Hello,
I joined this list a month or two ago because I was enrolled in a 12-week
computer coding boot camp after being laid off from my non-tech job of 16
years. I have found the people on this list to be extremely responsive and
encouraging. Most recently, I have been following with interest the thread
about coding after losing one's sight. Although I have always been blind,
some of the advice has been relevant to me as well.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to get a good enough grade at the end of
the first of three modules in the boot camp program to progress further. The
academy I attend is very supportive, but they have not had a blind student
before. They are willing to give me another chance, but before that, we are
looking to try to figure out some different things to do next time so I can
be successful. I may come back to that topic in a future post.
For now, I want to float an idea out to this group that could benefit not
only me but other blind coders, current and future. My impression from this
list is that most blind coders have more or less figured things out on their
own with, if they are lucky, some support from a group like this list. Those
who have made a career in coding are busy and probably do not have time to
do much more than you are already doing. The information is really valuable
but not particularly well-organized so that other blind coders can find
information they need wen they need it. For example, I often see messages
about tools or languages that I know nothing about so this information
doesn't make an impression with me. If, later, I take up Python or want to
get Salesforce certification I might not even remember that those topics
came up on this list in March 2021.
The other big problem that adds to what a blind coder needs to learn are, as
several people mentioned, all of the commands and keyboard shortcuts one
needs to master in order to be efficient.
I have been thinking about two possible projects to help address the needs
of blind coders and blind people who want to learn to code.
I would be interested in creating a website similar to Applevis where info
could be posted about IDE's and other coding tools that would be categorized
and given ratings regarding how accessible they are. With permission of the
posters, I would also take useful information shared on this list and in
other venues for blind coders so they could be found by search engines and
organized.
The big idea, which would obviously take a long time to implement, is to
create trainings or an actual online coding boot camp especially for blind
people. The nonprofit academy I am attending was founded by a person who is
a well-connected tech entrepreneur Aside from the classes, they also have
connections with lots of people in the field and companies, and they help
students find jobs or additional training.
I am writing to this list to request feedback regarding both of these ideas.
Are they good ideas? Has someone already done either or both of these things
or is someone or an organization working on ideas like these? Do you think
one or both of these are bad ideas and why? Do you think you would have
taken part in a training program specifically for blind coders if it had
been available or do you think the current approach works well given all the
different operating systems, screen readers, computer languages, etc.? Would
a pre-course focusing on learning specific skills blind coders need such as
working in VS Code with a screen reader be a good idea or is it impossible
to teach people to use the tools separate from teaching them to code (I kind
of think the latter is true but want to hear varied perspectives)? Would you
be interested in helping with one or both of these projects? What skills
could you contribute?
I have been thinking that working on these projects and documenting my own
journey as I learn to code (rather than trying later to remember what it was
like) would be a great motivator for me because my previous career involved
working with college students. At the same time, I might find that I am
unable to work on this while I am also a student. In other words, this is
still very much at the idea stage. However, I don't want to go farther
without getting input from people with experience. Any and all feedback is
truly welcome.
Best,
Jana