|
| HOME | PRODUCTS | LOUIS | SHOP | MUSEUM | ADVISORY | RESEARCH | HELP | SEARCH |
Your monthly link to the latest information on the products, services, and training opportunities of the American Printing House for the Blind.
February 2007
Read on to learn about these products
APH invites visually impaired and blind artists of all ages to submit artwork for its sixteenth annual international art competition, APH InSights 2007.
There are two deadlines this year: April 1, 2007 is the deadline for entries from students in preschool through high school; April 15, 2007 is the deadline for entries from adult artists. To enter, artists must meet this definition of blindness: corrected visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye, or a visual field limited to 20 degrees or less.
Last year, 490 entries were received. From these, jurors selected eighty-two pieces for the exhibition, which was shown in Louisville in October 2006 at the Annual Meeting.
Artists may send one entry for the General Competition. New this year is a special Art Card Competition. Those who wish to send a second entry whose subject is specifically targeted for an art card, may do so. The subject of this entry should be appropriate for use as a birthday card or for one of the December holidays. If the subject of a General Competition entry is appropriate, it will also be considered for the Art Card Competition.
To receive complete rules and entry forms, send an email to rwilliams@aph.org, or call 800/223-1839, ext. 357. Let us know if you want a print or a braille copy. Rules and entry forms will also be posted on this web site by the end of February.
The first two National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC) Metadata and Support Specialists began work on January 8! The new NIMAC staff members are Charliann Becker and Anne Ledford, both recent M.L.S. graduates of the University of Kentucky.
NIMAC continued its training and outreach by holding five web casts and one teleconference in January. In addition, Julia Myers and Nicole Gaines presented a NIMAC update at the NIMAC Development Committee meeting on January 23. More webcasts are planned for February. To register, check the NIMAC web site www.nimac.us for details or email NIMAC@aph.org
If you are interested in learning more about the process and/or submitting a qualified nominee for the Hall of Fame, please visit the following link on the APH web site: www.aph.org/hall_fame/nom_letter.html or email bbrasher@aph.org
The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), the premiere association for special educators, works to improve the educational success of individuals with disabilities and/or gifts and talents.
The Clarissa Hug Teacher of the Year Award recognizes a CEC member (teacher or related service provider) who currently provides direct services to students with exceptionalities. The Clarissa Hug Teacher of the Year is an outstanding member of the profession whose work exemplifies the best in special education teaching. His or her work reflects significant educational success for students, continued professional development, and the highest standards of educational quality.
Congratulations to Susan Osterhaus, the Texas School for the Blind's extraordinary math teacher, who was named the 2007 Clarissa Hug Teacher of the Year. Susan, the featured presenter in many of APH's National Instructional Partnerships workshops, will be honored during the 2007 CEC International Conference in Louisville in April.
Congratulations, Susan, we're proud of you!
The Mid-America Conference of Rehabilitation Teachers (MACRT) recently elected officers at their annual conference`. APH's own Terrie Terlau was elected as secretary of the organization and Elaine Kitchel as Vice President. Elaine has previously served as a board member for 6 years.
The Mid-America Conference of Rehabilitation Teachers (MACRT) is a professional organization dedicated to improving and defining the roles of rehabilitation teachers in the United States, upgrading the expertise of rehabilitation teachers, and bringing together rehabilitation experts to share ideas, information, professional practices, and experiences.
The National Agenda for the Education of Children and Youths with Visual Impairments, Including Those with Multiple Disabilities is a grassroots effort to change the way visually impaired and blind children are being educated. It is the philosophy of the National Agenda that students with visual impairments need to be educated in the Core Academic Curriculum (English language arts, other languages, mathematics, health, science, physical education, social studies, history, economics, business education, fine arts, and vocational education) as well as the Expanded Core Curriculum skill areas (compensatory academic skills, orientation and mobility, social interaction skills, independent living skills, recreation and leisure skills, career education, use of assistive technology, visual efficiency skills, and self determination).
