This issue was edited by Lyn Robinson, Vision Resource Teacher, Statewide Vision Resource Centre.
Welcome to 2009, we hope you survived the heat! Things are running hot here
too – by the time you receive this bulletin we will have already run three
professional development days for visiting teachers, staff in schools and students,
sent out five car loads of alternative format materials (with more to come)
and kept our sense of humour! Jokes aside though we have a fantastic programme
planned for you for term 1 so if you haven’t already had a chance to see
what’s on offer visit:
http://www.visiontech.svrc.vic.edu.au/PD2009.doc
Kevin Murfit was a keynote speaker at the Pathways 9 conference in Melbourne recently. The following article appeared in The Age
Jobs drying up for the disabled:
Workforce participation is under the spotlight.
Australia's poor record in accepting disabled people into the mainstream workforce
will be put under the spotlight at a national conference on education in Melbourne
this week. The Pathways 9 conference, which opens today, will hear that despite
big changes in attitudes and 10 years of booming economic growth, the employment
prospects of disabled students have not improved since the early '90s. "It's
a failure of leadership in government, pure and simple," the chairman of
Vision Australia, Kevin Murfitt, says.
According to figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the number of disabled students attending school increased by 93 per cent between 1981 and 2003, yet the same study showed that between 1988 and 2003 there was no significant increase in workforce participation.
Between 1998 and 2003, the number of people with a severe or profound disability
in the workforce dropped by 21,200. The figures to 2008 are not believed to
show any improvement.The Pathways 9 conference agenda will focus on managing
and mentoring the often difficult transitions for disabled people from home
to school to workplace.
The Federal Government is developing a national mental health and disability
employment strategy to improve job prospects for the disabled. Labor's parliamentary
secretary for disabilities, Bill Shorten, has labelled the present situation
a "disgrace" and compared it unfavourably to the equity issues that
confront indigenous communities.
Dr Murfitt, however, remains cautiously optimistic. "One of the terrible things about the recent (employment statistics for the disabled) is that the governments have been the worst of the lot. Public service positions have halved from 6 per cent to 3 per cent," he says.
Dr Murfitt is part of a generation of disabled people who stormed out of universities in the '80s and '90s, pushing into the professions and challenging the limitations placed on them. He has been blind since the late '80s, when a car accident took his sight from one eye and a degenerative condition called sympathetic ophthalmia affected his other eye.
He is a man unused to giving in to impediments. Among his many achievements is to have once been the world blind water ski jumping champion. He attended the first Pathways conference 18 years ago as a student. This week he returns as a keynote speaker along with Caroline Bowditch, a professional dancer in Europe with the Scottish Dance Theatre. She has a condition called osteogenesis imperfecta - a brittle bone disease that caused her to have 150 fractures before she was eight. "I'm in the UK because the opportunities I craved are just not around in Australia. Both the arts and empowering people with disabilities is taken much more seriously over here, there is more money put into both - it's a shame," she says.
The general manager of equity programs at Melbourne University, Matthew Brett, expects spirited debates among the conference's 300 delegates. Like Dr Murfitt, he sniffs change and opportunity but also a change in the debates disabled people need to have, including greater political engagement.
People with disabilities have spent decades fighting against their conditions
being depicted in medical terms and their being thought of as somehow sick,
deformed or a burden.
"This debate has been far too polarised over the last 10 or 15 years,"
Mr Brett says. "It has led to a lack of a mainstream dialogue and a failure
of the disability rights movement to make headway."We need to acknowledge
both sides of the argument and create some middle ground. "We all have
a long way to go and we're missing what these kids have to offer in the process."Ms
Bowditch is more direct. "It's flabbergasting that workplace statistics
in Australia have gone backwards," she says. "There must be a lot
of employers out there who are badly missing out."
Source: http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/jobs-drying-up-for-the-disabled-20081201-6o6o.html?page=-1
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust was established in Australia in 1965 - the year of Churchill's death - to perpetuate and honour the memory of Churchill by the awarding of Churchill Fellowships to Australian citizens.
