New York State School for the Blind (NYSSB)
E-mail Monthly Newsletter – June 2003
(See archived issues at http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/lsn/resourcetoolbox.htm)

From Our Superintendent…

• Annual Registration of all students classified as legally blind for procurement of special media materials produced by the American Printing House for the Blind (APH)
• Ordering of APH products using federal quota funds
• Braille Writer Repair
• Technical Assistance in locating large print and braille textbooks not available through APH
• Publication of Share the Vision! – a publication from the School, focusing on our activities and activities in the field of education for students with visual impairments; Judi Piscitello, Editor

• Lisa DeSantis, Shirley Lapp, Mary Jo Milano, Judi Piscitello, and Cindy Warner now officially work for NYSSB – WELCOME LADIES!
• Workstations will move; duties will change for those involved
• The "Resource Center" will not be considered a separate agency but will instead incorporate efforts with the School

Laraine Caton is directing the professional activities, which include those above, plus our NYSSB outreach efforts, staff development, technology, etc. Look for inclusive movement focusing on involving Teachers of Visually Impaired Students (TVIs) in the field!

We are excited to let you know that starting in July Share the Vision! is going monthly! We hope that our shortened yet more frequent version of our Share the Vision! will offer something for everyone.

We are broadening our focus to include information important to CSE Chairs, BOCES and school district administrators, and will be tapping the expertise of our own NYSSB staff, as well as including articles about NYSSB activities! We're counting on you to let us know what you'd like to read, and to submit articles that share your own expertise as well, in order to… Share the Vision!… and speaking of that…

We have attached a patron survey. Your prompt response to this survey is needed in order for us to continue to provide valuable and beneficial services to you.

RFB&D's Audio Plus™ digitally recorded textbooks on CD allow students to find a page or chapter with a keystroke or press of a button using a special CD player or computer equipped with playback software. A single RFB&D's Audio Plus™ CD holds the equivalent of 10 to 12 four-track cassettes!

If you reactivate your membership before June 30, 2003 and order at least one RFB&D's Audio Plus book on CD, your membership fee will be waived and you'll be eligible to purchase new TPB Reader playback software for only $25 (a $50 value)! Visit RFB&D's online library catalog at http://www.rfbd.org/catalog.htm and look for book titles with the designation AD or DT or call RFB&D's member services (800) 221-4792 from 8:30 am to 4:45 pm ET.

Finding Ebooks On the Internet by Anna Dresner is a comprehensive resource on finding and using Ebooks for blind users. It can be purchased from National Braille Press at www.nbp.org.

Cynthia Says…

HiSoftware is releasing a special edition of AccVerify - the Cynthia Says Edition - that will be available at no cost to all K-12 schools. Cynthia Says was designed to teach young Web developers to create accessible Web content as they learn to create Web pages. This software will be available to K-12 schools both for use on their own Web sites and for use in their computer courses and classes on Web design. More information about Cynthia Says is available at:

http://www.cynthiasays.com/accverifycs/index.html, or contact Dana Louise Simberkoff at danalouise@hisoftware.com.

Attention CSE Chairs and administrators!
Don't stop here!
There's plenty more that you'll find of interest in the following pages of Share the Vision!

IDEA Reauthorization The House's version of the IDEA reauthorization bill, H.R. 1350, mandates that states and local school districts must require textbook publishers to make standardized electronic copies of textbooks available for ready conversion into specialized formats such as braille, large print or digital audio. The Senate version is soon forthcoming, and may be introduced before this newsletter is published. For the latest information on IDEA reauthorization, go to http://www.ideapractices.org/ideanews/files/issue.php?iss=20#196. For guidance on the provision of educational materials in alternate formats, go to http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/policy/alterformat502.htm.

Special Education Updates!

For the latest information regarding legislation and other activities in special education, subscribe to the Special Ed Connection online at http://www.specialedconnection.com. For news about IDEA go to http://www.ideapractices.org.

 
The Foundation Center Web site, located at http://fdncenter.org/learn/useraids/disabilities_indiv.html is for individuals looking for information on grants, specifically for those with disabilities. The Center has detailed some of the most important print and electronic resources designed to help individuals with disabilities obtain financial support. The user aid has information on accessibility for disabled visitors to libraries and learning centers.

