This issue was edited by Deb Lewis, Co-ordinator, Statewide Vision Resource Centre.
The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, through the Student Wellbeing Branch, is looking at how we can strengthen existing support provisions for vision impaired students. This is an ongoing process and will identify opportunities to build on the capacity of existing department programs as well as ensure we are engaged in collaborative and complementary service partnerships.
One result of this process is a change to the current arrangements for producing and providing alternative format material for vision impaired students in schools. While Vision Australia has provided a high quality and much appreciated service, the opportunity exists for the Department to strengthen and increase the role of the DEECD Statewide Vision Resource Centre to provide this service to all schools. SVRC welcomes this opportunity and we look forward to working with alternative format delivery for all Visiting Teachers.
From the beginning of this term Vision Australia, Visiting Teachers can make requests for materials in alternative formats directly to the Statewide Vision Resource Centre. This can be done by mail or drop in. Vision Australia, Visiting Teachers can supply their original book or source material with Vision Australia request forms. (We will be working with all Visiting Teachers to combine the VA and SVRC request forms this term.)
For text books please note chapters/sections with dates required and please indicate the sections that will not be required.
While these changes have been discussed with senior officers of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development and Vision Australia, we will shortly be providing you with more detailed information at meetings this term for Vision Australia and DEECD Visiting Teachers about the new arrangements including answers to specific questions that have been asked by Visiting Teachers, to ensure that all staff have the necessary information to do their work.
While this is a start there may be other questions you have. Please let me
know and I will be happy to provide or find out the answers. Questions can be
emailed or sent to Deb Lewis, Co-ordinator, Statewide Vision Resource Centre
using the following contact details:
Email: deblewis@svrc.vic.edu.au
Mail PO Box 201, Nunawading 3131 Fax (03) 9841 0878
To download programs for PD activities, visit: http://www.visiontech.svrc.vic.edu.au/pd2008.htm
When: 4th June 2008
Presented by: Dr John Ravenscroft, Senior Research Fellow,
RIDBC Renwick Centre, Sydney
Overview: Aimed at parents and professionals alike, this workshop
will use the experience of Scotland to identify the multiple agencies involved
with children with visual impairment and how a single source of information
could be developed in Australia (as is now the case in Scotland).
Course Code: RC08C111V
Fee: $150
For further details on these courses visit: http://www.ridbc.org.au/renwick/courses/continuinged_calendar.asp
These seminars are held at the Darebin Arts & Entertainment Centre, Cnr
Bell St & St Georges Rd, Preston and cost $140-$160
Focus on Writing
When: Saturday 3 May 2008
Comprehension and Strategies for Reading Fiction
When: Saturday 12 April, 2008
Planning an Integrated Unit
When: Saturday 17 May, 2008
The BrailleNote can translate text documents into either braille or voice. It manages best with plain text, and does not represent pictures or diagrams. Tables do not generally come out in a readable form on the braille display. Documents containing pictures or diagrams take a very long time to open. The best and simplest way to present documents for the BrailleNote is to save them as text only (.txt) files. By saving them like this, all difficult or special formatting and pictures are removed.
Steps to follow when a teacher hands you a document to be prepared for the
BrailleNote:
1. Ask where the source document is. Does the teacher have it on her computer?
Was it downloaded from the school intranet? Was it copied from a web page? Can
it be found on a computer anywhere?
If yes: Save the document on to your computer.
If no: Scan the document. Ask school staff for information on how to use the
scanner - each is different. For small documents, you may prefer to type it
out.
2. Save the document as a text only (.txt) file. This will remove all odd, scanned
formatting, for example the scanner representing black smudges as a picture.
3. Send the document back to Microsoft Word because it has more functional editing
tools:
• with the .txt file open select all (control + a)
• copy (control + c)
• open a Word document
• paste (control + v)
4. Edit the document. Check for spelling errors, unnecessary new lines, columns
etc.
If the source document has a table, represent it as a list. This may involve
re-typing it or selecting and dragging the information out of the table. *see
below for example
5. Save to your USB memory stick as a .txt file (simple files open more reliably).
6. Hand the stick to your student.
To download this information as a a one-page Word document, click visit: http://www.visiontech.svrc.vic.edu.au/CSBNEtext.doc
There are now two UEB Cheat Sheets available for download. Both are best enlarged to A3 so that the braille cells can be viewed at "normal" size.
