u/asufficientlife

Hi! I’m starting my MSS at Bryn Mawr this month and I would love any tips from folks familiar with in-person social work classes and especially if anyone knows about Bryn Mawr specifically.

In undergrad I took lecture notes via Google Docs and had accommodations to help with notetaking (due to chronic illness). Do you have any note taking methods or other strategies that worked well for you in your program? I want to make sure to set up the system I’ll use before classes start.

Thank you!

Hi folks! I’m sure there are things like this already but wanted to share as we get into back to school season in the US!

I’m starting a grad program this month and cutting it close to apply for accommodations. I remember searching Reddit and other forums for ideas when I was first offered accommodations - I’m sharing this so others may get ideas about academic accommodations and justifications. This is what I wrote so it’s specific to my situation and definitely not perfect, but a lot could apply or be repurposed for others!

Q: what academic accommodations have you had before?
A:
In the past I have received accommodations to support note-taking in class, which allowed me to take effective notes for my classes. This included use of a computer in classes (due to EDS and muscle pain with handwriting). I have had permission to record lectures (with professor consent, to allow me to listen back on material I missed due to migraine and POTS symptoms, especially brain fog, lightheadedness/disorientation, and audio processing difficulties). Additionally, I have received accommodations requiring professors to make notes, slide decks, or other lecture-guiding materials available before class, which supported my ability to find my place in lectures and catch up after periods of symptom flares (pain, faintness) which disrupted my attention.

I have received accommodations to support test-taking, which allowed me to accurately reflect my knowledge on exams. These included extra time (x1.5) (due to migraine/POTS symptoms and muscle pain with handwriting, listed above). The extra time accommodation included testing in an alternate, quiet testing center. I have also received accommodations to be allowed additional time to think before answering in oral examinations, due to brain fog and recall difficulties.

I have received accommodations to permit un-penalized, non-disruptive snacks, drinks, and briefly leaving the classroom. These accommodations supported my ability to manage and treat chronic illness symptoms, especially fatigue, nausea, faintness, and pain.

I have received accommodations of flexible deadlines and flexible attendance policies. Flexible deadlines were usually 24-72 hour extensions (at professor discretion) due to chronic illness or migraine flares hindering my ability to complete or submit assignments. Flexible attendance policies usually included additional unpenalized absences due to medical appointments or flares hindering my ability to attend class.

Q: describe how your disability impacts your daily life and academics
A:
I have dynamic, chronic disabilities, which impact all areas of how I interact with daily life and academics.

Chronic intractable migraine, POTS, and EDS (chronic pain) include symptoms of head pain, muscle and joint pain, brain fog, difficulty retrieving or verbalizing information, feeling faint, nausea, lightheadedness and disorientation. The primary impact of disability in academic settings is in hindering my ability to intake, process, and retain information presented in lectures or class discussions. These also hinder my ability to take notes in class, as muscle pain restricts my ability to write by hand and brain fog leaves a delay in processing information.

These disabilities impact test taking via impinging on my recall, verbalization, and writing. I have also needed a snack during a long exam before, as I started to get faint.

I anticipate encountering difficulties with attendance and deadlines on rare occasion, due to flares of migraine/POTS/pain/etc. which are unpredictable and persistent. I schedule appointments around my classes, but may have rare urgent or inflexible appointments.

Hi folks! My mom recently rediscovered two old nooks: a Nook HD (BNTV400) and a Nook Tablet (BNTV250A).

After booting them up I realized they’re no longer supported. I followed the B&N “remaining functionality” instructions on the Nook HD but found that to leave it absolutely useless (I can’t transfer anything onto it when in the “test” profile?). I decided to not mess with the Nook Tablet until I know what I’m doing.

Does anyone have resources/instructions for how to make these into usable tablets? I’d love to somehow get Libby on them, but even just use of the internet, ability to read a PDF, or any functionality would be great!

Detailed instructions HUGELY appreciated - I haven’t gone into the realm of jailbreaking electronics before but desperately want a good e-reader for my commute and can’t justify buying one.