MTSU Disability and Access Center Helps Visually Impaired Students Succeed

By Elizabeth Davis

MTSU Raider Shakedown Reporter

(Editor's note: Elizabeth Davis is a visually impaired student who successfully completed a Media Writing course in MTSU's College of Entertainment and Media. She was often assisted by the Disability and Access Center. This is her story.)

            MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- The Disability and Access Center at Middle Tennessee State University offers a wide range of tools and services for visually impaired students, helping them to succeed. 

            Some of these include portable CCTV video magnifiers, talking software on computers, Braille note-taking devices, Perkins Braille writers, and much more. Other options are large print magnifying glasses, Victor Reader Streams, Brailled documents, and study tools like Kurzwiel.  The center even has Pack-Mates. Its staff can also write out graphs in Braille. There is even Zoom Text, which is just big print.   

            A few of the different kinds of speaking software are Window Eyes and a couple of others. But the most useful one is called Job Access With Speech, or JAWS screen reader for short.  This is a program in which a blind or partially blind person can hear what the computer wants him or her to do. Basically, it talks to the visually-impaired person so that he or she can use the computer just like a sighted individual. JAWS was made by someone with blindness in the 1980s, and it has been a good piece of software ever since.  It can read off documents, tell someone how to go online, and translate text into speech.  It can also guide a person with this disability on how to use the computer itself.  

            Another kind of software with speech is Window Eyes. This is a talking program that came out before JAWS and was basically just an earlier version. It is much harder to use than JAWS. Window Eyes, which is free with Microsoft Office Word, was created by GW Micro. It lost to JAWS because it was not advanced enough to keep up with the other company's software.   

            Another kind of speaking equipment made for the blind is called Non-Visual Desktop Access. This is a type of open-source screen reader that people in the computer community have put together. It is free for blind people. Like JAWS and Window Eyes, NVDA speaks to the visually impaired. It reads things off to them like textbooks and documents. 

            William Burgess is the head of the Disability and Access Center at MTSU.  He started working there in the fall of 2013.

            “I was working at the Tennessee Rehab Center in Smyrna, Tenn.," said Burgess. "While working there, I heard about Amy Birkes in the MTSU Adaptive Technology Department. I did not get to visit whenever she was working. But I did get to visit the ATC while I was still working at TRC. Shortly after that, I heard they had an opening. This job compares nicely with the job I was doing at TRC because it involves visual impairment services and teaching technology. I had those skills working with adaptive technology there, brought those skills here, and it worked out really well.” 

            Burgess earned a bachelor's degree in Elementary School Education at MTSU in 2006. He worked with technology as a hobby, later incorporating those skills into his job at DAC. 

            Burgess also helps the blind by scanning printed materials into Braille with a scanner.

            “We scan it and then perform Optical Character Recognition or OCR," he said. "Doing that gives us the text virtually and reproduces the printed page of a Word document. Sometimes Word documents need to be cleaned up a little bit because OCR is not perfect. After we clean a document up, we use a piece of software called Tiger to translate it into Braille and send it to our Braille Printer.”  

            Braille is a code of dots that make up letters, words, and numbers. The system enables the blind to read and write. It was developed by French inventor Louis Braille after he accidently blinded himself with his father’s drill at age 3.

            In fact, a scanner uses light to reproduce a piece of paper or whatever is on the picture bed. It uses the light to reflect that image and takes pictures of it. The print is eventually turned into Braille with an Embosser. 

            There are many kinds of Brailling devices for blind people at MTSU to use. For example, the Perkins Braille writer is similar to a manual typewriter in the print world. It is very heavy and requires paper. The student presses down hard on the keys to make Braille. It was invented in the 1830s and was first introduced at the Perkins Institute in Boston. 

            There are also some large-print choices available to low-vision students. A few of these include the CCTV video magnifier, magnifying glasses, and large-print books. A CCTV is basically a big-screen television set that can enlarge print. The low-vision student holds a book up to the screen, and it will make the letters on the page look bigger. This helps him or her see the document better. Magnifying glasses do more or less the same thing, as do large-print books.

            Burgess also helps students download software onto their computers. He sometimes suggests a software technology called Kurzwiel. There are two different versions of this product: Kurzweil 1000 and Kurzweil 3000. Both have built-in text to speech. Kurzweil 3000 is made for the students with sight. All they have to do is open up a chapter in one of their books, and a picture will show up on the screen. It is mainly for students who have reading disabilities.  Kurzweil 1000 is for the students with little or no vision. It reads the text aloud to the listener.

            Another type of technological device that blind people can listen to is the Victor Reader Stream, a small, hand-held device for book downloads. Individuals can read text by hearing what the words say. 

            In Burgess's opinion, the choice of technology depends on the skill of the visually impaired individual.