Goal 8 of the National Agenda states: Educational and developmental goals, including instruction, will reflect the assessed needs of each student in all areas of academic and disability-specific curricula. Dr. Phil Hatlen, Superintendent of the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and Debbie Willis, Director of the Accessible Tests Department at the American Printing House for the Blind, serve at the National Co-leaders Goal 8.
Until now, no comprehensive survey has been conducted to determine the status of the Expanded Core Curriculum throughout the country. Your valuable assistance is needed to document the current status of the Expanded Core Curriculum in the United States. Please help by completing a survey now being offered to professionals and families. Your responses will be compiled to paint a national picture and to determine "next steps."
Your voice can be heard by requesting a questionnaire, completing it, and returning it. To request a survey, or if you have additional questions or would like more information, please contact:
Dr. Phil Hatlen, Superintendent
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
1100 West 45th Street
Austin, Texas 78756
Email: philhatlen@tsbvi.edu
Thanks for your participation and support!
According to the publisher, Erik Weihenmayer has teamed up with business guru Dr. Paul G. Stoltz to take you on a climb that can change your life. They share that the message of The Adversity Advantage is essentially Erik's: "Inside each of us is something I can only describe as a light, which has the capacity to feed on adversity, to consume it like fuel. By tapping into that light, every frustration, every setback, every obstacle becomes a source to power our lives forward. The greater the challenge, the brighter the light burns. Through it, we become more focused, more creative, more driven, and can even learn to transcend our own perceived limitations to bring our lives more purpose and power." To find links to on-line bookstores, go to www.adversityadvantage.com
Are you interested in reviewing doctoral dissertations published since 1996? This important information is listed and updated by the National Center on Low-Incidence Disabilities. We thank the director of NCLID, Dr. Kay Ferrell, for allowing us to view the list from our site and for recently improving the linkage.
The Photo Gallery of Annual Meeting 2006 presenters and participants can now be seen at www.aph.org/anmtg/2006/pictures.html
Jan Fesperman, Division of Services for the Blind in Raleigh, North Carolina, replacing William Apple.
February 2, 2007
2007 South Carolina AER;
Charleston, SC
February 3, 2007
APH Products & Services: A Primer for Beginning Teachers;
Tucson, AZ
February 4-7, 2007
Association of Test Publishers 2007 Conference on Innovations in Testing;
Rancho Mirage, CA
February 6, 2007
NIMAC Webcast - "Working with NIMAC: Metadata for Publishers";
APH at 10:00 a.m., Louisville, KY
February 9, 2007
Michigan Conference - Technology Blizzard;
Livonia, MI
February 13, 2007
NIMAC Webcast - "Working with NIMAC: Metadata for Publishers";
APH at 2:00 p.m., Louisville, KY
February 15, 2007
NIMAC Webcast - "Getting Started: Introduction to NIMAC for Authorized Users Part I" Repeat;
APH at 2:00 p.m., Louisville, KY
February 16, 2007
NIMAC Webcast - "Getting Started: Introduction to NIMAC for Authorized Users Part II";
APH at 10:00 a.m., Louisville, KY
February 16-17, 2006
Functional Vision Learning Media Assessment NIP Event;
Tampa, FL
February 19-23, 2007
Legislative Visits on Capitol Hill;
Washington, DC
February 22-23, 2007
New Mexico AER Conference;
Rio Rancho, NM
March 1-4, 2007
CTEVH;
Santa Clara, CA
March 14-16, 2007
SOMA 2007;
Nashville, TN
March 19-24, 2007
CSUN;
Los Angeles, CA
March 22-24, 2007
Jo Taylor Leadership Institute;
Dallas, TX
March 28-30, 2007
KAER 2007;
Jenny Wiley State Park, KY
March 29-31, 2007
TXAER;
Austin, TX
April 9-12, 2007
Joint Conference of the American Educational Research Association & the National Council on Measurement in Education;
Chicago, IL
April 12-15, 2007
BANA Spring Board Meeting;
APH in Louisville, KY
April 16-18, 2007
Florida Conference of Volunteers;
Jacksonville, FL
April 18-21, 2007
CEC 2007;
Louisville, KY
April 23-24, 2007
Power Up 2007 Conference & Expo;
Columbia, MO
April 26-28, 2007
NBA Professional Development Conference 2007;
Colorado Springs, CO
April 27-28, 2007
New York Institute for Special Education (NYISE) Staff Training;
Bronx, NY
Looking for APH products? Visit our Catalog Download Center--here you'll find APH catalogs in two accessible electronic editions:
We invite you to browse these APH catalogs for products for school, work, home, and play.