Each of the 120 Fellowships available has an average value of $25,000 and includes return airfare and overseas living allowance. Fellowships are awarded to ordinary Australians who have a passion for knowledge, the motivation to research their chosen field further abroad and willingness to share findings with other Australians. Any topic of research will be considered on its merits and no formal qualifications are required. A strong community benefit must be displayed at either a local, state, or national level. Applications close 27th February. Information is available from Jodie Hadden in the PVC unit or can be downloaded from http://www.churchilltrust.com.au/
Vision Australia is offering a six week fun experience for people who are blind
or have low vision where you will explore some interesting leisure activities
including Swish, Carpet bowls, adaptive board games, easy card games, table
soccer and more.
Venue: Vision Australia Kooyong
Date: Tuesday 4th March 2009
Time: 10:00-12:00
For further information and to register contact Sal Prestia Phone (03) 9864
9260
The Interstate Student Data Transfer Note (ISDTN) and Protocol is a joint initiative
between the Australian Government, State and Territory Education Departments,
and the independent and Catholic education sectors.
All education authorities (including the non-government sector) have agreed
to implement, from 1 January 2006, a national system for the transfer of student
information between schools when children move from one state to another. This
national system will enhance the ability of the student's new school to place
and support that student in a timely manner and with the assistance of accurate
information from the student's previous school.
http://www.mceetya.edu.au/mceetya/interstate_student_data_transfer_note,12095.html
The National Association of Special Education Teachers website has an amazing
amount of information of interest to Special Educators. The National Association
of Special Education Teachers (NASET) is the only national membership organization
dedicated solely to meeting the needs of special education teachers and those
preparing for the field of special education teaching. There is an excellent
section about vision impairments at http://www.naset.org/visualimpairments2.0.html
A good one to start the year with - thanks to Geoff for this website.
From: Max Bini, Tertiary Education Consultant, Vision Australia
i-Map is an online art resource designed for visually impaired people with a
general interest in art, art teachers and their visually impaired pupils. It
incorporates text, audio, image enhancement and deconstruction, animation and
raised images. Rather than examining the entire artwork at once,
i-Map introduces detail in a carefully planned sequence, gradually building
towards an understanding of the work as a whole. The initial phase of i-Map
launched in 2002 focused on four pairs of works by Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso.
It explored their artistic innovations, influences and motivations, as well
as some of the key concepts in modern art. The second phase, The Everyday Transformed,
focuses on six new works from Tate’s Collection by artists who all share
an interest in the material reality of everyday life and includes an exploration
of movements such as Surrealism, Dada, Futurism, Pop Art and Rayonism.
http://www.tate.org.uk/imap/pages/animated/pairs_ani.htm
Also from Max Bini
AccessApps is an initiative developed by the Scottish JISC Regional Support
Centres in cooperation with JISC TechDis. It consists of over 50 open source
and freeware assistive technology applications which can be entirely used from
a USB stick on a Windows computer.
AccessApps will run without needing to install anything on a computer (but you
could do so if you so chose) and provide a range of e-learning solutions to
support writing, reading and planning as well as visual and mobility difficulties.
http://www.rsc-ne-scotland.ac.uk/accessapps/compare.php
The above link provides a list of the applications and by clicking on the download
link at the top of the page you will be taken to a registration page which asks
you to enter a valid email address.These applications are entirely free.
Guide Dogs have requested that we use their “new” referral forms. It seems like a trivial matter but the emphasis on the new forms is for permission from the parents for the referral not for the subsequent programme. So if you wouldn’t mind please use the new referral forms - they have a date of October 2007 in the footer and do not require the rating of skills.
This interesting insight came from a braille reader about which parts of the
fingers she uses for reading braille.
I am wondering what is meant by "tips" and "pads." I read
braille tactually, and if I try to use the "tips" of my fingers, I
cannot pick up the entire cell. I suppose that the area of the finger that a
person uses to detect the braille cell can vary from person to person, but in
my case it is not the very tip of the finger, nor the flat part of the finger,
but somewhere in between. I am having trouble describing exactly the area that
I mean. But the index finger is slightly curved, while the middle and ring finger
are more curved, since they are longer and in order for them to stay on the
line they need to be curved more. I encourage braille teachers to try reading
braille tactually themselves so that they can more easily direct their students
as to the best techniques. Candy - The Association for Education and Rehabilitation
of the Blind and Visually Impaired Listserv.
