The document discusses best practices for taking notes in self-paced courses, including using the Mathist app to easily create equations and graphs in notes. It also provides tips for accessibility, including describing graphs to blind students, using outlines from PowerPoint presentations, including teacher notes, and adding images to notes.

2. A collaborative ‘Best Practices’ for taking notes for any of the
self-paced courses that CNM is transitioning more and more
towards. As a team I want us all to formulate best practices
for this, based upon the issues and breakthroughs that some
of us had this last term.

3. Go To http://www.themathist.com/app
The Mathist App

6. It Lets you create equations, make graphs easily and access
math symbols quickly with button style interface like ALECS
• https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36777

12. But Wait, There’s More!
The Design Tab
The Mathematics Tab
All you do is select a given equation or symbols used
and enter in the numbers for it as you are typing up
your math notes in a Word document

13. Under The Mathematics Tab You Find
An Equations Tab, You Can Select An
Equation Or Can Insert A New
Equation If The One You Are Looking
For Is Not There
 Common Math Equations
 Compute Equations Feature
 Graphing Features
 Real And Complex Numbers
 Decimal Places
 Radians, Degrees, And Gradians

16. Disability Etiquette Tips
The most important piece is an increased awareness of how blindness or low vision impacts a student’s
ability to access course materials (handouts, syllabus, tests, videos, etc.). Imagine taking your class
without the ability to see anything and then try to figure out what changes you need to make. The DRC
is also here to assist you in that.
 Greet the blind or low vision student by identifying yourself by name at least until you are
confident the student recognizes your voice.
 Work closely with the student to identify areas or materials in the course they might have
trouble accessing, and try to assist them in accessing their coursework. If you or the
student are confused, include the DRC Achievement Coach in this process.
 When you read from lectures or PowerPoints, be sure to read everything that is displayed
visually. Be aware that while a blind student can hear videos, if any information is
displayed visually that needs interpretation, the blind student will need guidance.

17.  Don’t expect the student to carry all materials or books with them all the time. Brailed
material is lengthy and heavy.
 When you use directional language (right, left, arrow, equal, green, blue), have an
awareness that the blind student may not understand what you’re pointing at or
referring to. Check for understanding. When pointing to an object of discussion, use
the name of the object instead of “this” or “that.”
 The blind or low vision student may bring their own device to class to record notes.
 If you are reading from a textbook in class, remember the page numbers in your copy
may not correspond to the Braille or electronic version. In addition to giving the page
number, also provide description information (4th paragraph, Chapter 6).
 Graphing is a very complicated process to describe to a blind or low vision student. Be
patient and be creative. Close your eyes and imagine being blind. Think of how you
could describe the material using the sense of touch as a visual descriptor.

18. Graph Board for Blind Students

21.  Tips and tricks
 Power Point Presentations
 Use of Outlines
 Teacher Notes in Power Point

22.  How to have two windows side by side
 Using notes outline
 Using provided Power Points
 Adding images to your notes

23. 1. Open the two documents or programs that you want
side by side
2. Click on one of the “windows”
3. Hold down your window button
4. Press one of your side arrow keys (what ever side you
want that document on)
5. Repeat this for the other document

24. Step 1: Open two documents you want opened at the same time

25. Step 2: Click one of the windows and hold down the “Windows” button

26. Step 3: Hold down the Windows button and press one of your side arrow key to which ever side your want
the selected document on

27. Step 4: Your selected window will fill the first half of the page. Do the same with the other window.

28. Step 5: Both halves of the screen will have both documents/programs in place to use.

29. • Download the Power Point.
• Go to the View tab and select Outline View
• Copy and paste as the professor is speaking only about the parts they talk about
• Tip: If the instructor is moving quickly through the material, using little reminders
to go back to are very helpful, such as using quick symbols like ** or !! to put next
to important content

30. This is a little more complex than the other
methods
Like before, you will want to download the Power
Point from the classes CNM Learn page
Copy and paste the information needed from the
slides
Reminder: Don’t forget to look for the teacher
notes!

31. In order to look for the teacher notes inside a power point.
1. Click on View
2. Under the show group
3. Click on notes
The notes will show up under the slide at which you are looking as
“Teachers Notes”.

32. Some of our students are very visual learners
Some of our professors love images in their presentations
Both of these are good reasons to put images into your
notes!

33. There are two ways to add images to your notes
Take the images directly out of the Power Point
presentation by Copying and Pasting the image
Find an image that is like what is on the screen from
an internet search

34. Click on the image in the presentation.
Right click the mouse and select Copy to copy the image.
Place where you would like the image go
Right click the mouse again, select Paste and that will paste the
image to the location you would like

35. Select the image
Press control and hold
Press C
Click into your document
Press and hold Control again
Press V to paste the image
All done!