The Bulletin
Statewide Vision Resource Centre
Number 1, 31st January 2003
The following issue of The Bulletin was prepared by Deb Lewis (Statewide
Vision Resource Centre).
SVRC Toolkit - Friday 7 February (morning)
SVRC New Visiting Teacher PD Day - Thursday 20 February
SVRC Visiting Teacher PD Day - Friday 21 February
SVRC Educational Support for Brailling Students - Tuesday 11 March
SVRC Educational Support for Students with Low Vision - Monday 24 March
SVRC Educational Support for Vision Impaired Students with Additional Impairments
- Wednesday 7 May
SVRC Visiting Teacher PD Day - Tuesday 10 June
SVRC Visiting Teacher PD Day - Friday 1 August
SPEVI Combined Agencies Day - Monday 6 October
SVRC EXPO/Technology Seminars - Tuesday 2 December
Full day: Visiting Teachers - $20.00
Full day: All others - $30.00
Half day: Visiting Teachers - $13.50
Half day: All others - $17.50 (no lunch)
One or two sessions with or without lunch – please call to enquire
Eccentric Viewing Training Program - Annette Godfrey-Magee, Education
Officer, Statewide Vision Resource Centre
Preparing a Classroom to Receive a Blind “Preppy” - Faye Squires, Visiting
Teacher, Goulburn North Eastern Region
Blind Sports - Peter Rickards and Maurice Gleeson, Vision Australia Foundation
Resilient Families - Sandra Groves, Psychologist, Statewide Vision Resource
Centre
A Discourse on an Aspect of Vision Impairment – Visual Fields - Hector Maclean,
Emeritus Professor, Royal Eye and Ear Hospital
A Book for Visiting Teachers - Gillian Gale, Educational Consultant, RVIB
Please call to book in!
If you are intending on enrolling in a Renwick College course in 2003,
the attached timetable (print copy only) has been provided to help you with
your choices. You will note that courses offered in on-campus mode have been
timetabled under the columns marked Monday to Friday and are offered in the
morning, afternoon or evening at Renwick College. Courses offered in distance
mode are listed under the column titled ‘Weekend Schools and Block Courses’.
The dates for some residentials are yet to be confirmed - apologies for any
inconvenience.
Contact: tel (02) 9872-0811 or email claire.farrington@ridbc.org.au
As you know, plans are already well under way for the 2003 PD program.
However, an ongoing problem is programming for our annual “Braille Day” This
day, scheduled for March 11, is now to be called “Educational Support for
Blind Students” in the hope that this might attract more class teachers.
For the past few years we have had many aides and parents attending (which
is great) but class teachers seem to have been less interested, perhaps perceiving
that it is not their role to learn braille. The program, however, includes
many other educational sessions. Last year’s program looked like this:
One of our sessions has traditionally been a concurrent session with one
group learning braille and the other more experienced group discussing various
topics like more advanced braille, braille maths, formatting guidelines,
etc. It is always hard to run this second group because of their disparate
needs. Our pamphlet to advertise this year’s day will include a ‘check the
box’ survey to ascertain the needs of participants. PLEASE encourage teachers,
aides and parents to fill this in as thoroughly as they can. ALSO, if you
know you have a group coming from one of your schools, PLEASE fill one in
yourself on their behalf. You may recognize their needs better than they
do themselves. Following is a list of things we could present on or discuss.
We’ll ask participants to fill in at least 5 preferences in order of priority
(more if they wish). If you have any other suggestions about this or any
part of the PD program, please don’t hesitate.
Please note that requests for Special Arrangements for VCE Examinations
for June exams need to be in to the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority
(VCAA) by 4 April this year – this is earlier than in previous years. Please
contact Lyn or Deb if you would like us to be involved in a VCE Support Group
Meeting.
Lea Nagel has been busy over the holidays producing a one-page summary
(see below) of various Mountbatten functions including:
If you have attended a session with Trevor Boyd (Quantum Technology) and
then your new Mountbatten turns up at the school or if you come back after
the holidays and have a bit of a woolly head or, this sheet will help clear
the fog!