The Educational Context and Outcomes for High School Students with Disabilities: Overview of the Study and Findings (2002) http://www.academicaccess.org/htmlfiles/research/reports/report13.doc Published by the Institute for Academic Access, the purpose of this investigation was to describe how students with disabilities are currently being served in their high schools, the outcomes of those services, and also to describe the rigorous general education courses in which they have to succeed in order to earn standard high school diplomas.

This conference, held every two years, addresses issues related to literacy for individuals with visual impairments at all age and literacy levels. Presentations will include information on reading and writing in braille, use of assistive technology, use of a variety of literacy tools and other relevant topics. The conference will be held December 4-7, 2003 at the Westin Bayshore Resort and Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. For more information, contact Cay Holbrook (604) 822-2235 or cay.holbrook@ubc.ca or visit the web site: http://www.gettingintouchwithliteracy.org.

Consider encouraging students to write poetry, prose, jokes, recipes - anything they'd like to share with others who read braille. Some local associations for the blind have a braille newsletter. Students can write a letter to the editor, submit an article or offer something for sale in these or the Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind, or create their own newsletter or magazine for younger braille readers! Maybe they could get a local or national organization such as AFB or APH to sponsor a braille newsletter written by and for kids! They might offer to work together with sighted friends or family members during the summer to offer braille menus to local restaurants! Get your students' creative juices flowing!

Tactile Graphics form an important aspect of literacy for readers of braille. On April 3-5, 2003, a workshop entitled, "Techniques for Creating and Instructing with Tactile Graphics" was held at Dominican College. Request your copy of an excellent summary of that workshop by Irene Majcher, TVI, by contacting Judi Piscitello at (585) 343-5384 ext. 427, or e-mail jpiscite@mail.nysed.gov.

The Resource Center at the NYS School for the Blind provides the resources… Braille awareness for the general public, braille instruction for students, braille refreshers for TVIs — you name it. Request your copy of "Braille Instruction Resources Plus" from Judi Piscitello (585) 343-5384 ext. 427 or e-mail jpiscite@mail.nysed.gov

Literacy is Everyone's Business!

How about a penpal - or stylus mate, if you prefer? Below you'll find a few official penpal groups. You might also try other groups - the local NAPVI chapter, the Association for the Blind or Center for Independent Living or Commission office, etc. - that will help you track down interested state or local pen pals.

• Kimberly Higham, a TVI in Prince Frederick, MD, has a tenth grade student who would love to have an e-mail pen pal over the summer. She is a bright young girl who reads braille and uses JAWS. She loves dogs and hanging out with friends. Contact Kimberly at KAHigham@aol.com.
• The Canadian National Institute for the Blind's (CNIB) Library matches blind kids using various media, including braille, as penpals:http://www.cnib.ca/library/kids/penpals.htm
• The Six Friends web site also lists Point to Point, a penpal club for people who write braille in English, Portuguese, or Spanish. Send a basic profile of yourself and of the people with whom you'd like to exchange letters. Contact: Silvia Valentini by mail: Caixa Postal 70538, CEP 05013-990, Sao Paolo BRASIL.
• The Write Away Penfriends Clubs web site for people with disabilities, including those who read and write braille, is at http://www.write-away.org/about_us_home.cfm.
• The Signal Penpal Magazine includes penpal clubs from all over the world, and includes braille penpals. Their web site is located at http://www.sci.fi/~signal/0479.htm.
• Information about the BrailleNote Penpals program can be found at http://www.pulsedata.org/BNClub.asp.

Partners in Literacy is Braille Institute Press' program in which subscribers can order (from an online catalog of over 1,100 children's titles) up to 25 braille books per year for an annual fee of $150, bringing the per-book cost down to $6 each, regardless of the number of volumes. For more information call (800) 272-4553 or go to the Partners in Literacy link at www.braillepress.org.

Accessible Assessments  
continue to be an issue in New York State and nationwide. APH Test Central http://www.aph.org/tc/index.html coordinates test and assessment formats and materials and most promising practices related to test adaptation and development, test administration, and test-taking procedures. You can offer your assistance at APH Test Central by clicking on the link above, For information on the NYS Alternate Assessments, see page 11.

Braille Jail provides free online "do it yourself" courses or refreshers in uncontracted and contracted braille (image based and text only) as well as tutorials for slate and stylus and peg slate. Go to the Braille Jail web site at
http://www.braillejail.net.

Student Learning Strategies (April 2003)
http://ncset.org/topics/learning/default.asp?topic=17 Explore strategies to help students become more independent, successful learners. Link includes an introduction, frequently asked questions, related research, emerging practices, Web sites, and additional resources.

