politics student at the University of Southampton. I have Cerebral Palsy and use a wheelchair full-time. I use a laptop for typing as I cannot write by hand.

I have just left to go to Cardiff University next year to take a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism Studies. Eventually, I hope to write for a magazine, perhaps Disability Now or The New Statesman, or any national quality newspaper.

For my course, like many others, we get a lot of paper material. It’s not only lecture notes, journal articles and books that we have to thumb through. There are also tons of handouts, especially for History – snippets from books, archives, press cuttings etc.

Having things in electronic format is essential for me to cope with the demands of my course. I would be drowning under a sea of paper, otherwise!! I do not have the dexterity to manipulate masses of sheets. So paper material is difficult for me to locate, and difficult to display properly when writing.

Lots of journal articles are already available but in some cases, only recent journal articles. It would be so much easier if many more books were available electronically.

Description of strategies used.

Finding material in electronic format - Using blackboard wherever possible

I make use of Blackboard as much as I can. Many students will have found that this a great resource for electronic material. It makes documents readily available to students in an easily accessible format.

Using electronic journal databases + portals

I also use electronic databases such as Web of Knowledge. These kind of databases may be available on the Library website – check the Subject Support section and locate your subject.

There are also portals to find out which journals are available online. Southampton has their own portal, TDNet.

Creating and converting material into electronic format - Using an LSA to make electronic lecture notes

I have a Learning Support Assistant who takes notes for me in lectures. These notes are then typed and emailed to me, so that I can work with them electronically. This makes it easier to find notes, and also to use them for essays.

Scanning in multiple sheets of paper and OCR

I have an OCR scanner and OmniPage character recognition software. Together, these items scan documents and covert them into electronic text.

I have found that an auto-feed scanner is especially useful. This allows people to place multiple sheets of text inside a scanner. This means my LSA or carer does not have to wait for ages, placing each sheet of text one-by-one inside the scanner.

Scanning to make PDFs accessible.

OmniPage can also convert PDFs into editable Word format, so that I can copy and paste extracts of articles.

Using Dragon to make notes from books

I use Dragon Naturally Speaking voice recognition software. I do not use this for writing essays. This would require me to train the software extensively in order for it to be accurate. Also, I cannot articulate thoughts well enough in speech form. However, I find Dragon useful for making notes from books.

It means I can have a book in front of me, and make notes without needing to move the book away every time I want to type something.

Of course, you can scan in books (see 'Scanning in multiple sheets of paper and OCR' and ‘Some possibilities for the future’). Still, Dragon is especially useful when you don’t have the whole book in electronic format, and you don’t know which sections you are going to need to annotate. It gives you the flexibility to flick through and make notes.

Using a mobile phone to record memos.

If I have something that I need to remember, and I am not at a computer, I use my mobile phone to create a memo. I create a recording or write a text message. I basically use it as a low-tech PDA.

I need an accessible mobile phone, so I preferably need one with large buttons. I currently have a Nokia 6101, but these are not being made any more.

Some possibilities for the future

Using the library’s straight-to-PDF photocopiers

There is a possibility that the library may now have some photocopiers that have a scanner incorporated in them. These scanners will put things straight into PDF.

Using the library’s large photocopying machine, which puts whole books into electronic format.

It does what it says on the tin, but this is currently only used for university staff. The library may be aware of its potential for disabled students who want things in electronic format.

For more info about these possibilities for the future, contact people at the library. Best bets are the Library Disability Co-ordinator, Jennie Nunn, and ATS Co-ordinators Andrew Dykes and Linda Robertson.

Storing electronic material

Using an accessible MP3 player for podcasts and data storage

Lecturers don’t yet have podcasts. They have material in written format. However, podcasts are used by newspapers as a new way of disseminating information. I sometimes listen to politics podcasts on newspaper websites. I then download them onto my MP3 player.

I also use my MP3 player as a storage device to back up data. If the files are smaller than 2GB, I put it on my USB pen drive.

I need to have an accessible MP3 player with large buttons. Sensitive trackpads are very difficult for me.

At the moment, I have an XClef HD-500 but the XClef HD- range are now no longer being made. My XClef is now dying, and I’m struggling to find an accessible replacement.

Organising files and folders

I make sure my files are named clearly, so that I can locate files easily.

However, most importantly, I have a clear folder structure (mine is divided and subdivided to the point of being a bit obsessive!!)

For each unit, lecture notes, handouts, reading materials and reading notes are all separated, so that I can locate files easily. Yes, ok, I will freely admit it… the way I’ve done it is very sad!!

But some form of clear folder structure and file naming definitely helps.

Making sure electronic material is displayed properly - Viewing items on two screens

I use a second monitor. When writing an essay, I can easily select the information that I need to have in front of me, just by finding the right files. If I had to use paper notes only, I would have to keep asking someone to locate the next page that I needed.

The second monitor is also useful for making notes from other electronic material, such as a journal article or a scanned document. If I have a section of the article that I need to examine in detail, such as a quotation that I need to copy, I can just look at it on the other screen.

Linking between electronic material and devices

Using a blog to link between files and wifi, bluetooth for devices plus Skype and SMS for other types of communication.