Note: If you have never used a Mountbatten before, you might require
a little more assistance! Trevor runs several training days at the SVRC,
so see future editions of The Bulletin for dates.
ESC means the escape key (on the qwerty keyboard)
END means the End key
_ means type a space
[filename] means type the name you wish to call the file
1. Plug qwerty keyboard in to brailler
2. Turn on brailler
3. Type ESC fe END
4. Begin typing.
(Don’t worry if no braille comes out straight away. The brailler stores
a certain number of characters at a time in its buffer because it is translating
as it goes.)
5. At the end of the document, press ENTER twice. The
remaining stored braille will be embossed.
1. Plug qwerty keyboard in to brailler
2. Turn on brailler
3. Type ESC fe END
4. Type ESC begin [filename] END
5. Type your document
6. Type ESC end END
7. Turn off Mountbatten Brailler
1. Plug qwerty keyboard in to brailler
2. Turn on brailler
3. Type ESC fm_[filename] END
4. Type your document
5. Type ESC fm_end END
1. Plug qwerty keyboard in to brailler
2. Turn on brailler
3. Type ESC fm_append_[filename] END
4. Type the addition to the document
5. Type ESC fm_end END
1. Plug qwerty keyboard in to brailler
2. Turn on brailler
3. Type ESC pr_[filename] END
Tamara Pollard from the Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA) has initiated
a research project to evaluate low cost low vision devices (magnifiers and
telescopes) with students. This project has been granted approval by the
Department of Education & Training.
Currently low vision devices are primarily produced in Europe and can be
expensive (for example, magnifiers can range from $30 to $100+). Also, in
many developing countries there is no low vision care and the major barrier
to initiation of services has been the lack of affordable low vision devices
(magnifiers and telescopes). A source of low cost low vision devices
has been found in Hong Kong and they range from $2 to $30. The research team
is seeking students to participate in this study. To be eligible, student
will be:
Students will be asked to read one passage (age appropriate) of 200-300
words and writing on a blackboard with each device. The students will be
asked questions regarding their preferred device, ease of use and comfort.
Each student will be required to be present for a maximum of two hours.
Students will be assessed on the weekend in a central location (for example,
the zoo). All costs involved, including travel, will be reimbursed on the
day.
The results of this research will be published in Australian and international
journals, and a report will be given to all of the students, families and
schools involved.
Please find a set of forms attached (print edition only – contact us for
your e-text version) and call Tamara Pollard (9929 8328) or Deb Lewis (9841
0242) for further details.
From the September 2002 edition of Blind Citizens News:
At the June Board meetings of RBS (Royal Blind Society), RVIB (Royal Victorian
Institute for the Blind) and VAF (Vision Australia Foundation), a decision
was taken to begin discussions about forming a National blindness agency.
A steering group consisting of the CEO and two Board members from each of
the three organisations was established. A working group made up of one senior
staff member from each of the three organisations and a project leader was
also established. The working group was asked to investigate possible models
for a national agency, for example, a federation or a centrally located model,
and the legal implications of bringing the organisations together.
See the BCA website for the complete article: www.bca.org.au
The Braille Authority of North America (BANA) announces a change in terminology
to what has been traditionally known as ‘grade 1’ and ‘grade 2’ braille.
These categories will now be referred to as ‘uncontracted’ and ‘contracted’
braille respectively. The change is being made at the request of many in
the blindness field. People often confuse grades of braille with first and
second grades in elementary school. BANA believes that the change to more
accurately descriptive language will increase awareness and improve the overall
understanding of how braille is learned, read, written and transcribed.
BANA urges all organizations, agencies, teacher training programs, braille
production facilities, software developers, professionals in the field of
blindness and braille readers to incorporate this terminology into writing,
publications, presentations and general practice. The ultimate goal is to
enhance understanding and more accurately reflect what braille truly is -
a versatile and effective reading and writing system for people of all ages
who are blind and visually impaired. Point your browser to: http://www3.sympatico.ca/tamru
Contact: Mary Archer tel: 651-642-0852, email: marcher@ssb.state.mn.us
The 'Braille User Oriented Code' (BUOC) is a supplement to ordinary contracted
(grade two) braille. BUOC aims to make the task of reading and writing braille
much faster. It also strives to greatly reduce the volume of braille by shortening
many commonly used words while still keeping the same meaning.
