1. Created by Ami Boreri,with inspiration from Eric Guillory at LCB, and input from Jessica Bartenbach, Lucy Alexander, and Kurt Boreri in June 2016. 1
New Mexico Commission for the Blind
Orientation Center
411 North White Sands Blvd
Alamogordo, NM 88310
College Readiness Course Syllabus for STEP Students
INSTRUCTORS/ADVISORS
1. JessicaBartenbach, braille
2. Ami Boreri,adaptive technology
3. Kurt Boreri,personal management
Note that one of these instructorswill be assignedasyourAdvisorwhileyoucompletethe College
Readinesscourse.
DESCRIPTION
A 6-weekcourse addressingthe considerations,knowledge,skills,strategies,andconceptsrequisiteto
meetthe challengesandtriumphsof college life.Participantswill review anddiscuss all aspectsof the
college experience,notsimplyacademics.Blindness-specificdiscussionwill be akeycomponentof the
content.Thiscourse integratesbraille,adaptive technology,andpersonal management skills.
INTENDED AUDIENCE
STEP studentsbeginningcollege studies immediately upongraduatinghighschool andcompletionof the
STEP program; or STEP students whoare returningtocollege afterrecentlygraduatinghighschool and
completionof the STEPprogram.

2. Created by Ami Boreri,with inspiration from Eric Guillory at LCB, and input from Jessica Bartenbach, Lucy Alexander, and Kurt Boreri in June 2016. 2
PREREQUISITES
1. You musthave receivedyourhighschool diplomawithinthe lastyear.
2. You mustbe startingcollege withinthe nextyear.
3. You musthave intermediate-level computerskills;especiallyinternet, wordprocessing,andfile
management.
4. You musthave ready access to an internet-connectedcomputerwithbasicsoftware,i.e.word
processor,internetbrowser,email,etc.
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES & CLASS FORMAT
Instructorswill use avarietyof strategiestomeetcourse objectives,includinguse of audio/video
resources,readingsfromrequiredtextsandjournal articles,classroomandblogdiscussions.
As mentionedabove,thiscourse bringstogetheradaptive technology,braille andpersonal management
classes.Therefore,youwill be allowedtoworkonthiscourse duringclasstime forthese three classes,
but onlyone class perioda week.The otherclassperiodwill be spentdevelopingand/orhoningother
blindnessrelatedskills. Youmaychoose to divide upthe three classperiodsyoumayspendworkingon
thiscourse overthe twoclassdays weekly,orchoose one daya weektoworkon thiscourse.
As mentionedbelow,anyweeklyassignmentsthatyoucannotcomplete withinthe three classperiods
allottedtothiscourse mustbe completedonyourowntime.
Since thisisa college prepcourse,we will treatyoulike collegestudents.Inotherwords,we will not
chase you to complete yourassignments,norwillwe remindyoutosubmitthem,asthe onusof
completionof thistrainingisonyou. Youwill findthatcollege islike thisaswell;highschool,andall
theirgentle andnot-so-gentle reminderstodoyour work,hasbeenofficiallyleftbehind.Onlyyoucan
decide tosucceedor notsucceedincollege.
ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS
1. Complete assignmentsinthe orderthat theyare presented. Weekone correspondswiththe
secondweekof STEP;for 2016 that meansthe weekof June 13th
.
2. All weeklyassignmentsare due bythe Monday morningfollowingthe weeknumberlisted,by 8
am. Late assignmentswill be gradeddown.
3. All writtenassignmentsare due via email toyour Advisor.Youmayattach a Microsoft Word
document,type yourassignmentdirectlyinemail,oruse yourbraille note takertocreate and
senda textfile.Please varyyourmethodsoas to practice all yourskills.

3. Created by Ami Boreri,with inspiration from Eric Guillory at LCB, and input from Jessica Bartenbach, Lucy Alexander, and Kurt Boreri in June 2016. 3
o The exceptionsto thisrule are the two braille note takingassignments,the Survey
Monkeyassignments,andthe blogpostassignments.
4. Your Advisor,oranotherInstructorif appropriate,will grade yourassignmentandreturnitto
youwithcomments.Theywill returnitto by the Friday afteryousubmittedit,assumingyou
submitteditontime. Thatway youmay incorporate anyfeedbackgivenintoyournext
assignment,if needbe.
5. Whenwritingyourassignments,be thoughtful andproofread.Be sure not to plagiarize.Note
that we define aparagraphas betweenfiveandsevensentences, havingaclearlyidentifiable
topic, and a cohesive structure.
6. Note alsothat youwill more-than-likelybe requiredtocomplete some of these assignmentson
your own time inorder to complete the CollegeReadinessCourseinitsentirety.
GRADING SCALE & COURSE COMPLETION REQUIREMENTS
 90 - 100% = A
 80 - 89% = B
 70 - 79% = C
 60 - 69% = D
 59 - 0 % = F
You mustcomplete all assignmentswithalettergrade of C or above toreceive creditforthiscourse.
COURSE OUTLINE BY WEEK:
WEEK ONE: discussions, college, braille, blogging, and a quote
1. MeetwithyourAdvisorto reviewthissyllabusanddiscussanychangesrequiredforyour
situation.Forexample,whatotherskillsmightyouneedinadditiontopracticingthe ones
neededtocomplete the assignmentsbelow?
a. BARD,Book Share,VictorStream, Braille Note Taker,PowerPoint,formattingWord
docs,et cetera.
2. Alsodiscussyour notetakingskillsandmethodswithyourAdvisor.Youwill needskillinthe
followingthree formsof notetaking methods tocomplete assignments:slate andstylus;typing
on a laptop;and usinga braille note taker. If youdon’towna braille note taker,one willbe
loanedtoyou.
3. Meetwiththe Personal Management instructortodiscussyourcollege majorand/orcareer
ideas,sothat he can determine whatyourmajor-specificassignmentswill be. These major-
specificassignmentswill notbe due until week five.
4. Complete one of the followingshortreadingassignmentsoncollege topics:

