Traveling VI

This just in...

 

YouDescribe – You Have a Microphone...You Have YouTube...You Can Do It! How You
Can Add Audio Description to Any YouTube Video 

Join us for a free, forward-looking webinar on the changing world of educational video description on May 30, 2013 at 02:00 PM EDT / 01:00 PM CDT / 12:00 PM MDT / 11:00 AM PDT. This innovative webinar is hosted by the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP), in collaboration with the Video Description Researchand Development Center (VDRDC), and the Description Leadership Network (DLN). Register now at http://webinars.dcmp.org/.

This exciting and interactive presentation is perfect for teachers, administrators, and parents who want to learn about the latest developments in video description technology and how it can help students who are blind and visually-impaired in educational settings.

Learn about YouDescribe, the exiting new tool developed by the Video Description Research and Development Center (VDRDC). YouDescribe is a FREE tool that anyone can use to add description to YouTube videos. YouDescribe includes everything needed to create description; all you need to provide is a microphone. In addition, YouDescribe has a FREE embed-able player which can be used to include described videos on your own site. The webinar will include a review of the basic rules for creating description, as well as demonstrations on: registering as a YouDescribe user; recording descriptions with YouDescribe; playing described videos via YouDescribe; and embedding YouDescribe videos on web pages. Presented will be information for teachers on how YouDescribe can be used to
improve accessibility of video for students who are blind/visually impaired, and an overview of educational resources provided by the DCMP.

The Video Description Research and Development Center (VDRDC), administered by The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, is a two-year project with the mission to develop new technologies and techniques for the annotation of online video content and improving video accessibility for students who are blind or visually-impaired. The VDRDC is funded by the Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), grant number H327110005.

This Webinar is the third in a series of four to be presented during the two-year project.  An archived copy of the first webinar, Bringing Video Description Into the 21st Century, is available on the registration page.

Webinar participants will have valuable opportunity to learn from and interact with VDRDC scientists
and members of the Description Leadership Network – a coalition of world-class organizations involved with the practicality, policy, and technology of blindness and video accessibility. DLN members include: The American Council of the Blind (ACB), The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), Bridge Multimedia, CaptionMax, The Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP), Dicapta, IDEAL Group, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA), The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), Narrative Television Network (NTN),  Participatory Culture Foundation (PCF), and The Accessible Planet (TAP).

CEU credit, through the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals
(ACVREP), will be available to participants.

 

Call for Papers: Getting in Touch with Literacy

Just got this information in my email. Submit if you can or attend this wonderful conference!

 

The 11th Biennial Getting in Touch with Literacy http://www.gettingintouchwithliteracy.org/ will be held December 4-7, 2013 at the Omni Hotel, in  Providence, RI.

GITWL '13 brings together the most current thinking on all forms of literacy, including print, braille, auditory, tactile graphics comprehension and the use of assistive technology. Presentations will address the needs of a range of ages and all levels of ability, including conventional and functional literacy.

The Call for Papers http://www.gettingintouchwithliteracy.org/callforpapers.htm is open until May 15 and we encourage you to submit your ideas.  Please help us to make this a great conference!

Knapsack of Hope

I saw this on Facebook and I really liked the idea. I'm thinking of putting a few of these together to give to teachers/parents/etc. in the fall...

Swimming Suggestions

I just created these pages based on an email. These are tips from a VI teacher from Australia.

Download Swimming for children who is blind

Download Swimming for children with low vision

Homemade Paint

Field Testers Needed for APH Product

This just in...Think about doing a field test. It is a great experience and a great way to provide them feedback while the product is still in development!

Dear TVIs,

APH is conducting a search for field testers for the evaluation of theProtein Synthesis Kit prototype. We have included you in this search based on information you have submitted to APH in the past, namely your interest in products that address the subject of science. Below is the ad placed in the April edition of APH news with all the necessary contact information:  

Attention TVIs and Science Teachers!

Field testers are needed to evaluate the prototype of theProtein Synthesis Kit, an interactive model used in conjunction with the APH DNA-RNA Kit!

TheProtein Synthesis Kit

•  consists of jigsaw puzzle-like pieces in bright colors;

• demonstrates messenger RNA (mRNA) translation;

• translates a sequence of mRNA nucleotides to a sequence of amino acids, the primary structure of all proteins;

• is fully adapted for students with low vision or blindness.