BUOC is not only just a list of contractions, but also a method of making
new contractions based on grade two concepts. This means that the BUOC User
is able to tailor the code to work at its best in the subject area he/she
is in e.g. Science, Music, Computers, Medicine, any subject you can think
of. Another advantage of BUOC is that it allows a braille reader to more
easily skim a document or article (much like a sighted person does).
You’ll find more at: http://buoc.cjb.net
The NEW version of ReadPlease 2003 (free version) and ReadPlease PLUS
2003 ($49.95US - download version only) is NOW available.
ReadPlease may assist people by reading text aloud, including – emails, webpages,
Word documents and the like. New features include:
Go to: http://www.readplease.com
For the latest (free) version of RealPlayer, now called RealOne Player,
go to: http://www.real.com/realone/
Quantum Technology has produced a series of training materials which are
now available. Workshop One is a self-paced Training CD for the new Mountbatten
Pro, Mountbatten Writer and Mountbatten Writer Plus. The CD gives vision
teachers, parents and adult Mountbatten users the opportunity to learn the
basics of the Mountbatten at their own pace. Children new to the Mountbatten
can also be set-up to perform any of the 26 activities independently. Details
of the content of the CD can be found on the attached leaflet (print edition
of The Bulletin).
Workshop One costs $80 inc. GST and is available from stock.
A demonstration version of Workshop One can be found on our free Tools for
Parents and Educators CD. The CD contains a wealth of information for both
new and current Mountbatten users seeking new ideas and information. While
Workshop One comes with built in speech capability with key press functionality
for vision-impaired users, the demonstration version does not have inbuilt
speech and is inaccessible to screen readers.
Group Training Materials for Workshop One are also available for interested
parties. Some of the resources include Facilitator Guide and Participant
Workbook, which outline an entire daylong session of Mountbatten Training
in a group situation. People can use these resources to run their own independent
Mountbatten Training Day or have a member of the Quantum Technology Team
come and facilitate the day. For pricing information on the Group Training
please contact us on the above number.
A second training CD - Workshop Two will cover advanced Mountbatten functions
like Synthetic Speech, Editing and Translation. Workshop Two is currently
under development and will be ready for shipping in early 2003.
For a free copy of the CD contact: tel (02) 9684 2077 or email info@quantech.com.au
For those able to access the SVRC Professional Development Program, Trevor
Boyd will again be offering Mountbatten Training Workshops in 2003.
A new website will make thousands of children’s books from 100 different
cultures available for free to internet-savvy kids around the world. When
it is completed in about five years, the International Children’s Digital
Library will hold about 10,000 books targeted at children aged three to thirteen.
Designed by the University of Maryland and the Internet Archive, a San Francisco
based non-profit organisation, the site’s goal is to expand children’s reading
and learning skills while teaching them about other cultures.
The site – www.icdlbooks.org – officially
debuted yesterday with 200 titles from more than 27 cultures in more than
15 languages.
In partnership with the University of Melbourne, Mount Waverley Secondary
College offers you the opportunity to complete a Masters of Education part-time
over two years on-site at Mount Waverley Secondary College. Delivery
will be by University of Melbourne staff and the Masters will be free of
charge if you do a research-classified stream.
Further information may be obtained from Jeremy Beard, Assistant Principal,
Mount Waverley Secondary College on mobile 0419 349 934, fax: 9887 9308 or
bea@mwsc.vic.edu.au
Source: November 2002 edition of RT News
“To facilitate and influence the production and use of quality alternative
formats for people with print disabilities by optimising the evolving Round
Table body of knowledge”.
The 2003 Conference and AGM will be held on Saturday 26th to Tuesday 29th
April 2003 at the Duxton Hotel, 338 Flinders Street, Melbourne. The preliminary
conference program and registration details are attached to the print edition
of The Bulletin – contact us for your e-text version.