4. Created by Ami Boreri,with inspiration from Eric Guillory at LCB, and input from Jessica Bartenbach, Lucy Alexander, and Kurt Boreri in June 2016. 4
a. Read the “5 ThingsCollege ProfessorsWantStudentsandParentstoKnow”USA Today
article (shortread) byDr. Nicki Washington;theninone well-organizedandwell-
reasoned paragraph explainwhichof the 5 thingsyoubelieve is mostimportanttoyou
and why. The article must be read in brailleand can beobtained fromyourbraille
instructor.
b. Read the “Top 10 StudySkillsLists”article (shortread) publishedbyLynchburgCollege;
thenpick 3 thingsfromeachof the 4 liststhatyou feel willprovide youwiththe best
successwhenstudying,and explainwhyyouchose whatyoudid.Write thisin list form.
The article mustbe read in brailleand can be obtained fromyourbraille instructor.
5. Create and post a replytothe NM BLINDblogon Word Pressregardinga particularquote;note
that youdo not needaWord Pressaccount to do this.Here isthe link:
https://nmblind.wordpress.com/2016/06/10/week-one-2016-step/
WEEK TWO: college, note taking, blogging and another quote
1. Complete one of the followingmediumreadingassignmentsoncollegetopics:
a. Read the “Message to My FreshmanStudents”HuffingtonPostarticle (mediumread) by
ProfessorKeithParsons;thenanswerthe 7 questionsonSurveyMonkey here.
b. Read the “10 Invaluable TipsforIncomingCollege Freshman(FromaRecentGraduate)”
blogpost(mediumread) on WordPressbyTylerKury;then explainwhich2 tipsyou
thinkyoudo well alreadyandwill have notrouble withincollege,aswell as2 tipsyou
thinkyoudon’tdo well,orhave neverdone,andwill strugglewithin college,butyou
still believetheyare goodadvice.Also explainhow youwill overcome yourstruggleto
be able to utilize thesetips.
2. Complete all three shortnote takingassignments,eachusing one ofthe three methods
mentionedabove:slate andstylus,typingona laptop,andtypingbraille onanote taker.
a. Listento the “Facingthe Tweetbook:GettingLinkedintoSocial Media”article (short)
publishedbythe NFB’sBrailleMonitorinthe June 2016 edition.Here isthe webpage for
that edition,where youcannavigate tofindthe linktothe article’saudiofile.Usingone
of the indicatedmethods, take notesonthisspeechsothat youcan summarize itin one
well-organizedparagraph;be sure toinclude ablurbaboutthe author.Then, submit
boththe summaryandthe notes.
b. Listento the “Long TermTraining”article (short) publishedbythe NFB’sBraille Monitor
inthe April 2016 edition.Here isthe webpage forthatedition,where youcannavigate
to findthe linktothe article’saudiofile.Usingone of the indicatedmethods, take notes
on thisspeechsothat youcan summarize itin one well-organizedparagraph;be sure to
include ablurbaboutthe author.In a secondparagraph, talkabout yourown
experience withblindnessskillstraining,includingwhetheryoufeel like youhave
achievedall yourgoalsorif youneedmore trainingtogetthere.Then, submitboth the
paragraphsand the notes.

