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Two different Working with the Experts (WWE) will be offered this school year.
Building Braille Skills with Building on Patterns will be offered on September 22 & 23, 2016 in Daytona Beach. Registration is coming soon. If you need an agenda and link to the hotel please email Kay Ratzlaff. Kristie Smith, a national speaker on educational strategies for students with visual impairments will lead this workshop by providing a wide array of methods to teach braille skills and use the newly revised "Building on Patterns" curriculum (in UEB)
that is available from APH.
Let's Adapt will address physical fitness activities for students with visual impairments. At the Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER) International Conference this past July, there were many sessions addressing the importance of physical fitness and activity for students with visual impairments. This two-day workshop will provide an opportunity for a "make and take" of goalball nets and adaptive mobility devices, and hands-on activities with goalball, beep kickball, beep baseball, and other fitness activities. Come play with us on December 8 & 9, 2016, at the All People's Life Center in Tampa.
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Webinars
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Click here to download dates and descriptions of upcoming webinars. We will kick off the new year Wednesday, August 30 at 2:00pm EST with FIMC-VI information and updates! The following link is for the virtual meeting room: FIMC-VI 2016-2017. Click here to register today!
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FIMC-VI hopes everyone had a rewarding and relaxing summer. As you trade out the beach chairs for braille books and assessment kits, we want you to remember that FIMC-VI is here to assist in providing accessible instructional materials, technical assistance and professional development opportunities. This is going to be a very big and exciting year as we delve further into the transition to Unified English Braille (UEB).
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Kathee's Korner
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American Printing House for the Blind has made many exciting announcements during the year that elude to great advancements in access technology. With that being said, we have some new policies and procedures regarding the ordering of APH technology available on Federal Quota that is over $1,000. At this time, the items that are impacted are: JAWS, MAGic & the Refreshabraille 18.
Visiobooks and Perkin's Smartbraillers will still be available for data collection purposes through our Professional Loan Library. If you have not had a chance to check out the APH announcement of JAWS and MAGic, click here to learn more. Pay special attention to the additional information at the bottom of the page. The subscription is available for $300 a year and after four years, that subscription becomes the student's very own software, which amounts to $1,200. The yearly subscription is tied directly to the student and follows the student if they move out of county or state. Please keep in mind, that for each student that is registered with FIMC-VI and is legally blind FIMC-VI receives around $300 in quota funds for the year. The subscriptions and refreshable braille displays can quickly deplete Federal Quota Funds, which is why we are implementing the new policy. To view the new procedures click here. You will notice that most of the requested information will come straight from your Functional Vision and Learning Media Assessments, and ECC screenings. If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact Andrea Wallace or Kathee Cagle.
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UEB & State Assessment Update
A plan regarding the state assessment transition was released during the Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services (BEESS) Topical call on August 11, 2016. We are very excited to share the news that for there will be a UEB AND English Braille American Edition (EBAE) option offered for the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) and End of Course (EOC) Exams for all grade levels, contracted and uncontracted. For now, math is available in Nemeth within UEB context. Stay tuned for more information on Math based UEB. Click here to download the information from the conference call to learn more.
Many Visual Aid Volunteers of Florida (VAVF) certified braille transcribers are waiting for permission to take the Letter of Proficiency exam to become certified in UEB. We have received notice that two braille transcribers in Florida have received the letter of the proficiency. The waiting list is long, but it is moving.
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Florida Low Vision Initiative
From Kim Roberts
Be a part of our 20th year! The Florida Low Vision Initiative is currently accepting referrals for the 2016-2017 school year. Up to sixty school-age students with low vision are eligible for free comprehensive low vision care, prescribed non-electronic optical tools, and optical device training. Teachers, let us provide to you the evaluation that helps you ensure your student's needs are being addressed and gives you the data to support the accommodations that will be used to meet your student's IEP goals. Please contact Kim Roberts (850-445-4353 and/or kmroberts@fsu.edu) for more information. Also, be sure to check the Florida Low Vision Initiative Facebook page!
This document was developed by The Florida Instructional Materials Center for the Visually Impaired (FIMC-VI), a special project funded by the Florida Department of Education/Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services, through federal assistance under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part B, and State General Revenue funds. Hillsborough County Public Schools has managed FIMC-VI since 1972.
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>Be sure to email Kathy Kremplewski to get up-to-date information on the Scholastic Book Program. You can receive up to 10 free braille books for emergent readers a month!
>Over the summer, Bookshare released a new quick start guide that features screen shots and helpful how-to guides! You can check the guides out here to help get your students started on downloading digital books!
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A Florida Department of Education Discretionary Project
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