For those looking for mathematics solutions for students with visual impairments, check out the Virtual Pencil at http://www.hentermath.com or go to http://www.tsbvi.edu/math/index.htm.

Tactile Globe from RNIB! This globe, available from the Royal National Institute for the Blind in the UK, can be viewed on their website: www.rnib.org.uk. Go to their Online Shop and search for "globe, tactile." Each continent is bright green, labeled in braille, and (this is the best part) removable, like a large puzzle piece. The globe costs 40 British pounds, which is about $60.00. RNIB will send it (well-packaged) "International Free Matter," arriving in about ten days. To order, contact Maxine Lewis at her e-mail address, maxine.lewis@rnib.org.uk, or at the RNIB exports e-mail address, exports@rnib.org.uk.

For TVI’s Only
(Suitable for Sharing!)

WARNING! Driver Reads Braille

License tag frames, black with white lettering that reads "WARNING" across the top and "Driver Reads Braille" across the bottom. $10.00 plus $2.00 shipping and handling (a fundraiser for Florida AER). Contact Amy Johnson at amyfaer@bellsouth.net.

License tag frames, black with white lettering that reads "WARNING: DRIVER READS BRAILLE!" across the top. $10.00 plus $1.50 shipping and handling (a fundraiser for Illinois AER). Contact Norma DeMario at ncdemar@ilstu.edu .

Kester Braille is an introductory braille instruction manual written by Louise Johnson when she retired after teaching for 20 years. Kester Braille provides a user-friendly script of the way she taught braille. Level 1 consists of teaching alphabet and beginning sounds in braille, and Level 2 teaches three-letter words with short vowel sounds, writing sentences, and numbers 0 to 20. It is written to teach braille reading and writing for children ages 4 to 8, and can be adapted for older children who have difficulty learning. The Level 1 and Level 2 Teacher's Guide and Student Workbooks are $25 each. You can order them from Louise Johnson, 197 West 1100 South, Orem, Utah 84058. To contact the author of Kester Braille, e-mail her at sierra@fiber.net.

Teaching Chemistry Elaine Srokosz suggests the following resources: Teaching Chemistry to Students with Disabilities and Working Chemists with Disabilities are books containing extensive resource guides. You can read or download them from the Chemists with Disabilities website, which in itself is a great resource: http://membership.acs.org/C/CWD

12^th Annual Upstate TVI Meeting! The notes from this meeting, including Marlaina Lieberg's presentation on assistive technology, the Tricks of the Trade and the panel discussion are available from Judi Piscitello (585) 343-5384 ext. 427 or jpiscite@mail.nysed.gov.

is a subscription service that provides an extensive online library of accessible digital books to people with severe visual, reading, and mobility disabilities. A recent Pulsedata newsletter described a plan to enable paying U.S. members of Bookshare.org to download a book directly to the BrailleNote, press enter on the book, and immediately unpack the book (which is copyright protected) to the unit's Book reader.

On March 4, 2003, Bookshare.org announced an agreement with O'Reilly & Associates, a leading publisher of computer books, to make digital versions of O'Reilly books available worldwide to qualifying users with disabilities. Bookshare.org (http://www.bookshare.org/web/Welcome.html ) is a service created by Benetech, a leading technology nonprofit in the Silicon Valley. Bookshare.org operates under a copyright exemption in U.S. law allowing the redistribution of copyrighted works in specialized accessible formats for people with qualifying disabilities.

Under the new agreement, O'Reilly & Associates will transfer digital copies of its books to Bookshare.org, which will convert the books into accessible formats and make them available to qualifying subscribers in the U.S. In addition, O'Reilly has granted Benetech rights to provide the books in accessible formats to qualifying users from other countries, the initial step in a planned expansion into providing accessible digital books internationally.

The New York State Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped (CBVH) may sponsor a student membership in Bookshare.org if all other resources refuse to cover the costs. See http://www.bookshare.org/web/SupportAboutUs.html for details about BookShare.

C TECH CCTV FREE Loan Program for Home Use! When a school district buys a new CCTV for a student from C TECH, C TECH will lend that student one used unit for home use for the balance of the school year. If the purchase is in the spring, the student can use the system at home over the summer. This service is free and available statewide. For more information about this program, contact C TECH's President, Chuck Cohen at (800) 228-7798 or e-mail chuck@magnifyit.com.