1. a PDF file available from the Duxbury website which gives a clear list of contractions in alphabetical order as well as standard punctuation: http://www.duxburysystems.com
2. a Word file (braille font required) adapted by Lyn Robinson which summarises the literary braille contractions and the more commonly used punctuation: http://www.visiontech.svrc.vic.edu.au/CSUEBLit.doc
Source: BCA Parent News, March 2008 (Adapted from The Fred’s Head Companion (APH), ‘Put an End to the Squinting and Straining When Reading Small Type on the Web’, Thursday, December 27, 2007, written by Michael McCarty.)
Big.com [is] a search engine developed to deliver search results to users in a large, easy to read format. Available from http://www.big.com/toolbar as a free, downloadable toolbar for use with Internet Explorer web browsers, Web Magnifier provides users with the ability to enlarge the text and graphics of any HTML web page for easier reading and navigation. Not just for web users with impaired vision, Web Magnifier can also be useful when reading the fine print of an online contest or a site's privacy policy - both of which are typically displayed in smaller font sizes - or to simply increase the size of a photo to reveal more detail.
Web Magnifier sits as a toolbar at the top of a user's screen and contains a Big.com search box for immediate web searches as well as 3 buttons for the various levels of magnification - normal, big and bigger. Once a page is magnified to the desired level, Web Magnifier remembers the setting and automatically adjusts the magnification on subsequent visits to the page. Additionally, the toolbar itself can be displayed in large and standard sizes.
System requirements for the Big.com Web Magnifier include Microsoft Windows 2000/XP, Internet Explorer 6.0, 1MB hard drive space and 128 MB of RAM.
CEO Visiting Teacher, Odette, reports that the Educational Experience Catalogue 2008 includes a "Universal Talking Card" which records 10 seconds of speech in a 15.5 x 11.5 card - double sided. She thought this might be a wonderful way for our beginning braille readers or students with additional needs to help learn words, contractions etc. For more information, phone 1300 134211.
John Ravenscroft
Mike Steer
RIDBC Renwick Centre
North Rocks.
"I have never actually set out to bully someone myself. It usually comes about when someone is being annoyed and provides an amusing reaction that I begin to join in. At the time you do not see it as bullying, although you may have doubts later. I do not think there is anyone at school who has not bullied someone in one way or another." (Boy from a Scottish Mainstream Comprehensive School, 16)
Basically, bullying is an aggressive behaviour (or behaviours) that involve an imbalance of power or strength, and students who are blind or vision impaired attending schools all across Australia are particularly vulnerable to it. Although no standard or universally understood definition of bullying exists, a definition, although old, that has been adopted in some research papers is as follows;
Bullying happens when one person or a group of people tries to upset another person by saying nasty or hurtful things to him or her again and again. Sometimes bullies hit or kick people or force them to hand over something (money, toys, books, homework); sometimes they tease them again and again. The person who is being bullied finds it difficult to stop this happening and is worried that it will happen again. It may not be bullying when two people of roughly the same strength have a fight or disagreement. (Mellor 1993)
Whether as an SVRC Bulletin reader you agree or not with this definition, certain elements are generally present. The first element is a pattern of behaviour over time - repeated exposure to intentional injury or discomfort inflicted by one or more students against another. This behaviour may include physical contact, verbal assault, social ostracism, obscene gestures or other aggressive acts that cause the victim to feel fearful or distraught. More serious instances of bullying can result in physical injury or emotional trauma. A second common element is a perceived imbalance of power that allows one student - or group of students - to victimise others. (Ferrell-Smith, u.d.).
As we can see the word 'bullying' is used to describe many different types of behaviour ranging from teasing or deliberately leaving an individual out of a social gathering or ignoring them, to serious assaults and abuse. Sometimes it is an individual who is doing the bullying and sometimes it is a group. The important thing is not the action but the effect on the victim. No-one should ever underestimate the fear that a bullied child feels.
