AGENDA Thursday October 23 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Registration 1:00 – 1:30 p.m. Opening Session Atrium Hallway Auditorium Dr. Susan Brennan – New Principal at TSB Remarks/Introduction of Speaker – Dr. Martin Monson 1:30 – 2:15 Keynote Speaker Jennifer Wheeler: Arizona School for the Blind No Child Left Behind! Technology Education for Students with Visual Impairments and Multiple Disabilities Jenny Wheeler has worked in education and materials production for individuals with visual impairments for 10 years. She currently serves as a TVI, COMS, and assistive technology specialist for Arizona Schools for the Deaf and Blind, and contributes to braille transcription, student support, and technology training with the Foundation for Blind Children in Phoenix. Jenny received a Master’s degree in teaching children with visual impairments from the University of Arizona and is in her last year of PhD. courses in Special Education at the University of Northern Colorado. She has a special interest in literacy and technology education for students with visual impairments and multiple disabilities. Jenny is a musician, writer, and avid student of Civil War history, and is honored to have this opportunity to join and collaborate with her Tennessee colleagues at the Unity Conference. 2:15-2:30 p.m. Hospitality/Refreshments Cafeteria Vendors Cafeteria Various manufacturers and exhibitors are displaying their products both Thursday and Friday. Take time to look at the latest in technology, adaptive equipment, and more. Thursday Continued 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. Concurrent Sessions FVA (Academic) Allison Conway, TSB O&M Academy Leader Carla Wall TSB, Outreach Teacher An overview of the FVA will be discussed with an emphasis on the educational implications. IMPLEMENTING UEB…FOCUS GROUP Dr. Susan Brennan, Principal, TSB Dr. Deborah Hatton, VU Associate Professor, Peabody College of Vanderbilt University Dr. Brennan and Dr. Hatton will facilitate a discussion about the state plan for implementation of UEB (Unified English Braille. Seize the opportunity to get feedback from others and discover knowledge of beneficial resources. ALL CHILDREN CAN READ… “Shifting the Perspective!” Deedra Finch, M.Ed., CTVI Classroom Teacher, Tennessee School for the Blind Lee Ellen Whitefield, M.Ed., COMS, CTVI O&M Instructor, Metro Nashville Public Schools Suzanne Dinwiddie, M.Ed., COMS, CTVI Educational Consultant, Tennessee Deaf-Blind Project Literacy has commonly been defined as the ability to read and write. However, that definition has placed literacy beyond the scope of possibility for some children who have complex sensory, physical, or developmental challenges. This shift in perspective expands the definition of literacy to an integrated process which develops gradually from birth and is built upon learning from broad experiences, linking language with the development of concepts, and providing exposure to the written word in a variety of meaningful ways. The instructional techniques and tips presented during this training are evidence based practices for increasing literacy skills and designed to improve literacy instruction for children with multiple disabilities and other complex learning challenges. Using Digital Talking Books with Speech and Braille Tools from HumanWare Jim Sullivan, HumanWare Field representative Digital Talking Books have made a significant impact on the accessibility of educational materials for teachers, students and administrators. These materials can be downloaded and shared quickly and can be accessed on everything from an iOS device to a notetaker. HumanWare's speech and braille devices are able to access several types of digital talking books. They also provide students with tools to utilize active reading strategies when accessing these materials. Through discussion and demonstration participants will identify ways the Victor Reader Stream, BrailleNote and Brailliant braille display can be used to access digital talking books. Friday October 24 7:00 – 8:00 a.m. Breakfast Main Cafeteria 8:15 – 9:55 90 min Double Sessions FVA (Life Skills/Transitional Students) Allison Conway, TSB O&M Academy Leader Carla Wall TSB, Outreach Teacher How do we test students with more severe needs to obtain useful information? Ideas will be discussed to help us all test these students. BUILDING ON PATTERNS Kerry Isham, APH Field Services Representative Building on the success of the previous Patterns: Primary Braille Reading Program, Building on Patterns (BOP) is a complete primary literacy program designed to teach beginning braille users to read, write, and spell in braille. The student learns braille code and reading together. 10:05 – 11:45 90 min Double Sessions APH SMART BRAILLER Kerry Isham, APH Field Services Representative APH is pleased to offer the Smart Brailler by Perkins – a revolutionary way to teach new braille skills and reinforce old ones! LMA – Learning Media Assessment Dr. Susan Brennan, Principal, TSB Learning Media Assessments (LMA) are used to identify a child's primary sensory learning channel and appropriate learning media (regular print, large print, braille). In this session, the basic components of the LMA will be discussed, including identification of learning channels, purpose of reading inventories, and interpretation of LMA results. Participants will have an opportunity to work with sample LMA reports and discuss recommendations. This session is intended for individuals who have limited experience with LMAs and are interested in building skills. Session 1 8:15 - 9:00 a.m. 45 min Concurrent Sessions Using Technology to Facilitate Literacy Education for Students with Visual Impairments and Multiple Disabilities Jennifer Wheeler SHOWING WHAT YOU KNOW: BrailleNote APEX a Device for Completing Math Assignments and More Jim Sullivan, Humanware The BrailleNote APEX provides students who are blind with the ability to complete writing, reading and math assignments. In the latest version of Keysoft students are now able to write out math expressions using the Nemeth code in a Keyword document. This paired with the symbol selector tool and Nemeth tutorial from Northern Illinois University make the APEX a great tool for completing math assignments and much more. In this session participants will explore how to utilize the Nemeth tools built into the APEX to write out math assignments. They will also identify how to open electronic books, PowerPoint presentations, docx files and more. BUILDING LEVEL O&M Julia Hedrick, Susan Yarbrough The session will focus on a hands-on review of O&M skills for TVIs. Participants will be actively involved in simulated mobility tasks. Come prepared to walk. Session 2 9:10 – 9:55 45 min Concurrent Sessions TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT: WHAT EVERY TVI SHOULD KNOW Jennifer Wheeler TYPEABILITY Amanda Black, Sarah Bradley, TSB Tech Instructors TypeAbility software teaches keyboarding skills through games, lessons and dictation as well as giving students the opportunity to practice navigation and editing commands for text documents. MAGic and JAWS are needed to access TypeAbility, making it ideal for those with visual impairments to improve their keyboarding skills. We will demonstrate how TypeAbility can be used, share our experiences and data collection practices. Participants will also be given the opportunity to experience TypeAbility for themselves. CREATING BRAILLE IN THE CLASSROOM WITH THE MOUNTBATTEN LEARNING SYSTEM Jim Sullivan, HumanWare Rep The Mountbatten Learning System is an instructional tool used in the classroom to read, write and create braille. This device is suited for teaching young students how to read and write the braille code. It is ideal for completing a range of academic assignments in hardcopy braille. It also enables classroom teachers to quickly and accurately produce simple documents in either contracted or un-contracted braille. In this session participants will explore features of the Mountbatten Learning System that students can use to write the literary braille code as well as math and music. Participants will also identify how they can use the forward translation features of the Mountbatten to create contracted and un-contracted braille in the classroom. Repeat Session 1 Session 3 10:05 – 10:50 45 min Sessions Repeat Session 2 Session 4 45 min Sessions 11:00– 11:45 11:45 – 12 noon Wrap-Up A few comments & Door prizes and