For copies, contact: Rosalyn Bates tel (03) 9505 3270 email rosalynb@melbpc.org.au
Source: EMR Communication No. 285/2002 for Beginning and Experienced Teachers
and Experienced Teachers with Responsibility
The Teacher Practical Leadership for Aspiring School Leaders Program is
a fully accredited program specifically designed to develop leadership, knowledge
and skills for Beginning and Experienced Teachers as part of our Succession
Planning strategy. Applications close Wednesday 5 February 2003.
This program is designed to further develop ETWRs in order for them to
successfully undertake leadership responsibilities, demonstrate excellence
and innovation and assist them in development of a short-term school based
project in line with their area of responsibility. Applications close Wednesday
12 February 2003.
These initiatives are conducted in partnership with the Professional Development
Institute, Faculty of Education, Monash University.
Enquiries: Justin Meli, Monash Professional Development Institute on (03)
9905 2700 or for a copy of the email, contact the SVRC.
Peter Rickards of Vision Australia Foundation has written a comprehensive
‘History of Blind Sports in Victoria 1922-2002’. It is available via email
from the SVRC, or from the Vision Australia Library in e-text, print or audio
format.
Fifteen years ago … there was a lot of debate about the impact that technology
would have on the education of blind children. At that time, some people
within the field predicted that technology would replace the use of braille.
Blind individuals would be able to type papers on a computer with speech
output. They could listen to books on tape. Reading machines such as the
Kurzweil could be used to access print material. Blind students could record
their lectures. Notes could be transcribed on the computer.
There were reasons that some people advocated dropping the use of braille.
Braille was bulky – who wants a seventytwo volume dictionary? Reading braille
was slow. Most college professors choose new books to teach from, and the
books have not been put into braille. Transcribing books would take too long
– the class might be over before the book was ready. A relatively untrained
individual can read a textbook onto an audio tape, whereas the transcription
of a book into braille required a skilled individual.
However, as technology advanced, braille did not become obsolete. In fact,
the use of braille has become much more important and feasible for the blind
student or employee.
Scanners with optical character recognition and translation software make
the production of a braille book much more rapid. Our transcriptionist has
produced some thick books within one or two days, if the typeface is clear
in the print copy. With the advent of refreshable braille, books can be saved
as text files and read in braille with no braille hard copy needed. Blind
college students are now able to carry all of their books in a disk box in
their backpacks.
Braille is not always slow. Some braille readers can read at speeds of 300400
words per minute. Many braille readers do not improve because they don’t
believe it is possible to read fast, and they do not practice reading braille.
Practice is essential. If students are always allowed to choose a medium
other than braille to use, their braille skills do not improve.
Taped books are not an efficient medium when the goal is locating specific
pieces of information. Tapes are linear. They must be run back and forth
through the tape head when searching for specific data. Many braille users
complain that audio books put them to sleep and that reading braille is a
more active process than reading by listening. A sighted reader or a braille
user will pause to think when new concepts appear or when information needs
to be processed to be understood. As the tape plows ahead relentlessly, the
mind is apt to wander. It is often necessary for a tape user to rewind the
tape several times in order to comprehend the material adequately. A student
searching for a specific quotation to use as supporting evidence in a literary
analysis might take a great deal of time to locate it on a tape. That same
person could search a disk file and locate the quote by searching for a target
word or phrase in a fraction of the time, which could be used more productively
to improve the writing.
It is vital that blind students become successful braille users. According
to Kirchner, 70 percent of blind individuals of working age are unemployed.
Those with literacy skills are able to meet the needs of competitive employment.
Students who consider themselves auditory learners must still read and write
in either print or braille.
If you would like to read the rest of the article, please request a print
or e-text copy.
Reference:
Kirchner, C., Schmeidler, E. & Todorov, A. (1999). Looking at employment
through a lifespan telescope: Age, health and employment status of people
with serious visual impairment, Mississippi State University Rehabilitation,
Research and Training Center of Blindness and Low Vision.
