TVI Tidbits: Volume 2, No. 4
March 5, 2010
Earning a Doctorate
Assistive Technology
National Braille Press Books
Special Pricing for FS Focus 40 Blue Braille
Display
New Victor Reader Stream CD Edition
2010 Youth and Adult Writing Contest
Free PDF Reader/Converter
Astronomy for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Making Broadway Accessible for the Disabled
Assistive Technology Training
The following information is for your information and not an endorsement of any product or service:
1) Ever Think About Earning a Doctorate?
The National Leadership Consortium in Sensory Disabilities (NLCSD), funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, is accepting applications to doctoral programs in the areas of blind/visually impaired, deaf/hard of hearing, and deafblindness. Full tuition and a minimum of $20,000 annual living stipend will be provided to NLCSD Fellows for up to four years of full-time on campus study while they earn their doctorates at one of the 25 Consortium Universities. Fellowships are available to US citizens/permanent residents who must first be accepted into a doctoral program. The cohort will begin Fall 2010. Consortium members and doctoral programs are listed at:
http://www.salus.edu/nlcsd/index.html
Applications must be postmarked by March 26, 2010. Applications postmarked after that date will not be considered. Notifications will be made to applicants by May 3, 2010. Please share this information with potential candidates, or consider applying yourself!
The NFB is deeply concerned that we have strong leaders in order to continue our work to improve the education of blind children and the programs to train teachers to work with those children. We encourage those interested in providing leadership in this area to consider applying.
- Carol Castellano, President, National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
973-377-0976 carol_castellano@verizon.net www.nfb.org/nopbc
2) Looking for the best Assistive Technology to address the needs of your students?
Take look at the searchable assistive technology listings at the Tech Matrix:
3) National Braille Press Books
Just a short list of some books from the National Braille Press:
- Noah's Ark - Print/Braille Picture Book by book by five-time Caldecott Award-winner Jerry Pinkney that tells the story of the great flood; twelve delightful tactiles by tactile artist Ann Cunninghamhttp://www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/NOAH.html
- Because Pictures Matter (BPM): A Guide to Using, Finding, and
Creating Tactile Imagery for Blind Children by Deborah Kent
http://www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/BPM.html?id=NJURAVc7
- Pathfinder Cards: Mazes (MAZES)
http://www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/MAZES.html
- Touch and Learn Tactile Activity Book (TAC)
http://www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/TAC.html
4) Big Price Reduction on FS Focus 40 Blue Braille Display!
Freedom Scientific today announced that it has reduced the US list price of its Focus 40 Blue Braille Display from $4,495 to $2,795 - a $1,700 reduction, in a move to support Braille literacy.
The National Federation of the Blind, in their report from the Jernigan Institute, has declared that there is a "Braille Literacy Crisis in America," citing such statistics as:
- Fewer than 10 percent of the 1.3 million people who are legally blind in the United States are Braille readers
- Only 10 percent of blind children in the US are learning Braille
- Over 70 percent of blind adults are unemployed, and as many as 50 percent of blind high school students drop out of high school.
The factors that contribute to a low Braille literacy rate in the US are many, among them a shortage of qualified Braille teachers and an increasing reliance on recorded audio and text-to-speech technologies. "We believe that technology should be supporting Braille literacy, not replacing it," states Dr. Lee Hamilton, President and CEO of Freedom Scientific. "The combination of JAWS and a Braille display makes learning and using Braille easy. JAWS can translate almost any electronic document or Web page into Braille and then display them on the Focus 40 Blue. JAWS also has a built-in Braille tutor that works with the Focus 40 Blue to provide immediate spoken help when the reader encounters an unfamiliar Braille symbol. This makes independent Braille study easier as it can be used with any document of interest to the student. With a computer and a Braille display, a person who is Braille literate can carry hundreds of books on a single memory card or USB thumb drive. "Unfortunately, Braille displays have always been expensive, which has meant that not everyone who wanted a Braille display could get one. Freedom Scientific wants to open the world of Braille to as many blind people as possible. We first drastically reduced the cost of Braille displays in 2004, when we introduced models 40% below the average price of currently available Braille displays. We are pleased that the manufacturing efficiencies inherent in our latest product design make it possible for us to reduce prices once again and hope this will make Braille accessible to many more people." The Focus 40 Blue is a compact portable Braille display that is the perfect companion to a desktop, laptop, or netbook PC. It connects via USB or Bluetooth, and has a Braille keyboard. The 40 Braille cells are constructed without seams between characters, so the user experience is like reading Braille on paper. The Focus 40 Blue works with Apple computers and cell phones as well as with JAWS for Windows. Freedom Scientific's Braille displays are the most reliable in the industry and are backed by technical support and service teams based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The new U.S. list price for the Focus 40 Blue is $2,795 and includes a two-year manufacturer's warranty. For more information, please visit the Freedom Scientific Web site http://www.freedomscientific.com or call 800-444-4443.