Research shows that bullying can happen both outside and inside the classroom environment. For example, one study of over 15,000 students in America found that greater odds of involvement occurred with bullying others than being bullied, and greater odds of involvement occurred with bullying that took place away from school than that occurring in school (Nasal et al 2003). Interestingly enough they end their paper by suggesting Bullying should not be considered a normative aspect of youth development, but rather a marker for more serious violent behaviours, including weapon carrying, frequent fighting, and fighting-related injury. (p.1218)
An original research paper, using a cross European design in 1993, which has been replicated a number of times now, has also shown that in a significant number of children are bullied by their peers actually in the classroom This may happen in a subtle manner of which the teacher is unaware but its effect can be just as serious as an overt physical attack. It may be a muttered threat, a passed note or just a look, but the victim may be sufficiently distressed by it to be unable to take a full part in the lesson (Mellor, 1993)
Recent incidents of school violence have focussed attention on the problem of bullying and harassment in schools so that educational personnel whether administrators or teacher, as well as parents and students; but particularly specialist visiting teachers must be able to identify and respond to it. (Phi Delta Kappa, 2007) What then do research studies tell us about the prevalence of bullying, its impact and what can be done to prevent it?
Recent research from the US shows that having a special health care need is generally associated with being bullied, and having a behavioural, emotional, or developmental problem is associated with bullying others and being a bully/victim (van Cleave, 2006). More interestingly, Horwood et al (2005) from a large study in the UK that examined a cohort of 6536 children found that children currently wearing glasses (at the age of 7.5 to 8.5 years) or with a history of wearing eye patches were 35% to 37% more likely to be victims of physical or verbal bullying, even after adjustment for social class and maternal education. They also found no interactions existed though between sex and visual problems in the prediction of bullying.
Generally we can summarise a lot of research on bullying and vision impairment in the following points
It has also been found that schools which have taken action have been successful in reducing the level of bullying and that the single most effective thing that any school can do is to develop a policy to which everybody is committed. One way of getting commitment is to work with pupils, teachers and others to find out about the extent of bullying. This raises awareness and signals the school's intention to do something about it. Bullying can be reduced by as much as 50% with the introduction of an effective prevention program (U.S. Health Resource and Services Administration (u.d.).
Bullying is a problem that all schools face, and research suggests that those children with a vision impairment will have a higher tendency to be bullied but through changing the school’s ethos towards bullying can significantly reduce the occurrence of bullying at all levels.
Ferrell-Smith, F. (u.d.). Tackling the schoolyard bully: Combining policy-making with prevention. Retrieved 5 March 2008 from: http://www.ncsl.org/programs/cyf/schoolyard.htm
Horwood, J., Waylen, A., Herrick, D., Williams, C., Wolke, D. (2005) Common Visual Defects and Peer Victimization in Children Invest. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science.;46:1177-1181
Mellor, A. (1993). Anti Bullying Network http://www.scre.ac.uk/pdf/spotlight/Spotlight43.pdf
Nansel TR, Overpeck MD, Haynie DL, Ruan WJ, Scheidt PC. (2003). Relationships between bullying and violence among US youth.Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 157(4): 348-353.
Phi Delta Kappa. (2008). Bullying: Prevalence and prevention. Topics & Trends, 7(2), 1.
Stead J., Buultjens, M., & Dallas, M. (2002). Focus area: School years. Scottish Sensory Centre. Available 5 March 2008 from http://www.icevi.org/publications/ICEVI-WC2002/papers/01-topic/01-buultjens.htm
U.S. Health and Services Administration (u.d.) Myths about bullying. Retrieved march 5, 2008 from http://www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/HHS_PSA/pdfs/Fact_Sheet_Myths_32.pdf
van Cleave, J., & Davis, M. (2006). Pediatrics Vol. 118 No. 4 October 2006, pp. e1212-e1219 (doi:10.1542/peds.2005-3034)
The Victorian Premier's Reading Challenge is an exciting opportunity for students to read widely and have their reading recognised.
Books can be chosen from a wonderful and extensive list of literature – these are then recorded online and at the end of the Challenge … hey presto … students receive a certificate and their names appear in the newspaper!!!
The Victorian Premier's Reading Challenge is NOW UNDERWAY!!!
Here are the rules:
1. You must register as a Challenger and keep a record of your reading on the
website.
2. You must be a student in a year level from Prep to Year 10 in 2008. You can
be learning at a school or learning at home.
3. Between 30 January 2008 and 31 August 2008, you must read:
Year level Number of books Number of books from the Challenge booklist
4. If you are in Prep, Year 1 or Year 2 you can read books by yourself or with
someone else, for example, a parent, teacher, brother or sister, classmate,
buddy or friend. They can help you or read the book to you if you are just learning
to read.
5. Your online books must be verified as read by a Coordinator in your school.
6. All your information must be completed online before close of business, 31st
August 2008.