If you have seen the SAL (Speech Assisted Learning) braille instruction system and feel that it should be supported with materials from APH on federal quota, APH needs to hear from you. E-mail your request to APH at products@aph.org, stating that you would like materials to be available from them that are produced in a SAL format. For information about the SAL system, call (800) 549-6999, go to www.exceptionalteaching.com or contact Michelle Ruble at the NYS School for the Blind by e-mail mruble@mail.nysed.gov or phone (585) 343-5384 ext. 233.

WNY TVI Meetings Todd Paul would like to schedule specific dates in October of 2003 and April of 2004 in order to reserve the rooms at Erie 1 BOCES, assuming that people want to continue these Western New York TVI meetings/focus groups. Topic ideas and volunteers are needed to organize the meetings. Please let Todd know ASAP. Todd's email address is tpaul@buffnet.net. His cell phone # is (716) 574-8869.

The New York State Education Department has developed Sample IEP forms for use by school districts in writing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). For more information, go to: http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/policy/iep/home.html. Amendments to the Regulations of the Commissioner relating to providing copies of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) became effective on a permanent basis as of April 17, 2003. Further guidance on these regulations is forthcoming. Questions may be directed to the Special Education Policy Development Unit at (518) 473-2878, or go to: http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/timely.htm.

A new publication, Guide for Determining Eligibility and Special Education Programs and/or Services for Preschool Students with Disabilities, is at http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/timely.htm.

No Child Left Behind in President Bush's 2004 Budget President Bush's budget boosts education funding to $53.1 billion. The No  Child Left Behind site offers highlights of what the President's education budget request means for each state: http://www.nclb.gov/next/states. See also the New York State Education Department link http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/deputy/nclb/nclbhome.htm.

offered by the Elizabeth Pierce Olmsted, M. D. Center for the Visually Impaired in conjunction with the New York State Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped, is open to New York State teens aged 16-20 years who are blind, visually impaired and/or physically disabled.

Through the generous support of the Children’s Guild, The Summer Employment Experience is a five-week program that features:

• Classes and lectures that give students the skills they’ll need to be a success in the working world,
• Training on state-of-the-art computers, adaptive equipment and software,
• A paid internship with a Buffalo-based business or organization,
• Orientation and Mobility training, which will help students learn to travel as independently as possible,
• A dormitory-style living experience at Canisius College and Educational and social events that help students "make the most" of their summer in Buffalo.

The program begins on Sunday, June 29th through Friday, August 1st. Interested students should apply for acceptance into the program by requesting and completing a Summer Employment Experience application from Michael Hill at The National Statler Center for Careers in Hospitality Service (716) 882-5690, ext. 266 or e-mail mhill@statlercenter.org.

Completed applications can be faxed to (716) 882-5577. Upon receipt of the application, students will be contacted for an interview with a Summer Employment Experience staff person. There is no cost to attend the program, as accepted students are given a scholarship to participate.

For Students with Low Vision considering Jordy here's an article written by a high school student in Iowa who is using a Jordy to enhance his vision at school as well as in the church and community. The student's classmates held a Silent Auction in order to help him purchase the device. Read his story online at http://www.iowa-braille.k12.ia.us/doc/Mar2003.html. Look for the article "My New Eyes" under Creative Corner. According to Margaret Bateman, Technology Consultant at the Iowa Braille School, Iowa has 4 other students using Jordy quite successfully. Your local Jordy dealer may allow you to borrow one on trial or you can complete an online demo request at: http://www.enhancedvision.com/demoLitRequest.php. Read Dr. Tim Johnson's comments on the Jordy on the ABC News site: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/DrJohnson/GMA010620Miracle_glasses.html

AT Funding! Another way to purchase assistive technology devices might be to complete an application form from the Association of Blind Citizens http://www.assocofblindcitizens.org/assistive.html. The ABC Assistive Technology Fund (ATF) provides funds to cover 50%of the retail price of adaptive devices or software.

The BrailleMaster is a little box with 7 bumps on it, 6 of which represent the braille cell and the 7th is a function key. It talks whenever a dot is pushed and speaks the word that the user punches in braille. Programmed to teach uncontracted and beginning contractions in braille through 3 modes (teach, practice and test), it provides immediate feedback and games can be incorporated into the learning process. Check it out on the Independent Living Aids web site located at www.independentliving.com by entering the word BrailleMaster, or call Mimi C. Berman, Ph.D. at Independent Living Aids, Inc. (516) 937-1848.