5) HumanWare Launches Victor Reader Stream CD Edition
HumanWare is pleased to announce a new model of its popular Victor Reader Stream portable DAISY, MP3 player and voice recorder. The Victor Reader Stream CD Edition combines the worldwide renowned VR Stream and a special CD player accessory. The Stream CD Edition is perfect for people who do not have a personal computer. It is the easiest way to transfer a DAISY book on CD onto one single, portable audio playback device without the use of a computer.
“We have heard from many people who like the portability of the Victor Reader Stream but who do not use computers”, says Gerry Chevalier, Victor Reader Product Manager at HumanWare. “These are customers who receive DAISY CD books in the mail from their library. They tell us they would like to be able to transfer their CD book to the Stream because the Stream would be an ideal player when they are traveling or on the go. However, they also tell us they do not have or want to use a computer. With the Stream CD Edition we are now pleased to offer them a solution.”
Key Benefits:
- Ideal for readers who listen to DAISY CD books and do not use a computer
- Easy to use. Just attach the CD drive to the Stream, load the CD book, and press a single button to copy it to the Stream
- A short Getting Started audio book explains the steps and plays automatically when you power on the Stream CD Edition.
- The Stream CD Edition has the full feature set of the standard Stream so if users want to go beyond just listening to their DAISY CD books they can enjoy other types of books and music and even use the voice recorder. All documentation and tutorials are supplied on the SD card.
What's in the package?
- One VR Stream with all the usual accessories (rechargeable battery & charger, ear buds, USB cables, documentation CD and a 2Gb SD card)
- One VR Stream CD player Accessory especially designed to be used with the Stream
The CD player accessory is also available for purchase by existing Stream users who may not have a computer and are relying on others to transfer their CD DAISY books. Only the CD player supplied by HumanWare should be used as other CD drives have been found not to be electrically compatible and can damage the Stream.
For more information visit http://www.humanware.com/streamcd or in the U.S.A.
Call toll free 1-800-722-3393 or (925) 680-7100 or Email: us.info@humanware.com
6) 2010 Youth and Adult Writing Contest Sponsored by NFB Writers' Division: Last month of contest!
We do not want any of you to miss the opportunity to submit your creative writing in the NFB Writers' Division 2010 Writing Contest. There is only the days of March left. The deadline for submissions is postmarked, April 1st.
The adult contests, poetry and fiction, are open to all entrants eighteen years and over.
The youth contests are all about Braille and all poetry and fiction entries are required to be submitted in Braille. The age groups are divided into three categories: first through sixth grades, seventh and eighth grades, and ninth through twelfth grades. Prizes for contest winners range up to $100 for adult categories and up to $25 for youth categories. All contest winners will be announced at the Writers' Division business meeting during the NFB national convention to be held in
Dallas, Texas, the first week of July, 2010. In addition, shortly after convention, a list of winners will appear on the Writers' Division website: www.nfb-writers-division.org.
First, second, and third place winners in each category will appear in the summer and fall issues of the Writers' Division magazine, "Slate and Style."
For additional contest details and submission guidelines, go to the Writers' Division website:
(From Dean Martineau's Top Tech Tidbits for Thursday at http://www.flying-blind.com/tidbits2010.html)
Nuance has released a free pdf reader which allows you to convert pdf
documents to Word, .txt. .xls or RTF format online, to complete forms and
all this in a smaller and, they say, more secure package than Adobe Reader.
http://www.nuance.com/imaging/products/pdf-reader.asp
8) The Sky's Not the Limit: Astronomy for the Blind and Visually Impaired
(Also from Dean Martineau's Top Tech Tidbits for Thursday at http://www.flying-blind.com/tidbits2010.html)
Great resources for studying astronomy, from Fred's Head at:
http://www.fredshead.info/2005/11/skys-not-limit-astronomy-for-blind-and.html
9) Making Broadway Accessible for the Disabled
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/making-broadway-accessible-for-the-disabled/
10) Need Training in Assistive Technology to be able to assess and teach your students better?
Give your career and earning power a boost with a Master of Arts in Learning Technologies Online from Pepperdine University! Whether you're an educator, media center director, or IT professional, you can attend an Online Information Meeting where you will learn important information about how you can:
- Obtain your Master's Degree in just 1 year while working full-time.
- Complete most coursework at home, on your schedule, since it's 85% online.
- Learn through our robust, online communities designed for collaborative learning and professional relationship development.
- Start classes in July 2010 and graduate in June 2011!
Apply what you learn in the program immediately to your workplace. Through
Pepperdine's unique action research project, which is completed in lieu
of a traditional thesis, you will leverage the technologies learned through
the curriculum to design and implement a project which improves your professional
practices at your current job!
All your questions -- about curriculum, admission requirements,
financial aid, and more -- can be answered at Pepperdine’s Virtual Meeting
on March 16. RSVP
today and request information, and you will receive an email confirmation
along with instructions on how to login to the Virtual Information Meeting
at Elluminate.
P.S. Can't make March 16? Talk to a recruiter now by email or phone: 1-866-503-5467.