To view or save the Challenge booklists, visit: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/prc/books/default.htm
For more information, check out the VPRC website: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/prc/books/default.htm
Staff of the Statewide Vision Resource Centre are busy updating our copy of the Challenge booklist to indicate which books we currently hold and in which format. So for students eligible to use the resources of the SVRC, please contact us for information – email svrc@svrc.vic.edu.au. And if a book that you would like to read is not already on our list, please send us the book with your request!
Senior Visiting Teacher Lea Nagel's article "Self Esteem: A Case Study in the Relationship between Self-Esteem and Academic and Life Skills" was recently published in January 2008 edition of The Educator. In the article she writes:
"The American Foundation for the Blind now includes Self Determination as one of the nine areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum (AFB 2007). Self-esteem is a factor that contributes to Self Determination (Morgan et al, 2002). In this article, I will outline the academic and concurrent self-esteem development of a blind, braille-reading student in Victoria, Australia…
I have had the privilege of visiting and teaching Jordan, a blind boy who is
currently in year 7, which is the first year of secondary schooling. I began
working with him when he was in year 5. At that time, he had changed schools
to a highly academic, large government primary school. Jordan was performing
far below his academic potential. His spelling, reading and written work were
well under the standard for his age but he had a great interest in technology,
and was able to use speech output on the computer to write documents, search
the internet and to email. He had an electronic braille writer that could emboss
as he wrote, or save files to be embossed, printed or edited using voice.
Jordan’s self-esteem was very low. He was aware that his reading, spelling
and writing skills were poor, and he relied on his technology skills to hide
this from his previous teacher. During writing tasks, Jordan’s electronic
braille writer clattered away: the more noise it made the busier he seemed.
Instead of producing long and fascinating documents however, Jordan was in fact
writing a word, pressing space bar and listening to the pronunciation. If it
sounded wrong, he’d backspace the whole word letter by letter - CLATTER,
CLATTER - and re-try the word. Sounded wrong again? Repeat. The result of this
reliance on technology was that Jordan was not able to produce a document of
reasonable length, develop a flow with his writing, nor develop his ideas. He
never attempted to memorise the spelling of words. In an effort to disguise
his lack of skill, Jordan was preventing himself from learning. The further
behind his classmates he fell, the lower his self-esteem became. For safety
- to protect his self-esteem from further damage - Jordan had convinced himself
that spelling and writing were over-rated and unnecessary.
One of my goals for Jordan was for him to take more responsibility for his own learning - Self Determination. He needed to envisage himself as an adult in paid employment, and think about the skills he would need to carry himself through life. He needed to understand that he was misrepresenting himself in his writing and reading, and that he was capable of far more than he was producing. Importantly, Jordan needed to understand that his education was for his own benefit, and an investment in his own future. Before Jordan could commit to learning to read, spell and write well, he had to be convinced that he was capable. He then had to acknowledge his deficiency and take the perceived risk of exposing it to his teacher. His self-esteem was on the line…."
Lea describes the process of encouraging Jordan to take responsibility for his own learning which had the effect of transforming Jordan into a young man engaged in his own education.
To read the article, visit: http://www.icevi.org/pdf/educator_january_2008.pdf
The 2008 edition of the UEB Primer (Australian Edition) is now available for download from the ABA website. There are Word and pdf versions available. There have been many small changes and a couple of not-so-small ones since the previous downloadable version. To download, visit: http://www.e-bility.com/roundtable/aba/publications.php.
The Round Table E-Text Production Guidelines Final Draft is now available to
Round Table members for comment. This document is located in the member's section
of the Round Table web site http://www.e-bility.com/roundtable/members/.
Any comments or feedback can be sent to Jane Wegener at jane.wegener@visionaustralia.org
or phone (02) 9334 3538.
The closing date is 13 April 2008.
All current and prospective blind or vision impaired tertiary students are welcome to join the Vision Australia Study Groups which aim to assist you to:
Where: Vision Australia, 201 High Street, Prahran
Time: 1:30 – 4pm
16 April: Research skills and writing for Academic Purposes
21 May: Exam Preparation
18 June: Note Taking and Referencing Tips
16 July: Course and Career Identification
20 August: VTAC and direct course application processes
17 September: Exam preparation and study strategies
15 October: Methods for reading using alternative formats
3 December: Where to from here? Transitioning to employment
For further information or to book in contact Renee Williamson - Tertiary Education
Consultant
Phone: (03) 9520 5555
Email: renee.williamson@visionaustralia.org
When: Wednesday 16 April 2008.