            “It all depends on what skills they come here with," Burgess added. "If they have no Braille skills, I’m definitely not going to recommend that they learn Braille along with their full-college load. If they have Braille skills, then I’ll show them our Braille note-takers. We have some old Perkins Braillers for those who might be interested. I try to show people as much technology as I can and then let them choose.”

            Burgess can even give advice to blind or partially blind students on how to protect their computers from hackers and viruses. He teaches them how to clean their computers with Windows software. When pushed, an automatic scanner will remove malware or anything else that might harm the individual's computer.

            “Pop-ups generally tell you if your computer is infected, providing information for removal of the virus," he said. "I almost always start by cleaning it with the Windows. I haven’t seen a lot of Macs with viruses, so I haven’t had to deal with that. But with Windows, I pretty much recommend starting with a fresh install of Windows. Then you can re-install your programs and download your files from a secondary hard drive or cloud storage provider. Dropbox and Google Drive are good places to store your files on the Internet.” 

            The Disabilities Department at MTSU offers many solutions to help visually impaired students at MTSU to succeed. They range from Braille-writing devices and audio equipment to computer software. Burgess is standing by to help.

            For more information about the Disabilities Department in the Technology Access Center at MTSU, visit http://www.mtsu.edu/dac.

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Top Knot Vintage Comes to Nashville and Is Here To Stay

By Kristie Patterson

MTSU Raider Shakedown Reporter

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Top Knot Vintage has come to East Nashville, specifically to 307 N. 16^th St. and they don’t plan to leave.

Top Knot Vintage has brought a refreshing new element of vintage to fashion lovers around the East Nashville area since the beginning of March 2016.

            The owner, Taylor Sorrell, originally started the business as a traveling pop-up store. Eventually, he was approached by the owners of another vintage clothing store in Nashville called Local Honey who asked to enter a partnership and sell clothing in his store.  Top Knot Vintage has grown tremendously over the last few months, and according to Sorrell, there are no plans to slow down.

Sorrell says there might be expansion plans in the future. The short-term goal is to move to a bigger space located in Nashville and long-term is to open up multiple locations in bigger cities across the U.S., such as New York City, Los Angeles, etc.

Sorrell who is originally based in Nashville Tennessee, has a love for true vintage, but he struggled to find actual vintage.

“Everything was either too western, old school or overpriced,” said Sorrell.  He started collecting pieces, and his house became covered in clothing. Top Knot Vintage was born when he decided that he needed to do something with his vintage inspiration.

            In addition to being a popular vintage spot to look for unique fashion statements, Top Knot Vintage brings in new discoveries each week. Sorrell’s main focus is to find real vintage items that other Nashville stores don’t find locally or for a good price. Although similar to stores such as Buffalo Exchange and Local Honey, there is a different element brought to Top Knot Vintage.

 “Mostly ‘90s style clothing, but some ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s are mixed in, too.” Said Sorrell, when describing TKV. The clothing that we pick is all personally curated by us, so we have quality control. I would describe our clothing as vintage threads with modern fits.”

            This brand new store offers great fashion that is affordable and one of a kind. For more information, the Top Knot Vintage Instagram’s page @topknotvintage shows a visual of what their store brings to the table.

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The MTSU Singers Perform with the MET Singers

By Corrie Wunder

MTSU Raiders Shakedown Reporter

            MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee State University Singers performed with a group of student singers from Nashville metro schools at 7:30 p.m. on April 12 in Hinton Music Hall, bringing in a packed crowd, singing jazz songs, and improvising their own songs.

            The MET Singers, second to 12th^_grade students, joined the MTSU Singers to gain experience in a university setting. The students come from private, public, charter and home schools. The MET Choir is directed by Margaret Campbelle-Holman.

“My favorite part about singing with the MET singers was the mutual bonding,” said MTSU singer Luke Judkins. “We encourage them just as much as they encourage us.”

The 15-member MTSU Singers is led by Director Cedric Dent and Assistant Director Ashley Kimbrough. The vocalists perform with a jazzy style, unlike most choirs. They include improvisation, jumbled mixed sounds, and made-up words.

            The Music Hall had almost every seat filled with approximately 300 people attending. Many of the audience members were the parents of the MET Singers.

“The thing that touched me the most was seeing so many supportive parents,” said MTSU Singers Director Cedric Dent.

            The improvisation part of the concert was referred to as “The Circle Song”. Bobby McFerrin, 10-time Grammy Award winner, popularized circle songs. His unique vocal techniques and jazzy style is what inspired Assistant Director Ashley Kimbrough to lead the MTSU and MET Singers in this improvisation experience.  All the singers came together and carefully followed the creative, on-the-spot instruction from Kimbrough. A brand new song was performed for the first time. The MTSU singers begin every rehearsal with a circle song. It teaches the students the skill of mimicking and using nonsense syllables. In the beginning of the semester students are hesitant in learning this new technique.

