Special Education

TVI Tidbits - Volume 2, No. 21

June 2, 2010

  1. National Federation of the Blind Teacher of Tomorrow Program
  2. A letter from Grace Ambrose-Zaken
  3. Readability reduces clutter and enlarges the print on a web page, and it’s free!
  4. Two FREE Transition Webcasts from AFB - earn CEU's, too!
  5. Check out the Rochester area's Project Job Connect!
  6. Online Braille Course offered through Dominican College starts JUNE 7th!
  7. Blind Ambition: Tim Cordes, Blind Physician, Blazes a Trail to Success!
  8. APH News June 2010
  9. Outlook 2007 and Internet with JAWS and ZOOMTEXT

The following information is for your information and not an endorsement of any product or service:

  1. National Federation of the Blind Teacher of Tomorrow Program - Recruit, Recruit, RECRUIT! 

    2. The NFB has launched the Teacher of Tomorrow Program external link for students preparing to be teachers of the blind. This program will provide students with teacher mentors, blindness skills tutors, information about scholarships, diverse teaching opportunities, professional development activities at the NFB national convention, interactive workshops at the NFB Jernigan Institute, and advocacy training in Washington, D.C.  In order to be effective educators, teachers of blind kids need sustained and in-depth exposure to blind people from all walks of life. Although current teacher training programs provide some opportunities for their students, they are often limited by a number of factors including location, funding, and access. The NFB has an active nationwide network of countless resources that can be used to provide future teachers with an enhanced learning experience, and they are pleased to partner with teacher preparation programs to facilitate these experiences for their students. 

    If you would like to be considered for this program, please complete the brief online application external link by June 15, 2010.  Please e-mail Rosy Carranza or call (410) 659-9314, ext. 2283, with any questions.

     

  2. A letter from Grace Ambrose-Zaken

    3. Dear VRT and O&M licensure Supporters!

    We only have a few more weeks until 2010 NYS session ends. We need a final push of support for VRT and O&M licensure.  Please let me know if you will send/have sent letters of support.  If you are willing and able to write a letter go to NYVRA.org and pick a letter of support and put it on your letterhead and send to the four reps and Steve Malito listed at the following link:

    http://blog.nyvra.org/2010/05/19/urgent-licensure-letters-of-support-on-organizationagency-letterhead/ external link
    This is critical –they are listening – do not underestimate the power of your voice. Each letter resounds and is heard.  We can do it when we work together.

    Dr. Grace Ambrose-Zaken

    To see Hunter's video promo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlWcC6pLVtEexternal link

    To learn more about O&M visit my blog: http://gambrosez.wordpress.com/ external link

    To obtain more information on Hunter College Programs in  Blindness and Visual Impairment go to:
    http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/school-of-education/programs/graduate/special-education/blind-visually-impaired external link

    Dr. Grace Ambrose-Zaken
    Project Coordinator RT and O&M Programs
    Department of Special Education
    Hunter College CUNY
    695 Park Ave.
    New York, NY 10065
    (212) 772-4741

     

  3. Readability reduces clutter and enlarges the print on a web page, and it’s free!

    4. "With the press of a button, Readability http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability/  external link transform a page from any Web site – however cluttered or eyestrain-inducing – into something clean and legible.  It also puts the text in large print.   Even a person with 20-20 vision in each eye might find Readability appealing for its aesthetic impact.  It wipes out all the distractions (sidebars, ads, comments, and most graphic elements) and leaves you with pure, unadorned text.  Someone with no technological aptitude can install Readability in about five seconds.  The learning curve for its use takes not much longer than that.  It works in the major browsers: Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari.  Once installed, it will create either a button in your browser’s toolbar or an “R” icon in the browser’s lower right-hand corner (what people with the lingo call its “system tray”).  When you find a Web page that you’d care to read as unadorned text, click on the Readability button.  It promptly transforms the article (or blog post, or what have you) into a document that resembles a typescript in roughly 14- or 16-point characters.  Graphics and photos embedded in the articles will remain, but everything else is stripped out.  To return to the original version of the article, either hit the browser’s “back” button or click the faint back arrow that floats in the upper left corner of the Readability screen.  Another such button allows you to print the page as it appears in Readability.  Doing so has its advantages, ecological as well as optical.  Printing the graphic elements on a Web page can waste a lot of toner. 

         It bears mentioning that Readability is an option and not a default setting.  In other words, if you are looking at something in it, then go to another page, the new page will not automatically open in Readability.  Not a big deal, of course.  (You just click it back on.)  Unfortunately the Readability plug-in does nothing with a document in PDF.  Also, it will sometimes remove the name of the author from an article -- depending, presumably, on whether it is incorporated into the text or not.  That is a pain. I’m not going to complain too much, though. Readability external link has already saved plenty of eyestrain."  From an online article about New Digital Tools in Inside Higher Ed: http://www.insidehighered.com/views/mclemee/mclemee287 external link

     

  4. Two FREE Transition Webcasts from AFB - earn CEU's, too!

    5. The American Foundation for the Blind's CareerConnect program and AT&T are pleased to present two new, free online seminars that provide a great opportunity to receive continuing education units that are approved by ACVREP or CRCC. 