NCLID Needs Assessment for Students with Low-incidence Disabilities
http://vision.unco.edu/needs/
The National Center on Low-Incidence Disabilities (NCLID) is conducting a national survey of parents and professionals to gather perceptions about what is needed to provide better services for students with low-incidence disabilities. There is not a specified deadline for participation.

Information about Public Hearings on Proposed Amendments to the Special Education Space Requirements Plan and Other State Policies and Procedures Modified in 2002-2003 is posted at: http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/timely.htm.

A topical listing for Special Education publications is now available at: http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/home.html.

No Child Left Behind Toolkit for Technology The U. S. Department of Education and State Educational Technology Directors (SETDA) offer a Toolkit that shares states' best practices and guidance for implementing NCLB technology requirements. The toolkit can be found at http://www.distance-educator.com/dnews/?name=News&file=article&sid=8820 and more information about SETDA and the toolkit is available at http://www.setda.org.

The eSN School Technology Alert is the weekly electronic newsletter for K-12 technology decision-makers. It includes information about grants and other funding resources, information about how technology can meet the requirements of IDEA and NCLB, and the latest developments in educational technology for assessment and instruction! To subscribe to the eSchool News, go to www.eschoolnews.com.

Ask the Experts!

Often the best experts are those who've "been there - done that!" This expert is a member of a listserv for blind computer users:

Q: What can I listen to free on the Internet that's either geared toward the blind or is accessible with speech?

A: VoicePrint is a free Canadian 24-hour news and information audio service. Every day, volunteers record full-length articles, columns and feature reports related to news and sports, health, entertainment, science and more. VoicePrint is delivered via satellite and cable to 8.3 million homes throughout Canada. It is also delivered via Internet at VoicePrint's Accessible Site with Windows MediaPlayer. VoicePrint has interesting contests, and on Saturday nights they have descriptive movies played on the air. Visit them at www.voiceprint.ca.

Assistive Media is an organization that reads magazine articles primarily out of "The New Yorker" and "Wired". Listen to them with RealPlayer in real time or download the files for later at www.assistivemedia.org.

ACB Radio is an Internet radio run by the American Council of the Blind. They have great live and archived (on demand) material. My favorite show (after "Main Menu") is "The Blind Handyman". You can use Windows Media Player, Winamp or RealPlayer to listen at www.acbradio.org.

BBC Radio 4 programs are a joy to listen to, all in Real Audio format. With the past 2 weeks of programs archived in alphabetical order, they have great afternoon plays and science programs. The names of the shows are listed above every listen link. Visit "Listen Again" at www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/progs/listenagain.shtml.

National Transition Outreach Project
http://www.transitioncoalition.org/projects.php3
The Transition Coalition is soliciting success stories, strategies and/or programs from people with disabilities, their families and professionals who either provide transition services or who experience it daily. The Transition Coalition is creating a national forum for dissemination, exchange of information, joint problem-solving and collaborative content development for secondary special education and transition professional development. There is no specified deadline for participation.

The Hadley School for the Blind has courses for blind or visually impaired students who are preparing for college http://www.hadley-school.org. Hadley's courses are free and are correspondence courses, so anyone with visual impairments can take them anywhere. There are also some courses for professionals working with blind/visually impaired individuals.

Helping Young People Succeed: Strengthening and Sustaining Relationships between Schools and Youth Development Organizations http://www.communityschools.org/helpingyoungpeople.pdf. The Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) has developed a report for educators and youth development workers offering strategies for connecting schools and youth development.

Transition Services for Students with Disabilities http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/sped/transition/
This site is sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education and provides information on transition, transition resources, college planning resources, school to work resources, and much more.

The National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET) was established to create opportunities for youth with disabilities to achieve successful futures. NCSET provides technical assistance and disseminates information:

• Providing students with disabilities with improved access and success in the secondary education curriculum.
• Ensuring that students achieve positive post-school results in accessing postsecondary education, meaningful employment, independent living and participation in all aspects of community life.
• Supporting student and family participation in educational and post-school decision making and planning.
• Improving collaboration and system linkages at all levels through the development of broad-based partnerships and networks at the national, state, and local levels. http://www.ncset.org/about/default.html

Life Centered Career Education Conference
May 9, 2003 - May 10, 2003, Washington, DC
http://www.cec.sped.org/pd/lcce_1_03.html
This conference was sponsored by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC).

Financial Aid and Scholarships - request this resource file from Judi Piscitello (585) 343-5384 ext. 427 or jpiscite@mail.nysed.gov.