User's Guide only
Large Print: 7-08516-01 -- $15.00
Braille: 5-08516-01 -- $12.50
IntelliTactiles Pre-Braille Concepts, now called the Classroom Suite Edition, includes seven tactile overlays that can be used with the commercially available IntelliKeys® USB keyboard, or as stand-alone worksheets. The overlays help young children develop tactile discrimination skills, shape recognition ability, and understanding of many spatial/positional concepts.
Kit includes an interactive CD that prompts the child to find a specific shape, texture, position, or braille dot. The child responds by pressing his or her selection on the keyboard to receive feedback. The recorded scripts are provided in the User's Guide so that the overlays can be used as stand-alone worksheets.
This revised version of Pre-Braille Concepts has been updated to work with IntelliTools® Classroom Suite software and the USB keyboard (available directly from IntelliTools). The included Classroom Suite Player allows those who don't own a full version of IntelliTools Classroom Suite to use activities created with the suite.
Recommended ages: 5 to 10 years
Requirements to Run:
Note: IntelliKeys keyboards, related software, and standard visual overlays are available exclusively from IntelliTools, 1-800-899-6687, www.intellitools.com
1-07320-01 -- SALE PRICE: $800.00 -- 36% off of original price!
Replacement Item:
Serial Interface Cable for connection to a PC (9-pin female to mini-din 8 male): 1-07319-00 -- $33.00
Cables Available Separately:
Parallel Printer: 1-07318-00 -- $98.00
ImageWriter®: 1-07317-00 -- $32.00
Introduce younger braille users to the world of electronic notetakers with the Braille 'n Speak Scholar from APH and Freedom Scientific. The Scholar's simpler interface and new lower price makes it the ideal for first-time users.
The Scholar will help students or adults create and organize their work with these features:
Recommended ages: 8 years and up.
Reading with your child is an enjoyable way to spend time together, and it can have long-term learning benefits as well. Reading together, your child learns:
While children should be exposed to a wide variety of reading materials, owning books gives a child the opportunity to read and reread favorite books, increasing the connections between the words in the story and the written depiction. The Jessie Ball duPont Fund has made it possible for APH to offer a collection of full-color, hardcover, print/braille books at a special price that makes book ownership a possibility for more children.
duPont Series Books -- $10.00 each:
Capital! Washington DC from A to Z by Laura Krauss Melmed: 9-15036-00
Looking Out for Sarah by Glenna Lang: 9-14009-00
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig: 9-15008-00
The Mysterious Tadpole by Steven Kellogg: 9-15012-00
Pumpkin Eye by Denise Fleming: 9-14012-00
Goin' Someplace Special by Patricia McKissack: 9-14020-00
Oranges on Golden Mountain by Elizabeth Partridge: 9-14033-00
Dear Santa, Please Come to the 19th Floor by Yin: 9-15015-00
duPont books are not available on Federal Quota.
Most software manuals focus on graphics and use of the mouse which can easily frustrate the user who is blind or visually impaired. This tutorial series emphasizes keyboard commands and explains any graphic components by comparing them to everyday items.