International Sales Manager for Optelec, Mr Jim Pors, will be at the Statewide
Vision Resource Centre to launch some exciting new products including:
ClearView+ - range with high definition cameras
ClearNote - smaller and lightweight
FarView - completely new
BC640 - braille display
EasyLink - wireless braille assistant
Participants will have the opportunity for a hands-on 'play' with the equipment
and to talk to Jim about the products and their development.Tea and coffee will
be available but lunch will not be provided – please BYO.Enquiries and
RSVP to svrc@svrc.vic.edu.au or phone
(03) 9841 0242.
Please let your students know that the 2009 Arafura & Oceania Paralympic Games will be held in Darwin from the 9th to the 17th May. Eight Paralympic sports are to be contested at the 2009 Championships including athletics, cycling (road), swimming, powerlifting, shooting, table tennis, wheelchair tennis and 7-a-side football (invitational). All sports will receive sanctioning from the relevant International Federation. As the event is targeted towards developing athletes there are no entry standards. Further information can be found on the Arafura Games website at http://www.arafuragames.nt.gov.au
Quantum Technology would like to extend an invitation to you, your family,
and your co-workers to join us at our Scholarship Awards Presentation Evening
for 2009.Each year Quantum Technology offers individuals across Australia the
opportunity to apply for a technology scholarship to assist them in their everyday
lives through education and employment.
The scholarships on offer for the 2008/2009 year were;
• The Quantum Technology/ Freedom Scientific Jaws Scholarship - For blind individuals
• The Quantum Technology/ Freedom Scientific WYNN Scholarship - For individuals assessed as having a Learning Disability
• The Gillian Gale Award for Braille Literacy - For blind children who will be relying on Braille in their education
When: Thursday 12th February 2009, 4.30pm – 6.30pm Where: State Library
Conference Centre, 328 Swanston Street, Melbourne
The special guest of honour will be the Deputy Lord Mayor, Susan Riley
Have you ever wondered how beautiful multi coloured felt scarves are made?Would
you like to learn this technique? If so why not join a small group for a four
session hands on experience.At the end of the program you will have completed
one scarf and possibly one other felted item
For people with a vision impairment. To be held at Vision Australia Kooyong
On Monday 16th February between10:30-12:30
Cost: Dependant on materials used
For further information and to register contact Maret Pertmann. Phone (03) 9864
9260
In The Cockpit, is a free sailing day (as a passenger) on Corio Bay, Geelong.
Up to 45 places are available for clients of Vision Australia with a "vision
loss". Past participants are likely to have a registration package sent
to them however it is essential all participants register, this will ensure
that you get a package. The Corio Bay Geelong Lions Club put on a free BBQ lunch
and Royal Geelong Yacht Club members provide their yachts and time for the sailing
experience. Registration is essential and can be made by calling Jan or Ray
on phone
(03) 5248 8633.
Applications for special arrangements for Year 12 examinations must be in to
VCAA by Friday 6 March! Deb and I are happy to visit schools to work with students,
Visiting Teachers and school staff to prepare this application.Please let us
know if you have a student studying units 3/4 and you would like us to arrange
for us to attend a VCE support group meeting.
From Annette and Marion
Educational Vision Assessment Clinic Dates 2009
Listed below are the EVAC dates for 2009. Wednesday with Dr. Susan Carden are
all in the mornings and Hector’s continue to be on Thursday afternoons.
Marion and I continue to take all new referrals. We ask if a school contacts
you with a possible referral that you impress upon the school the need to contact
the Education Officers on (03) 98410807.
The purpose of the clinic is to establish eligibility for both SVRC and your
services; it is not to replace treatment by the child’s own eye specialist.