Project Access is a pre-college program at Howard Community College in Columbia, MD. The purpose of the program is to assist with the transition of high school students with disabilities and the retention of freshmen students at the college. The Assistant Director is Linda Schnapp, Ph.D., who can be reached at (410) 772-4625.

The New York State Regional Transition Coordination Site Network provides information, training and technical assistance to support school districts, families, students and community agencies in their implementation of transition planning. For more information, visit the web site at http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/transition/tcslist.htm.

Assistive Technology Data Sheets on a variety of products and services are available from the SUNY Buffalo Center for Assistive Technology. Products include the BrailleNote and VoiceNote, the IMP Voice Diary hand held voice organizer, the PowerTalk software that speaks PowerPoint, SmartButler software that speaks instant messenger programs, Talking Dictionary software, the Tutor Tape Recorder/Player, and the Voice Mate talking organizer. To obtain a copy of any of these data sheets, contact Katy Beaver at kbeaver@acsu.buffalo.edu or call (800) 628-2281.

PAC Mate Documentation

Review the documentation for the Braille 'N Speak model of PAC Mate online at: http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_support/doc_PACmate.asp

Digital Eyes BlindNews is a mailing list created to provide a place to post all the current news from around the world related to blindness. To join and post to the list, just send a blank e-mail message to blindnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or search the archives of BlindNews on the Digital Eyes web site located at http://www.snowbeast.net/blind.

Trade in your Braille n Speak for a BrailleNote! Through June 30, 2003 Pulsedata HumanWare offers cash toward the purchase of a BrailleNote or VoiceNote when you trade in your Braille n Speak or Braille Lite! For more information about this SWAP program, contact them at (800) 722-3393 or visit the web site at www.pulsedata.com.

NEW YORK TIMES LEARNING NETWORK provides news summaries, quizzes, and daily lesson plans for grades 3-12 http://www.nytimes.com/learning.

AskERIC LESSON PLANS - More than 2000 lesson plans have been submitted to http://www.askeric.org/Virtual/Lessons.

How to Effectively Scan a Book is an article by Kelly Pierce that contains a bevy of tricks, tips and caveats about how to scan a book or other document with the greatest accuracy. Included are suggestions about scanner settings, document preparation, and enhancing software performance.

Read this article online at http://www.esight.org/View.cfm?x=773&ov_id=-1 or request a copy from the Resource Center. Be sure to check out some of the other articles about careers and technology found on the eSight Careers Network site!

CAST National Consortium on Universal Design for Learning News
http://www.cast.org/udl/index.cfm?i=840
The Consortium is a partnership of general and special educators, schools, and experts who are committed to improving educational outcomes for all students, including those with disabilities, through the application of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to classroom practice. A periodic newsletter is offered with information for educators.

The Librarians' Index to the Internet (LII) is a weekly newsletter that can help those roaming the World Wide Web to find interesting, useful, sites. LII's director, Karen G. Schneider, and her team of researchers track down, cruise through and evaluate worthwhile Web sites. The newsletter comes out weekly and also publishes special editions as the news warrants on topics such as the war in Iraq, the SARS health epidemic, and U.S. tax-related topics. It's a handy resource for research, or if you just want to find some good places to visit on the Web, LII's list is an excellent road map. To subscribe, sign up at the Web site: http://lii.org/search/file/mailinglist.

REFDESK - This Internet Reference Desk is well organized and useful: http://www.refdesk.com.

LIBRARY SPOT - Links to online Almanacs, Calculators, Dictionaries, Directories, Encyclopedias, Historic Documents, Quotations, statistics, and Thesauri: http://www.libraryspot.com.

Tactile Graphics To produce graphics for students in the subject areas of biology, history, math and chemistry, subscribe to Tactile Access to Education for Visually Impaired Students (TAEVIS) on their website http://www.taevisonline.purdue.edu/home.html and download one of their diagrams for production on special papers such as capsule, Swell or Flexi-Paper. - Submitted by Elaine Srokosz, TVI.

Editor's Note: See page 3 for information on how to request a copy of a summary of the workshop from which Elaine gleaned the information about TAEVIS and other valuable resources for creating tactile graphics!