            “By the time we get to the end of the semester they are taking leadership rolls,” said Dent.

“The hardest part about improvising is making sure you’re being expressive with what you’re wanting to do without violating what’s actually going on in the music,” said Judkins.

          

            For more information and upcoming performances about the MET singers visit http://choralartslink.org/. For more information about the MTSU Singers visit http://www.mtsu.edu/music/.

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African-American Studies Students Visit Historical Civil Rights Sites

By Danielle Bowden

MTSU Raider Shakedown Reporter

            MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A group of 16 African-American Studies students from Middle Tennessee State University took a trip to Alabama on April 8 to visit the historical Civil Rights sites located in the cities of Selma, Birmingham and Montgomery.

            The African-American Studies Department at MTSU selected 16 students by asking those who were interested to travel to Alabama for the weekend. The students stayed in Montgomery, Alabama, but traveled outside of the city during the day. Students gained knowledge of the Civil Rights movement and the frequent attacks on the protesters by racist law enforcement officers and white community leaders.

Dr. Thomas Bynum is a professor at MTSU in the AAS Department. Every year, Dr. Bynum takes students on trips out of state to explore historical civil rights sites. The trips are always free for students. 

“We take students to Civil Rights sites every year, and they enjoy it each time.” said Bynum

         Students visited the historical Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, where hundreds of Civil Rights marchers and activists were brutally beaten and arrested. AAS students also visited the Rosa Parks Museum. Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery city bus. Students concluded their tour at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute across from the 16^th Street Baptist Church.

            The AAS students were able to experience what it was like during the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s including the brutality protesters faced. They viewed exhibits, watched videos, and followed in the footsteps of legendary leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. One of the things students saw was historical documents of letters written by historic figures. The letters of encouragement were written to keep activists spirits high and strong during the time.

“This was a mind-changing experience.”  said MTSU student Leslie Berkley. “I never knew how much protesters suffered from the Civil Rights movement because we weren’t taught Black history in school”

Students saw the 16^th Street Baptist Church, but they were unable to go inside because it was closed for the day. The church is historical because it was the first African-American Baptist church in Birmingham. In 1963, the Ku Klux Klan planted a bomb in the church’s basement causing the deaths of three out of four little girls that were in the basement at the time. Though students were not able to go inside of the church, they were still able to learn the history of the church.

            While traveling, students shared how they felt about their ancestors fighting for equality. They were able to understand in deeper context how difficult it was to be black in America during those years. Students were struggling to hold back tears at times. It was an emotional atmosphere, yet students were empowered after leaving the sites.

            For more information about the African-American Studies Program at MTSU, visit www. http://mtsu.edu/aas/index.php

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Murfreesboro Holds 28th Annual Special Olympics Competition

By Desirae Cope

MTSU Raider Shake Down Reporter

MURFREESBORO, Tenn.— Special Olympians cheered each other to the finish line at Middle Tennessee State University during the Area 16 Special Olympics tournament at 10 a.m. April 8.

Area 16 Assistant Director John Harris said that special olympians from Rutherford County, Murfreesboro City Schools, and local adult developmental centers are trained by their teachers for six to eight weeks prior to the games. He has been involved with the area’s Special Olympics for 28 years.

“I’ve been told by many aids that the children have become more independent,” Harris said.

His goal is to get every disabled child to participate in the competition, but he said that he was quite happy with the number of attendees.  A total of 454 athletes stood excited on the Hayes Track to compete at the 28^th annual Spring Games Track and Field Meet. The competitors were so eager to participate that they hardly noticed the cold breeze that blew over the field.

Jordan Fee, a 15-year-old from Blackman Middle school, was especially eager to get started.

“Is it my turn yet?” he asked his father.

Very few people stood in the stands. Everyone was out on the field sharing enthusiasm with one another. Children from participating schools came to root for their peers, holding up signs and banners.

Jordan’s father, Gary Fee, said that his son is more outgoing since he joined the games three years ago. He explained that the athletes get to pick two events to participate in. After each competition, they receive a colored ribbon depending on how they placed. Jordan won first place for both of his competitions, the softball throw-off and the 50-yard dash.

“I wish we could get him this interested in reading,” Fee said. “He gets so excited to come here every year.”

Jordan attends Blackman Middle School and enjoys farming with his family.

“Everyone gets their chance to shine,” Harris said. “This is their day.”

Volunteers from all the schools come together to help make this a special day. Dozens of MTSU athletes walked the contenders through each event. Everyone was encouraging and cheerful.

“I would like to thank the community for all their support and involvement,” Harris concluded.

Donate today and help another child smile with the feeling of achievement. You can visit www.specialolympics.org to explore the three ways to donate.

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