Topic: “Research skills and writing for Academic Purposes”
Time: 1.30 – 4.00pm
Venue: 201 High Street Prahran in the Board Room
For more information, contact: Renee Williamson, Tertiary Education Consultant
(03) 9520 5555
Source: ABF Update, March 2008
Nominations are now open for these awards, which were inaugurated last year
to acknowledge the achievements and contributions individuals with disability
make to the Australian community, as well as recognise individuals who have
contributed to the disability sector.
People can be nominated in one of five categories: Community Contribution; Young
Community Contribution; Inclusion; Go Getter and Personal Achievement. Nominations
close 9 May. For more information, phone 1800 440 385 or go to http://www.idpwd.com.au.
Source: ABF Update, March 2008
Macular Degeneration Awareness Week will be held from 25 to 31 May this year. For more information, go to http://www.mdfoundation.com.au/page3323837.aspx.
Source: ABF Update, March 2008
International Guide Dog Day on Wednesday 30 April this year celebrates the important
role guide dogs (and seeing eye dogs) play in helping people who are blind or
vision impaired to achieve safe and independent travel. For more information
visit: http://www.guidedogsaustralia.com/.
Source: ABF Update, March 2008
Vision 2008, the 9th international conference on low vision, will be held in
Montreal, Canada from 7 to 11 July 2008 – go to http://www.vision2008.ca.
Source: BCA Parent News, March 2008 (Adapted from http://www.disabilitynews.infoxchange.net.au/news/detail.chtml?filename_num=181071
A revolutionary website that promises to give children with disabilities their own voice for the first time has been launched in South Australia. The 'What I'd like you to know about me!' resource - created by Life's for Living Inc allows children and their families to share their child's story in a way that has never been possible before.
These unique stories – easily created on the innovative http://www.aboutme.org.au website – are then provided to carers, family members or other health and education professionals to give an insight into the best way to support the child. Entries are made under page topics such as My World, Skills and Abilities, and This is What You Need to Know to Support Me. These pages then become a printable book of their own stories, revealing likes, dreams, milestones and abilities.
Life's for Living can offer email/phone support for families and training sessions can be arranged for both families and services. They are also available to talk to parent support groups, services and to conduct demonstrations of the resource. The cost of the resource (for families) is a once off fee of $50 (including GST) and is available to agencies.
Want to know more? Contact Julie Brookes on 0407 728 773 or info@aboutme.org.au or visit http://www.aboutme.org.au.
Source: DEECD communication S099-288 New Toy and Nursery Safety
Line 1300 364 894
Parents and carers with queries about the safety of toys and nursery products
can now call the Consumer Affairs Victoria Toy and Nursery Safety Line on 1300
364 894. Also remind parents and carers to always:
Source: Young Adults Chat, Issue 3
For further assistance with applying make-up or any other activity of daily living, contact one of the Occupational Therapists at Guide Dogs Victoria on (03) 9854 4444.
Source: BCA Parent News, March 2008
http://www.fashionableeye.com/ is a website dedicated to, surprise surprise, all things fashion. The editor of the site, Dawson Ko, is vision impaired and won the Pride of Australia medal in 2007 for his work in establishing an online vision impaired support group (http://www.theviponlinesociety.org) and was nominated for a National Disability Award in 2008. The site has been designed with all the things you should know for summer, but also purchasing fashion on a tight budget, choosing some scents to make you stand out and little odds and ends to keep you on track!
Fotini Biantes, Rosza Ganser, Ron Hirsch, Claire Hogan and Madeleine Popper.
Extraordinary works by legally blind artists. These artists offer a unique perception of the world. Meet the artists on opening night and discover how vision impairment can expand creative boundaries.
When: 22nd April – 12 May 2008
Time: 9am to 5pm, daily
Opening Night: Wednesday 23 April 2008, 6 to 8pm
Gasworks Art Park, corner Graham and Pickles Streets, Albert Park
Hey VTs … if you have a few hours to spare and you'd like to help out,
please call and let us know - we'd love to have you!
Special thanks go to Lee Clarke who has been kindly and diligently printing
the green-lined paper for a number of years now!
Thanks to Marion Blazé, Bruce Maguire, Lea Nagel, Kathy Riessen, Renee Williamson and numerous members of the Round Table for contributing to this edition of The Bulletin. Thanks also to the fabulous team of proof-readers, stuffers and mailers.
Deb Lewis (who can be emailed at deblewis@svrc.vic.edu.au).