5. Created by Ami Boreri,with inspiration from Eric Guillory at LCB, and input from Jessica Bartenbach, Lucy Alexander, and Kurt Boreri in June 2016. 5
c. Listento the “Low-TechSolutionsforEmploymentof the Blind”article (short) published
by the NFB’sBraille Monitorinthe January2016 edition.Here isthe webpage forthat
edition,whereyoucannavigate tofindthe linktothe article’saudiofile.Usingone of
the indicatedmethods, take notesonthisspeechsothatyou can summarize it inone
well-organizedparagraph;be sure toinclude ablurbaboutthe authorand explainwhat
the overarchingideaof the article is,or whatskill the authortalksaboutrepeatedly.
Then, submitboth the summaryand the notes.
3. Create and post a replytothe NM BLINDblogon Word Pressregardinganotherquote.Here is
the link: https://nmblind.wordpress.com/2016/06/10/week-two-2016-step/
WEEK THREE: more college and note taking, blogging and yet another quote
1. Read the “Self-AdvocacyinHigherEducation”article (longread) publishedbythe NFB;thenin
two well-organizedand well-reasonedparagraphsdiscuss any challengesyoumayhave
encounteredwhenworkingwithyourstate'svocationalrehabilitationsystem.How mightyou
and/oryour rehabilitationcounselor(s)have beenabletoameliorate the situationif done
differently?Whatsuccesseshave yourealizedin workingwiththe system?Lastly,how canyou
take the lessonslearnedandapplythemtoadvocatingforyourself atcollege?
2. Listento the 2014 National NFBConventionspeech(long)titled,“The Challengeandthe Limit”
by Mark Mauer. Here is the webpage where youcannavigate tofindthe linktothe audiofile of
the speech.Usingyourpreferredmethod, take notesonthisspeechsothatyou can summarize
it inthree well-organizedparagraphs.Then,submitboththe summaryandthe notes.
3. Create and post a replytothe NM BLINDblogon Word Pressregardingyetanotherquote.The
linkwill be providedtoyoushortlyviaemail.
WEEK FOUR: blindness, problem solving, blogging and yet a fourth quote
1. Read the “The Care andFeedingof Readers”article (shortread) byPeggy Pinderandpublished
by NFBof Nebraska;then answerthe 5 questionsonSurveyMonkey here.
2. Read the “Back to School”article (mediumread) publishedbythe National Associationof Blind
Students;then summarize the article inone well-organizedparagraph. The article mustbe read
in braille andcan be obtainedfromyourbraille instructor.
3. Read the “SevenStepsforEffective ProblemSolvinginthe Workplace”article (shortread) by
Tim Hicksand publishedbyThe BusinessJournal of Sonoma/MarinandonMediate.com;thenin
twowell-organizedandwell-reasoned paragraphsdiscussthe critical importance of problem-
solvingandhowitwill benefityouinschool andlife generally.Please give examplesof problem-
solvingsuccessesandchallengesyouhave facedasa studentandbeyond.
4. Create and post a replytothe NM BLINDblogon Word Pressregardinga fourthquote.The link
will be providedtoyoushortlyviaemail.

6. Created by Ami Boreri,with inspiration from Eric Guillory at LCB, and input from Jessica Bartenbach, Lucy Alexander, and Kurt Boreri in June 2016. 6
WEEK FIVE: research, accessibility tools, major-specific assignments, blogging and a fifth
quote
1. Research three differentaccessibilityappsthatcouldbe useful toyouincollege andthat you
don’tknowaboutalready.Researchusingthe Apple Viswebsite,andone appmustbe science
or math based. Submitthe list of the three apps with sub-bulletslistingwhatthe appsdoand
whytheywouldbe useful foryourspecificallyinyourchosenmajor.
2. Go to the BlindHow website and watch a videothatinterestsyou.Then, summarize itinone
well-organizedandwell-reasonedparagraph;be sure to include whythe videotopicinterested
you.
3. Complete yourtwomajor-specificassignments,one shortandone medium.
4. Create and post a replytothe NM BLINDblogon Word Pressregardinga fifthquote.The link
will be providedtoyoushortlyviaemail.
WEEK SIX: career choices, Power Point, blogging and a final quote
1. Create a PowerPointpresentationusingthe followingcriteria:
a. There shouldbe 6 slidesonly.
b. The first slide shouldhave aunique title andyourname.
c. Write a full paragraphon slidestwothroughfive,addressingthe following:
i. SLIDE TWO = describe yourexperience atSTEP,boththe positive andthe
negative.Includelessonslearned.
ii. SLIDES THREE through FIVE = summarize three of the careerdiscussionsyou
had while onactivitiesthissummer.Be sure toinclude whoyouspoke to,their
jobtitle,andwhere theyworked.
iii. SLIDE SIX = Didany of the careerdiscussionsyouhadthissummerchange your
careerchoice?If so,why?If not, why?
d. All slidesshouldhave apicture or graphic.
e. All slidesshouldhave atransitionbetweenthem.
2. Create and post a replytothe NM BLINDblogon Word Pressregardinga final quote.The link
will be providedtoyoushortlyviaemail.
3. Finally,please submitaquote of your own,or a favorite fromsomeone yourespect,orone that
resonateswithyou (be sure toindicate whosaidit) anddescribe indetail how these wordsadd
value toyour worldandmay be instructive orenrichingtoothers.
You didit!You got to the endof the College ReadinessCourse forSTEPstudents.If youhave successfully
completedthiscourse withaC or above,youwill be givenanadditionalcertificationof completion.
Good job!