Throughout the year a number of children will automatically be reviewed and
you are invited to discuss any child you feel needs to be reviewed.
Dr. Susan Carden
TERM I
Wed. Mar 4 (cancelled)
TERM II
Wed. Apr 29
Wed. May 27
Wed. June 24
TERM III
Wed. July 22
Wed. Aug 19
Wed. Sept. 16
TERM IV
Wed. Oct 14
Wed. Nov 11
Wed. Dec 9
Prof. Hector Maclean
TERM I
Thurs. Feb 5
Thurs. Mar 5
Thurs. Apr 2
TERM II
Thurs. Apr 30
Thurs. May 28
Thurs. June 25
TERM III
Thurs. July 23
Thurs. Aug 20?
Thurs. Sept 17
TERM IV
Thurs. Oct 15
Thurs. Nov 12
Thurs. Dec 10
We know the start of the year is a very busy time but we ask all team larders to email, post, or discuss with either Marion or myself your updated students lists. Through out the year we are often called upon to cross check and provide specific information from our data bank with regional information so it is critical that ours is up to date.
Could you also please make sure Di Skillern has all your correct contact details
so that we can distribute this information to our network members.
You can contact Dianne by phone on (03) 98410242 or email Dianne at diannesk@svrc.vic.edu.au
by Conference participants Deb Lewis (Manager, Statewide Vision Resource Centre) and Lea Nagel (Senior Visiting Teacher, Eastern Metropolitan Region)
The South Pacific Educators in Vision Impairment - SPEVI Conference is an unmatched opportunity for educators of the blind and vision impaired from all states and territories of Australia, New Zealand and countries in the South Pacific to meet face-to-face, share the latest best practice and enjoy being in the company of like-minded professionals in our unique, sparsely populated, highly specialised field. This year, the biennial conference was held in Adelaide on 5 - 9 January with the theme Challenges and Choices.
Our initial challenge was arriving in Adelaide using our choice of airline. After a bookings bump, hundreds of phone calls and a 4:30 get-up, we made it to Adelaide with a bunch of bleary-eyed “O&Ms” as Guide Dogs Victoria staff like to call themselves and a spare day to take in the charming Adelaide weather.
The keynote speaker, Dr Steve McCall, a Senior Lecturer in Education, Visual
Impairment in the School of Education at the University of Birmingham, described
the current apparently international challenges to educational support for students
with vision impairments as follows:
• Educational services – sustaining effective provision
• Responding to the needs of a changing population – eg multicultural
issues, vision impairment with additional impairments (currently the research
indicates that between 40% and 70% of people with vision impairments have additional
impairments)
• Building and maintaining an effective workforce
• Defending the “specialism” of the teacher of the vision
impaired
Dr John Ravenscroft, Senior Research Fellow at the Royal Institute for Deaf
and Blind Children’s (RIDBC) Renwick Centre (and formerly the Head of
the Scottish Sensory Centre, University of Edinburgh) was excellent and shared
with us the work he is doing in Australia to establish a database of students
with vision impairments which will facilitate studies through networking students
and their families who are prepared to share their contact details. This will
open up many possibilities for deepening our knowledge base for improvement
of educational services, as well as enabling statistics to be collected for
use in submissions to government for funding and staffing.
The program itself was packed with interesting-looking sessions, often making
it difficult to decide which to attend – so we tried to spread ourselves
around to make the most of speakers and topics on offer. We marveled at the
changes to support for students with vision impairments in New Zealand –
all students are now supported by a new national organisation, Blind and Low
Vision Education Networks New Zealand (BLENZ). This appears to have resulted
in greater networking and collegiate support opportunities for staff and improved
access to services for students across the country. Certainly the New Zealanders
had much to offer the Conference – from immersion courses to transdisciplinary
assessment – and the considerable learning opportunities provided by a
real experience such as car washing!
One of our favourite sessions – “Spy Kids” – was conducted by a couple of our Victorian colleagues – Alicia San Martin (Guide Dogs Victoria) and Gillian Nicholls (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development). They described an innovative program they are conducting in rural Victoria with a select group of late primary students incorporating orientation and mobility skills, knowledge of the local environment, self advocacy, social skills etc etc. We hope they will present their session in term 2 for our Visiting Teachers.