If you are interested in doing the Space Camp thing this year, please
make sure that we know about it! Call Deb Lewis on 9841 0242 ASAP. Minimum
group size = 4-6. The dates are Sept. 20-25, 2003 (everyone leaves Space
Camp on 26 September) and cost is the same US$600. Chaperones will be charged
a flat fee of $50, regardless of the number of students they bring.
It looks like there will be a lot of changes when we arrive there in Sept.
2003. Anxious to see everything in the Spring and how it will effect our
group. I've been informed that Enterprise MOCR (that is Mission Control for
the older kids, kids explain it to your parents) will no longer be up in
the stairwell but down on the Training Center Floor (TFC).
Officials at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center®, home of U.S. Space
Camp®, say the renovations currently underway on their Training Center
Floor (TCF) involve some of the most expansive improvements in the facility’s
history. A mock-up of the International Space Station is being constructed
that will incorporate several of Space Camp’s shuttle simulators and eventually
provide for overnight simulated shuttle missions.
"This brings us more in line with what is happening in orbit right now,"
according to Mike Flachbart, Space Camp’s Director of Aerospace Programs.
"We’re also building two deep-space simulators, one for a simulated mission
to the moon, the other to the surface of Mars," he adds.
The three-phase renovation project will completely change the appearance
of the TCF, while creating a much more realistic experience for the thousands
of youngsters who come to Space Camp each year.
Eventually the entire TCF will be enclosed, the walls darkened, and fiber
optics will be used to create the appearance of a star field. Museum visitors
will be able to observe the student’s activities via one-way glass panels.
A Habitation Module is also planned, which will allow for extended simulated
shuttle missions, including overnight missions that could span 24-hours.
Additional improvements include new computer equipment and more advanced
software for the shuttle simulators and mission control areas as well as
constructing more advanced mission control rooms. All of the improvements
have been designed with the Americans With Disabilities Act in mind, according
to Flachbart.
The artist’s rendering of the project, above, shows how students will be
able to move throughout the space station, moving from one module to another,
to any of the shuttle simulators or labs without having to exit the complex.
"And when they do travel outside, for one of their simulated space walks,
even that experience will be made to seem more realistic," according to Flachbart.
"The lighting will be cycled to fade up and down every 45 minutes to simulate
what the astronauts experience while in orbit," he says.
On the 9th of Dec 2002, seven motivated students set out to conquer Australia’s
largest city. The program was aimed at developing the students’ orientation
and mobility skills in the unfamiliar and very challenging environment of
Sydney. The entire week was planned and run by the students with the instructors
observing to make sure they stayed out of trouble!
The term “independence” took on a whole new meaning as they literally took
charge of everything including: finding their hotel in Woolloomooloo from
Central Station, accessing different forms of public transport, arranging
activities, accessing information services, timetabling, soliciting aid and
most importantly ensuring we returned to the hotel each night for the exhausted
instructors to rest!
The group undertook activities such as attending the Powerhouse Museum, sightseeing
around Circular Quay, the Sydney Opera House, shopping at The Rocks, ferry
ride to Manly Beach, monorail ride, and an interesting hands-on exploration
of Hyde Barracks - an old convicts and later immigrant women’s quarters.
One student was dressed in women’s clothing to illustrate the story of an
immigrant woman much to the delight of the group, thanks Glen!
The students’ ability to interact as a group improved significantly as the
week progressed, with the group acknowledging each members needs and abilities.
The group members took turn to lead the group on outings, with some members
offering sighted guide to facilitate this. This meant that each person felt
like a valued member and thus contributed to the feeling of success when
the goal was achieved. Students became more proactive in the decision making
and planning, and began to discern who to seek assistance from in the community
to give them the most useful information.
Each student gained something different from their experience in Sydney,
with all students commenting that it had been a worthwhile experience. Development
of confidence and self-belief in their abilities to be independent was voiced
by all students and witnessed by the instructors in terms of their attitudes
and behaviours when moving around the city. In addition, many of the students
were able to pinpoint specific skills that they needed to improve on to aid
in independent travel for the future. Students learnt that orientation skills,
cane skills, map-reading skills, self-advocacy skills, memory, concentration
and confidence are all interrelated and it is necessary to be proficient
in all these areas to conduct independent travel safely and effectively.