Prototypes will be available for field testing in May 2013.

If you are interested in field testingAND you have one or more students with whom you can use this prototype, pleaseemail the following information to Denise Snow: dsnow@aph.org

o  Time period you can field test: Spring or Summer 2013

o  Your name & email

o  Your School/Agency address with zip code

o  The best phone number(s) to reach you

 

*If you have questions or need more information, callRosanne Hoffmann at 502-899-2292, or send an email to rhoffmann@aph.org

Walmart offers ScripTalk Talking Prescription Containers!

This just in...

Please help us spread the word that Walmart now offers ScripTalk Talking Prescription Containers with prescriptions filled by Walmart to mail order customers across the country, and at 33 in-store locations.  More details, including how to order by phone from anywhere in the U.S., and a list of in-store locations, available at:  http://lflegal.com/2013/03/walmart-info-2/  Want to order right now? Call Walmart toll free at 1-888-227-3403.

Lainey Feingold
Law Office of Lainey Feingold

Free iPad Accessibilities Features Course and iPad for Special Needs Book

This just in from a colleague. She states, "I am on an AT listserv and this fellow was in my ATP class I took a couple of years ago. He wrote the book (see #1). He and a friend had started up a website that reviews apps for kids with special needs. They joined up with Easter Seals."

 

I wanted to let everyone know of two free resources we have decided to put online.

1.  Getting Started iPads for Special Needs book.  The entire book is online for free: ipads4specialneedsbook.com 

2.  Accessibility Features of iOS for the iPad and iPhone Course on Udemy. This is a course we teach as apart of your Mobile Devices for Children with Disabilities Certification

 

https://www.udemy.com/accessibility-features-of-ios-for-the-ipad-and-iphone/

 

Both are free

 

Sami
BridgingApps.org

Braille Book Fair 2013

Calling all Braille readers, teachers, and parents!

It’s that time again: Time to sort through all those boxes of Braille books and donate those gently used but no longer needed Braille books to the 2013 Braille Book Fair sponsored by the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children.  

Our primary goal is to get more Braille books into the hands of children, youth, and beginning adult readers, so here’s what we need most:

· books in good condition
· print-Braille picture storybooks
· leisure reading (fiction or nonfiction) books 
· cookbooks
· books about sports

Children are so hungry for their very own books that every year, despite generous donations of books, most of our books for young children are gone in less than an hour.  So, begin your search through the boxes in your basement and spare room and get those books shipped to:

UPS
Braille Book Fair
Attention: Milton Bennett
8901 Atlantic Ave
Orlando FL 32824 

Accessible Prescripti​on Labeling: A chance to be heard!

This just in....

 

The US Access Board Working Group on Accessible Prescription Labels is holding hearings to determine best practices f­­or labeling prescriptions for the blind and visually impaired. So far, the group has shown themselves interested only in recommending existing technology such as adhesive bottle recorders and the ScriptTalk RFID reader (as well as Brailled and large print). 

The committee's study will run for three years.  As of the end of last year, industry mavens believe that at least 1 million blind and visually impaired individuals in the US use the iPhone. We (and many others) believe that the use of barcode labels that can be read and voiced by the iPhone or Android is a viable technology and one that will become increasing popular with customers as the baby-boomer population ages and more tech-savvy individuals enter the ranks of the visually-impaired. Mobile solutions are unique in terms of convenience, low cost of implementation, power and portability.

The working group is a public body and meetings are open to the public.  We are encouraging tech-savvy individuals who want to have machine-readable bar codes as an option to participate in the hearing and to make their voices heard.

When:  Monday, March 18th 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm Eastern Time

Where:  Telephone 888-603-7094, passcode 6317703.  Dial in any time during the meeting; the public comment period is anticipated to start between 4:15 and 4:30 pm Eastern time.

Why:  Prescription information should be accessible to everyone, regardless of vision condition.

We encourage you to find out more about this committee, to spread the word about the proceedings and to consider giving some input on the topic because the results almost certainly will determine how your prescriptions are labeled in the future. 

I'm including an attachment that describes this in more detail and I'd love to have your input on the matter!

Download Access board invitation