Convening Editor, Dr Michael Steer proudly presented a copy of the latest Journal of the South Pacific Educators in Vision Impairment (Volume 4, Number 1. 2009). This excellent journal is available to all SPEVI members, and includes an article by Dr Gillian Gale and Deb Lewis on Ozzie Dots. It is exciting that Mike and the SPEVI members are so energetic in continuing the valuable work of breaking new ground in the area of vision impairment, and that they are prepared to share their discoveries and expertise by writing and publishing their articles.
The Dinner, this time with a French theme was as usual a great
success, hosted by Jan Barratt whose French accent and humour were not to be
dampened by her limited number of French phrases! Bonsoir!!
Picture above: Steve McCall, Senrior Lecturer, University of Birmingham enjoying a drink with Paul Pagliano, Deb Lewis and Kay Berry-Smith.
There were so many highlights to the conference, but the main take home message
was that the experiences we are having in Victoria are being mirrored throughout
SPEVI. The pressing issue of continuing to deliver excellent and vital educational
programs to students with vision impairments, despite shrinking finance and
resourcing was echoed throughout the conference, as was the enthusiasm, dedication
and ingenious, resourceful problem solving of our colleagues.
Hooray for SPEVI!! Wanna join????
http://www.e-bility.com/spevi/index.php
Deb and Lea
Helen Caldow has been her diligent self and secured our first speaker for the year. He is Ian Speed. Ian is an Olympian, a lawyer, a husband, father of two young daughters and he also happens to have a vision impairment. Ian will be a dynamic speaker who will be an inspiration for all our children, even those who are not interested in sport.Please encourage all your parents to take advantage of this opportunity to attend this meeting. The parent support group meets only three times a year, with the EXPO being term 4’s meeting. Starting time is always at 2:00 with baby sitters and afternoon tea being provided.
If any Visiting Teachers (or parents) have any suggestions for speakers, or
issues you would like some further information please contact either Marion
or Annette.(03)9841 0807
At SVRC, Friday January 30, 2009
Sixteen brave souls came out in stifling heat to attend an all-day workshop
on the joys of teaching braille to littlies. The group was a fascinating mix
of visiting teachers and teacher aides from DEECD and Vision Australia.
Despite over 40° heat, we had such a productive day and it was even hard to get the group to break for lunch! Deb slogged away at the computer all day taking down the pearls of wisdom generated by the participants and we were all sent home with six pages of typed notes on activities to encourage braille literacy, comparisons of Perkins brailler, Mountbatten, BrailleNote/PacMate and computers with JAWs, and more.
Our thanks to the ever-energetic Lea Nagel who kept things rolling and managed to talk over the blast of the air-conditioner and to all the SVRC staff who kept up the iced tea and other cold drinks.
DEECD Email S003-2009 from Gail Hart, General Manager, Corporate Services Division
Personal property is often brought to school by students, staff and visitors.
This can include mobile phones, calculators, toys, sporting equipment and cars
parked on school premises.
The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development does not hold insurance
nor does it accept responsibility for private property brought to school by
students, staff and visitors. The DEECD will generally not pay for any loss
or damage to such property.Staff and students should be discouraged from bringing
any unnecessary or particularly valuable items to school.
Visiting Teacher Vacancy
There is a 0.4 VT position available in Eastern Region – further details
will be available soon, or you can contact Leanne Nagel on (03) 98410242 if
you would like more information.
2008 VCE Results
Last years VCE students have done a wonderful job – here are a few examples:
• Ross, (Southern Metropolitan Region), earned a TER of 92.55 –
well done! He’s hopeful of an offer from Monash University to study Psychology.
He has been offered a support bursary from Monash University.
• Ashleigh, (Odette’s student), achieved good results and has received
an offer from Melbourne University to study Arts which she has accepted.
• Sinead, (Odette’s student), achieved great results and is looking
towards Psychology at Swinburne.