Delivered on CD, the Verbal View tutorials come in DAISY 3.0 format with its own presentation software. (DAISY stands for Digital Audio Information System; this "electronic book" format is accepted worldwide as a standard form for audio books produced for visually impaired and blind readers.) The CD also contains Microsoft Word®, HTML, contracted braille, and text versions of the document, so you may send it to a portable device like APH's Book Port™, or a notetaker with a refreshable braille display.
Great for students of any age who are ready to begin learning computer skills!
Learn to use Windows XP with this comprehensive tutorial. This tutorial is also useful for anyone contemplating the purchase of a portable device that interacts with a computer, such as APH's Braille+ Mobile Manager, or Book Port™ portable book reader.
D-10500-00 -- $50.00
Microsoft® Word® is a powerful word processor with multiple means of accomplishing tasks. Instead of focusing on the mouse and visual cues, this tutorial lets the user know how the keyboard and screen reader can be used to accomplish basic word processing tasks efficiently. The tutorial assumes the user has a basic knowledge of Microsoft Windows.
1-10510-00 -- $50.00
This tutorial assumes the reader possesses a basic knowledge of Microsoft Windows, has learned the basics of Word from the Verbal View of Word tutorial, and has a need to create specialized documents such as term papers, business letters, or books. It is designed to give the writer the tools to perform nearly any editing, collaboration, or publishing task with Word.
1-10511-00 -- $50.00
Verbal View of the Net and Web explains how to access information on the internet and teaches accessibility features of Microsoft Internet Explorer®, the features of various search engines, and using web-based data.
The tutorial covers:
No prior knowledge of the Net or of the Web is assumed.
D-10512-00 -- $50.00
APH is now offering a number of new recreational books in braille (Quota funds can be used). Each of these titles was originally transcribed and produced by APH for the National Library Service which has graciously granted permission for this offering. As usual, these titles have been added to the APH Louis Database where you can find thousands of titles produced in accessible formats.
Note: all books are produced upon receipt of orders, therefore, please allow approximately 8 weeks for delivery.
State of Fear
by Michael Crichton: Braille: T-N1589-20 -- $141.00
Environmental terrorists plan natural disasters to promote the theory of global warming. Strong language and violence. Adult. (*AR #84981, RL 4.7, Pts. 21.0)
Cat Fear No Evil: A Joe Grey Mystery
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy: Braille: T-N1595-70 -- $83.50
Tomcat detective Joe Grey investigates a sophisticated thief and the death of a waiter.
Reflex
by Steven Gould: Braille: T-N1617-20 -- $113.00
A mysterious organization kidnaps a National Security Agency operative to use his teleportation powers. Strong language, some descriptions of sex, and some violence. Senior high and up. (AR #103041, RL 5.4, Pts. 19.0)
Light Years
by Tammar Stein: Braille: T-N1589-50 -- $58.50
After a suicide bomber kills her boyfriend, Maya leaves Israel to study in the US. Strong language and violence. Senior high and up. (AR #86118, RL4.7, Pts. 10.0) ALA Best Book for Young Adults.
*Accelerated Reader number, reading level, and point value. For more information on the Accelerated Reader program, see the January 2006 APH News or www.renlearn.com/ar/
President:
Dr. Tuck Tinsley
ttinsley@aph.org
Designer:
Malcolm Turner, APH Web Site Coordinator
webmaster@aph.org
Thanks to the following APH staff:
Editor:
Bob Brasher, Vice President, Advisory Services and Research
bbrasher@aph.org
For additional recent APH News, click the following:
January Issue - www.aph.org/advisory/2007adv01.html
December Issue - www.aph.org/advisory/2006adv12.html
November Issue - www.aph.org/advisory/2006adv11.html
Archive of all previous issues - www.aph.org/advisory/advarch.html
Please share this web link or any items that appear in this publication with anyone who might benefit.
Thank you.
Subscribe to the APH News!
Get convenient email reminders every month when a new issue of the APH News is released.
It's Easy!