    You may watch one or two webcasts and complete a short evaluation. Everything can be accessed through your work or home computers.  The two 90-minute sessions will be available through AFB CareerConnect. 

    Session 1: What's Next...Postsecondary Training Preparation for Students with Visual Impairments will be released on June 15, 2010.

    Session 2: Technology and Visual Impairment in Higher Education will be released on June 16, 2010.

    The sessions will be available in video or as audio-only, which will be beneficial for people with slower Internet connections.  Special bonus: register today at:
    http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?Mode=Survey&SurveyID=127 external link for the opportunity to win an AFB Press book!

     

  5. Speaking of Transition:  Check out the Rochester area's Project Job Connect!

    6. Project Job Connect word document offers some information about a program that ABVI is starting with funding from CBVH.  Individuals would have to have an open case with CBVH.  Individuals who are graduating from high school can take part in Project Job Connect in order to obtain training and job placement support.  For more information about this promising program, contact:
    Jenn Mohr, Career and Training Manager, ABVI-Goodwill
    422 Clinton Avenue South
    Rochester, NY 14620
    (585) 697-5754
    jmohr@abvi-goodwill.com
    www.abvi-goodwill.org

    Our Mission:  "To prepare and empower people who are blind or visually impaired to be self-sufficient and contribute to their families and communities."

     

  6. Online Braille Course offered through Dominican College starts JUNE 7th!

    7. A very recent agreement between Dominican College in NY and  the Minnesota Collaborative Teacher Preparation Program in Special Education: Blind or Visually Impaired has resulted in a 3 credit graduate level early summer course being offered through Dominican College.
    The course will be taught by Dr. Sheila Amato and is offered online. The course provides an introduction to the Nemeth code of Braille mathematics, tactile graphics, foreign languages, computer notation, and the music Braille code as well as a review of Braille textbook formats. Prerequisites include an undergraduate degree, a literary Braille course or equivalent Braille skills, and consent of the instructor. The course will begin *June 7*.
    Tuition is $670/credit plus a $175 registration fee for a total of $2185. If you have questions or are interested, please contact Clay Keller of the Minnesota Low Incidence Projects at clay.keller@metroecsu.org external link or 612 638 1537; or (Dr.) Rona Shaw, Coordinator, Program for Teachers of Students Who are Blind or Visually Impaired, Dominican College, at rona.shaw@dc.edu or 845-848-4081.

     

  7. Blind Ambition: Tim Cordes, Blind Physician, Blazes a Trail to Success!

    8. http://snipurl.com/x07k1 external link

     

  8. APH News June 2010: Your monthly link to the latest information on the products, services, and training opportunities from the American Printing House for the Blind:

    9. http://www.aph.org/advisory/2010adv06.html external link

    This Month’s Headlines:

    • "Teaching Tools for Students Who Are Blind and Visually Impaired"--An Educational Program on Capitol Hill
    • ESAC Visit Helps APH to Grow this Spring
    • June brings Second Webcast Training on Book Port Plus
    • Summer Workshop Planned at APH on Making Tests Accessible
    • "Treasures from the APH Libraries"
    • Morris Frank and M. C. Migel will be Inducted into the Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field
    • In Memoriam: Warren Figueiredo
    • APH Travel Calendar
    • New Products from APH
    • The Braille Book Corner and much, much more…

     

  9. Outlook 2007 and Internet with JAWS and ZOOMTEXT - TRAINING FROM DE WITT

    10. Finding a job  - hard!  Finding a job without E-mail or the Internet - Impossible!!!  

    Today's job market demands E-mail and Internet fluency.  All job placement firms have an online presence and communicating with interviewers and prospective employers almost always begins with an E-mail. 

    De Witt & Associates, a leading name in the field of assistive technology training and support, recognizes the growing part that technology plays in the job market. To this end, De Witt continues to expand on their highly successful line of TrainingWare titles, and has added the following:

    • Outlook 2007 using JAWS
    • Outlook 2007 using ZoomText
    • Surfing the Internet using JAWS
    • Surfing the Internet using ZoomText.

      It is no longer enough to be able to use the computer in the workplace, now it is necessary to use the computer to discover and connect with the workplace.

    Each TrainingWare title is designed to make learning easy and fun. For Outlook 2007, the concepts covered include, among many others:

    • Advanced E-mail creation
    • Adding and managing Contacts
    • Using the Calendar

    For Surfing the Internet, the concepts covered include:

    • Navigating web pages with a screen reader or screen magnifier
    • Search Engines and Assistive Technology search features
    • Shopping online

    Some of the other benefits you'll enjoy with your purchase De Witt's TrainingWare include:

    • Attractive and affordable pricing.
    • Comprehensive and simple to use, right out of the box.
    • Phone and Email support from De Witt staff.
    • Quick Tips Newsletter - semi-monthly email full of additional tips and content.

    Act now - get your students and employees what they need!! 
    Just call us at 1-877-447-6500 ext. 211 or e-mail us at: info@4dewitt.com.  Visit us at: www.4dewitt.com. external link

 

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Last Updated: June 30, 2010