• Laurel a TER score in the 80s
• Sam (Independent Sector-Bendigo) achieved a TER of 91.5 and will be
enjoying a GAP year this year.
• Kieran (Independent Sector – Southern Region) received a TER of
85.9
Congratulation to all students on their results!
Staff News
• Sally Fathers will be joining the Eastern Metropolitan
Region Visiting Teachers based at the SVRC.
• Faye Squires will continue to work for Goulburn North
Eastern with a couple of students with vision impairments on a part time basis.
• Marg Moloney also from Goulburn North Eastern will
be increasing her time fraction to three days per week and working with the
schools in the Rutherglen area amongst others.
• Toni Chilton will be taking 12 months leave from the
6th February to pursue an Orientation and Mobility course at La Trobe University.
Good luck Toni, we wish you well with your studies.
• Helping out in the braille and etext departments is Cameron
Phillips. Welcome Cameron.
• And back from holidays is Kishan.
• Nicole is returning this Thursday from a year overseas
and plans to begin work almost immediately.
Just in case you can’t remember who’s who in the SVRC here is a
current list of staff.
SVRC Production Staff
• Rachel Bowen - Etext
• Cathy Murray - Etext (0.4)
• Dianne Skillern - Administration/Large Print/ Etext
• Jacky Murphy - Braille
• Jenny McKenzie - Braille(0.4)
• Leeanne Terry - Etext, Large Print
• Lyn Petty - Braille(0.4)
• Cameron Phillips - Etext
• Maria Elford - Senior Braille/Etext
• Michael Kelly - Audio/IT Support (0.6)
• Nicole - Etext
• Cam - Etext
• Sue Sharp - Braille/Etext
• Kishan Thurairasa - Etext
• Zhi Jin - Braille
SVRC Teaching Staff
• Annette Godfrey-Magee - Education Officer (0.9)
• Deb Lewis - Co-ordinator
• Lyn Robinson - Resource Teacher (0.9)
• Marion Blazé - Education Officer - (0.9)
SVRC Psychologist
• Geoff Bowen (0.4)
Eastern Metropolitan Region Staff
• Helen Caldow - Visiting Teacher
• Kim Foley - Visiting Teacher
• Lea Nagel - Senior Visiting Teacher
• Sally Fathers - Visiting Teacher
During 2009, Vision Australia will conduct the final four Residential Training Programs at the Burwood Education Centre, for students who are blind or have low vision and are integrated into mainstream schools. The focus of these programs is to develop skills and knowledge in a variety of curriculum areas unique to the needs of students who have a vision impairment. They also provide an opportunity for students to interact and network with peers in a positive, supportive environment.
Eligibility:
Priority is given to those students unable to attend the Vision Australia Support
Skills Program during the school terms. Eight places per program are available.
There may be the possibility of some day placements for students with specific
needs. Applications for day placement need to be made individually for consideration.
Cost:
The cost per program is $100, and is due with the completed documents at least
three weeks prior to the commencement of the program. Families experiencing
financial difficulty are invited to contact the Support Skills Program Coordinator,
Garry Stinchcombe, to discuss alternative arrangements. This nominal fee secures
your commitment to attending the program.
Expressions of interest:
Please fill in the attached form and return to Garry Stinchcombe by Monday 2
March 2009. Once we have received this form, families will be advised of acceptance
into the programs. Information and documents will then be forwarded to the parents,
the child's Visiting Teacher and - in the case of older children - the student.
Late applications may be considered after this date except for the first program
which is to be run in April. These late applications should be made no later
than 8 weeks prior to the scheduled program commencement date.
Further Information:
Please call Garry Stinchcombe, Coordinator of the Support Skills Program: (03)
9808 6422
Thanks to Marion Blazé, Lea Nagel, Geoff Bowen, Deb Lewis, Annette Godfrey-Magee,
for contributing to this edition of The Bulletin. Thanks also to my fabulous
proof-readers, stuffers and mailers.
Lyn Robinson-who can be emailed at lynrobin@svrc.vic.edu.au
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