Thanks to all students who made the effort to learn new mobility skills and
meet the challenges with motivation and enthusiasm.
I just got back from Sydney this afternoon. I had a great time. Dean,
Rachel and Linden didn’t do very much. They just stood by and watched us.
We had to ask for information, plan where we are going to go, how to get
there and how much it costs. I got a lot of confidence asking people for
information, working in a group and walking around at night. It was lot’s
of fun. We went to the Powerhouse Museum, Barracks Museum, Royal Botanic
Gardens, Darling Harbour, Manly Beach and Pitt St Mall. Our closest train
station was Kings Cross and we did go on the Monorail and Ferry. Dean was
annoying us saying ‘I want to go on the ferry. I want to go to the Motor
Museum’. It drove us all in sane. He also wanted to go to the IMAX as well.
The Motor Museum and the IMAX never came.
I had a good time. It was a lot of fun and I would recommend it to people
who want to be more independent.
The July senior camp has been moved forward one week from the previously
advertised date. The correct date of the camp is now 30th June 2003 to 4
July 2003. The camp venue is still being confirmed and further details will
be in the next GDV Children’s newsletter or contact Rachel Morgan on 9845
4469.
Guide Dogs Victoria (GDV) is offering a program exclusively for junior
school students (primary or junior secondary age students) with a vision
impairment. The aim of this camp is to promote understanding of basic
movement concepts, how the body moves and new movements relating to everyday
mobility. This can assist in making travel easier and safer for the
student. The program activities are designed to make students more
aware of environmental information in a variety of fun and stimulating environments.
Some of the activities will include visiting a gym, group games incorporating
movement skills and concepts, visiting the beach and social skills sessions
related to movement such as eye contact and head position.
For further details please contact Rachel Morgan at GDV on 9854 4469
Guide Dogs Victoria is again hosting VCE Weekend for students in years
10-12.
When: 5.30pm Friday 21 March to 2pm Sunday 23 March
Cost: Free
Contact: Rachel Morgan 9854 4469 or Deb Lewis 9841 0242
We would like to welcome two new staff members who are joining the Children’s
Mobility Service following staffing changes over Christmas.
Sharon Taylor is an O&M instructor from Guide Dogs South Australia who
will be working full time within the Children’s service.
Sam Kidston is an O&M instructor from RVIB who will be working part time
in the Children’s Service and part time in our intensive orientation and
mobility service. Both instructors have an extensive knowledge of children’s
mobility and will take part in all camps and programs run throughout the
year, as well as having their own caseload.
As well as the new staff there have been some changes amongst the ‘old’ staff.
Kaye Jones is expecting her first child very soon and has therefore left
Guide Dogs on maternity leave. Dean Johnson has now moved into the role of
Manager of Children’s Mobility Service/Intensive O&M service and Rachel
Morgan has taken on the role of Co-ordinator of the Children’s Mobility Service
and camps. Linden Woodruff is still here, her position unchanged!
Bernadette (CEO): TER of 85.75 and she’s off to Monash to study
Arts – her first choice
Glen (DE&T): will be studying accounting at Wantirna TAFE in 2003
James (CEO): has been offered a place in the Business Studies course
at Lilydale
Jude (CEO): TER 59.9 – and he’s off to a TAFE course in 2003
Kat (DE&T): TER of around 55 and she’s exploring TAFE courses
in the disability support area
Lauren (DE&T): TER 84.7 which achieved her a place studying Myotherapy
at RMIT
Sam (DE&T) from Corryong: has had a wonderful year, winning the
grade 5/6 General Knowledge Quiz and also winning the Towong Shire Aware
for Academic Excellence. Fabulous results! Sam has also received a scholarship
from Girton Grammar School in Bendigo where he will begin his secondary studies
this year.
Any more student news, please send it in!
Great Victorian Bike Rider Nathan graced his local paper with his image
on 9 December 2002.