Positive Behavior Support (1998)
http://www.bridges4kids.org/PBS/PBS.html
Nine fact sheets, published by the Beach Center on Families and Disability, are available online that cover the following topics:

• Discipline and Punishment
• Functional Assessment of Behavior
• How To Encourage Desirable Behavior in People with Developmental Disabilities
• How To Find a Behavior Specialist
• How To Put the Good in Good Night
• How To Reduce Challenging Behavior in Children with Developmental Disabilities
• School-Wide Positive Behavioral Support Systems
• Teachers and Positive Behavioral Support
• Ten Ways To Support A Person with a Challenging Behavior.

New Fact Sheet on Summer Camps from the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability (2002) http://www.ncpad.org/Factshthtml/summercamps.htm This fact sheet includes information on a variety of camps for children with disabilities.

WCD Foundation for Education (WCDF)
http://www.WCDFoundation.org
World Congress & Exposition on Disabilities Foundation (WCDF) provides support to children and adults with disabilities and their families. The WCDF monthly newsletter contains resource links, charitable opportunities for support, education materials, and other relevant information.

HOMEWORK SPOT -Features the very best K-12 homework-related sites http://www.homeworkspot.com

INFOPLEASE HOMEWORK CENTER - Search by subject area; develop better writing, note-taking and study skills, and search through previous questions and answers from other students at http://www.infoplease.com/homework

THE KIDS ON THE WEB - This excellent site, maintained by Brendan Kehoe, has links for online dictionaries, encyclopaedias and other homework tools, educational sites and much more. You could spend days exploring all these links, and Brendan adds new ones every month. http://www.zen.org/~brendan/kids-homework.html.

Parent and Family Resources - New from NYSSB! Request your copies of "19 Ways to Step Back", "Parent and Family Web Resources for Students with Visual Impairments", and/or Resources for Parents of Visually Impaired Children by calling Judi Piscitello at (585) 343-5384 ext. 427 or e-mail jpiscite@mail.nysed.gov.

Support for Families of Children with Visual Impairments! The web site below links to a number of other sites for families of blind and visually impaired children, including directions to subscribe to the BLINDFAM and BLIND-FAMILY listservs: http://ericec.org/blindvis.html.

Toys for Special Children
Enabling Devices www.enablingdevices.com is dedicated to providing affordable learning and assistive devices for children with special needs. Products include talking wall switches, communication boards, keyboards adapted for children with low vision, and all kinds of switches and multi-sensory toys, ideal for the classroom or the home.

Parent Resource Centers will remain independent and maintain their own funding streams, according to the second markup of the House bill to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). For details see http://www.ideapractices.org.

No Limits Media: A Call for Personal Stories from People with Disabilities
No Limits Media (NLM), a non-profit organization, was established to create television, print and Internet projects for the U.S. disability community. These projects are designed to help forge a sense of common identity and personal empowerment among people with disabilities. "The Gift" will be structured around a series of "short stories" describing the lives of people with disabilities. NLM invites the disability community to participate by providing personal stories and the names of people to contact based on those personal experiences. Please send suggestions to Exceptional Parent Magazine via e-mail to epedit@aol.com with the subject line: A Call for Stories. There is no specified deadline for suggestions.

NYSSB Weekend Program is Cookin'!

Hot dogs, sausage with peppers and onions - can't you just hear them sizzling? The NYSSB weekend students enjoyed these and much more the first weekend in May! Swimming, cooking, riding go-karts, dinner at a local restaurant and bowling were among the activities that brought six gentlemen and one young lady together from across the state.

These weekends at NYSSB are designed for students to share experiences and learn from NYSSB staff, guest speakers and one another. The guest speaker for this weekend was Charlie Piscitello, a former NYSSB student who now works as Disability Support Coordinator at Genesee Community College. Students discussed their plans beyond high school and were encouraged to have a "Plan B" as an alternative, in case their original plan doesn't meet their expectations. Many of the students were interested in teaching and computer programming, and discussed the value of assistive technology in their everyday lives.

The final 2003 NYSSB Weekend is scheduled for ten students (age 11-12 years) on June 6^th - 8^th. The 2003 Week-Long program will be June 24^th -29^th for students age 15 -19 years. Contact Laraine Caton at ext. 280 for more information.

New York State Alternate Assessments
Michelle Ruble, NYSAA, NYSSB

As part of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, all children in New York State must be assessed during their 4^th, 8^th and high school years. The New York State Education Department (SED) developed an alternate assessment for children whose ability levels are severely delayed to the extent that they would be unable to participate in the regular state assessments.

For those unfamiliar with the New York State Alternate Assessment (NYSAA), it is comprised of a data folio that highlights the individual student's skills that are being addressed in the current IEP that reflect the New York State Learning Standards areas of Math, English Language Arts, Science and Social Studies. A determination of whether a student is to be assessed using the NYSAA is decided at the student's annual IEP meeting. Eligibility is based on the chronological age equivalent of the 4^th, 8^th, or high school level and the date range determined by the SED.

Ideally, the classroom teacher reviews the IEP and consults with support staff to determine which skills currently being addressed reflect the student’s strengths and should be included in the NYSAA. For students with visual impairments, the Teacher of Visually Impaired Students (TVI) may be called upon by a student’s classroom teacher to assist with data collection and monitoring a student’s progress for a particular skill being addressed during their sessions. In addition, a TVI may be asked to assist the student in completing written samples in the format most often used by the student.

Every BOCES region has two or more trainers who provide training and support to teachers with students participating in the annual NYSAA. Often the training sessions are open to all classroom and support staff working on a particular student's Alternate Assessment. Contact the student's classroom teacher or CSE Chair to learn whether a student is participating in the current NYSAA. Contact your regional BOCES and SETRC offices to learn who the NYSAA trainers are for your region and for information regarding upcoming training sessions. For additional information, visit http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/alterassessment/home.html.

Calendar of Upcoming Events

May 29-31, 2003 > Empire State Games for the Physically Challenged, Long Island, NY (518) 474-8889 or http://www.empirestategames.org/physical

June 12-13, 2003 > GW Micro "Window-Eyes" Training, Salisbury, MA (260) 489-3671or www.gwmicro.com/training confirmation code MA0603.

July 25-29, 2003 > Advocacy - Everyone's Responsibility, Washington, DC,
(877) 492-2708, e-mail aer@aerbvi.org or go to the AER web site at www.aerbvi.org

October 17-18, 2003 > Empire State Games for the Physically Challenged, Brockport, NY (518) 474-8889 or http://www.empirestategames.org/physical or (585) 395-5620 or e-mail smaxwell@brockport.edu

Dec. 4-7, 2003 > Getting in Touch with Literacy 2003 Westin Bayshore Resort
and Hotel, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada (604) 822-2235 or e-mail cay.holbrook@ubc.ca or http://www.gettingintouchwithliteracy.org.

Complete a quick survey on APH flashlights at: http://www.aph.org/edresearch/flsurvey.html

Get the NEW Accessible Adobe Reader: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/alternate.html

Braille Math and Music! The Technical Braille Center at Computers to Help People, Inc. is ready to accept more orders for science, math, engineering and other technical books to be translated into Braille, DotsPlus or a special form of electronic text called "Verbal Math". They also transcribe music into braille. Those who place their orders early will get higher priority, so that more of the book will be available when classes start. Learn more at http://www.chpi.org or contact their Braille Operations Manager, Dee Dee Collette, at techbrl@chpi.org or call 608-257-5917.

Share the Vision! is published monthly by the New York State School for the Blind. Subscription is free and articles and suggestions are always welcome. Archived issues of the newsletter are found at www.vesid.nysed.gov/lsn/resourcetoolbox.htm.

Editor:
Judi Piscitello (585) 343-5384, Option 1 ext. 427
E-mail jpiscite@mail.nysed.gov.
FAX: (585) 344-7026

NYS School for the Blind
2A Richmond Avenue
Batavia, New York 14020

In providing Share the Vision! to its readers, the School for the Blind does not endorse any products or services to which the newsletter refers. The State Education Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, religion, creed, disability, marital status, veteran status, national origin, race, gender, genetic predisposition or carrier status, or sexual orientation in its educational programs, services, and activities.

Portions of this publication can be made available in a variety of formats, including braille, large print, or audiotape, upon request. Inquiries concerning this policy of nondiscrimination should be referred to the Department’s Office for Diversity, Ethics, and Access, Room 530, Education Building, Albany, NY 12234.

HOUSE IDEA ACTION:

The House bill to reauthorize the IDEA proposes saying no to full funding and putting vouchers on hold. It also eliminates the dual discipline system and manifestation determination hearings. See http://www.ideapractices.org for details.

Request your FREE copy of… (LOL) Lots of Links today!

Lots of Links is a Word file that contains a wealth of resources, is electronically searchable, has hot links to go right to the Internet without typing or pasting long URLs, and is updated almost daily by Share the Vision! Editor, Judi Piscitello.