‘Vision impaired teacher Jeni Blake said the nine-day trip from Warrock to
Sunbury was a great way to boost the confidence of visually-impaired people…
Ms Blake said the experience had already had a positive impact on a number
of visually impaired students. “Riding a bike gives these students a sense
of freedom and independence,” she said. “They set themselves a goal that
they never thought was achievable and when they succeed the results are incredible.”’
A copy of the article is included with the print edition of The Bulletin.
Terry Bleazby who was one of the team of three at Horizon Software, developers
of T-Calc and GT-Calc, passed away in December after his brief battle with
cancer.
- Domenica DiStefano of Carlton Primary School has completed her Literary
Braille Course by Correspondence through the SVRC – congratulations Dom!
- Kaye Jones from Guide Dogs Victoria has a new baby girl called Zoe!
- Michelle Wilson, Rutherglen Integration Aide, has won the Culcain Shire
Young Citizen of the Year Award for 2003. Michelle has been a SES volunteer
for 9 years.
- Guess which VT turned 60 last week!!!!!????? And she thought she could
go away for the weekend so no-one would make a fuss!!!
The US Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart in a fireball as it returned
to Earth today, killing all seven crew members and scattering debris over
a wide area, NASA said.
Columbia disappeared from radar screens at 9am (0100 AEDT Sunday), 16 minutes
before it was due to land as it was travelling 61,000 metres over eastern
Texas around moving at about 20,000kph. Several white trails of smoke were
seen coming from bits of the shuttle over Texas.
Further information can be found on The Age website:
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/02/02/1044122242898.html
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/02/02/1043804580526.html
Dear Friends, Chaperones, Parents and Campers
It is a sad day for all of us around the world who have dreamed a little
higher as a result of our time at Space Camp. We all grieve for our
nation, NASA employees, and, most of all, the families of the astronauts.
Jim Allan, at the Texas School for the Blind, and I have been working hard
on getting the website (http://www.tsbvi.edu/space/)
ready for the upcoming SCIVIS year. I just talked with Jim and he has placed
a nice tribute to the Crew of STS-107 on the SCIVIS website. We are
all at a loss and we do what we can do to get through this international
tradegy.
Please keep the NASA Family and the family of astronauts in your prayers
in the months ahead. May God bless each of you for your caring!
Werribee Primary School has four Perkins Braillers in as-new condition
that they would like to sell. Please contact Janine Davidson on 9741 2286.
Does anyone have the installation disk for a magnifying mouse, the 4-D
Scroll Mouse (version 5.37), purchased a year or so ago from K-Mart and Target
stores. One of our students has the mouse but not the installation software.
Mr Smith was flying from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Unexpected the
plane stopped at Sacremento. The attendant explained there would be a delay
and the plane would re-board in 30 minutes. All got off except for one gentleman
who was blind and who had a guide dog. The pilot approached the blind man,
and calling him by name, asked if he’d like to get out and stretch his legs.
The gentleman declined but suggested that the dog might like to stretch his
legs. Now picture a pilot, wearing sunglasses, walking off the plane with
a guide dog. All people in the gate area were silent and then scattered.
They not only tried to change planes, but they were also trying to change
airlines!
Our Educational Vision Assessment Clinic staff are employed part time
and may be contacted on their office phone with answering service (9841 0807)
or via their mobile phones:
Marion Blazé (0.6) – Monday, Thursday and Friday – 0409 860251
Annette Godfrey-Magee (0.4) – Wednesday and Thursday – 0419 157748
Sandra Groves (0.4) – Thursday and Friday – 0408 299069
This week, Gold Star Awards go to:
Thanks to those Gold Stars!!!
1. SPEVI Conference 2005
2. Mountbatten Cheat Sheet
3. Tool Kit Flier
4. CERA Evaluation of low cost Low Vision Devices (5 pages)
5. Round Table Conference Information (7 pages)
6. VCE Special Arrangements Form
7. Mountbatten Training CD Flier
8. Renwick Timetable
9. VCE Weekend Flier
10. VT PD Day Flier
11. Educational Support for Blind Students Program
12. Educational Support for Students with Low Vision Program
Deb Lewis (who can be emailed at deblewis@svrc.vic.edu.au).