This issue was edited by Lyn Robinson, Resource Teacher, Statewide Vision Resource Centre.
1 Using Your Computer Without the Mouse - 9.45 am to 11.15
am Lea Nagel, Senior Visiting Teacher.
2. ZOOMTEXT – Talking & Enlargement Software –
11.45 am to 1.15 pm Trevor Boyd, Quantum Technology. Please arrive early so
the demo software can be loaded to your computer
3. GTCALC – Talking Calculator Software - 1.45 –
3.15 Bernice Fox and Anita Ross, Software Developers. Please arrive early so
the demo software can be loaded to your computer. All orders for GTCalc made
on the day will be offered at a discount price to students of $95 (regular retail
is $195)
All three workshops will be held at the SVRC on Friday the 20th June. Please
call Dianne on 03 9841 0242 and let her know which workshops you will be attending.
The workshops are free. BYO lunch.
To see the annual program and to download programs for professional development
activities, go to: http://www.visiontech.svrc.vic.edu.au/pd2008.htm
This Support Group provides opportunities for parents and siblings of children
with vision impairments, to come together, share experiences and information
and develop friendships. The group generally meets once per school term on a
Saturday afternoon to hear from a guest speaker and then to socialise over afternoon
tea. Child minding is provided so that families can bring little ones. The Term
2 Meeting is on Saturday, June 21, 2008 at the Statewide Vision Resource Centre,
370-380 Springvale Road, Donvale. The starting time is 2.00PM and the
guest speaker will be Trevor Boyd from Quantum Technologies.Trevor will speak
to us about "Access technology and mobile phones for people with vision
impairments"
Please bring a plate to share for afternoon tea and please RSVP so that we can
cater for numbers and especially if you require child minding facilities.
For further information or to RSVP, contact: John or Judy Bowen on 03 9842 5103,
Leigh Heaven on 03 9890 8130 or Annette Godfrey-Magee 03 9841 0807.
A Technology Review from the RNIB web site: http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/publicwebsite/public_jbizoom.hcsp
Introduction
There are a large number of freeware and shareware magnification software packages
available and there has been for some time. At the time of writing there were
32 freeware and shareware Windows magnification utilities listed at http://www.magnifiers.org,
a web site describing itself as the “screen magnifiers homepage”.
An Internet search would find other packages. But until last year, I had not
found anything more helpful than the magnification utility that has been included
as part of the Windows operating system since Windows 98. At least that was
my opinion as a partially sighted computer user.
In 2005 iZoom from Issist became available, and this has far more functionality
than any other freeware magnification program that I know of. The focus of the
magnification will fill the screen. It can magnify from 1.5 to 16 times, which
covers the highest settings that most people would find practical to use. There
are other options for the appearance of the magnification available, lens, line
and split screen horizontal or vertical. There is a range of false colours available
including black and white and reverse contrast. There is also some artificial
speech support, although this doesn’t read Word documents, for example.
IZoom works on Windows XP and 2000.
Limitations
IZoom does not have all the features that the more expensive commercial magnification
software products have. It works best at a resolution of 800 x 600 or less and
with 16-bit colour or less. The tracking is not entirely consistent. The focus
will follow the typing caret and the mouse cursor. When tabbing around icons
on the desktop, however, or when using Alt + Tab to change program, the focus
does not follow the highlighted screen area. It does also slow down the PC when
it is running, and is limited to Windows 2000 and XP only; there are many Windows
98 users still out there.
Conclusion:
Most users of magnification simply want to make the text on the screen appear
bigger, and iZoom does this successfully. The most important difference between
iZoom and other free magnification programs is that the focus of the magnifier
can fill the screen. IZoom does have a range of other features, and although
it does not have the same range of features that you get with the more expensive
products, anecdotal evidence at least suggest that some of the functions are
not often used anyway.
If you are willing to run your PC with “low” graphics settings, then iZoom is a viable magnifier. The software can be downloaded from the Issist web site where there are also FAQs and discussion forums for anyone who wants to find out more.
Editors Note: iZoom is now available as Version 2.0. It is available as a free 30 day trial version, after that it costs US$199.00. It is also available as a portable device called “iZoom2Go”. According to the web site, “iZoom2Go is the world's first portable access solution available on a USB drive. You simply plug it in and it starts up. No installation, no administrative access, no license agreements. iZoom2Go possesses all the features of iZoom Standard and... it's not locked down to a machine! You can attach it to your keychain and take it with you anywhere you go. All your settings are saved on the USB drive so you don't have to reconfigure it on every new machine. It'll work on any Windows 2000/XP/Vista machine. So the next time you get on a machine at your library, your school, a friend's place, you can relax knowing that their machine isn't affected and you can use it as freely as you would your own.” iZoom2Go costs US$299.00 and is available from Issist web site: http://www.issist.com/
Camp Howqua and Vic Youth in partnership with Vision Australia, Rural Access, Access for All Abilities and Valley Sport with support from the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) are pleased to extend to you an invitation to join us for five days jam-packed full of fun, action and adventure at New Vision ’08.New Vision ‘08 will take place at Camp Howqua from 26th September – 1st October 2008 and has been tailor made to suit people from 13 -18 years of age with low vision.
If your idea of fun and action includes any or all of the following activities: Riding a horse like the “Man from Snowy River”, sliding down 100 meters of the waterslide known as, shooting arrows at targets just like Robin Hood, zipping down a 270 meter flying fox, balancing 7 metres from the ground on the new high ropes course, driving a go kart and heaps more (and that’s just some of the the daytime activities) then New Vision Camp is the place for you. Night times will be full of fun too with a fantastic band to sing along with and great speakers who will inspire and challenge you. At New Vision ’08 you will definitely laugh, you may even cry but one thing we can 100% guarantee is that you will make some great new friends while you are having the time of your life.
If you think that New Vision ’08 is the camp for you please contact Camp Howqua on 03 5777 3509 or email howqua@adventist.org.au
Marion has come across these small electronic magnifiers.
Jaycar Electronics currently have a couple of cheap, small, electronic magnifiers.
They are made by a company called ‘vitiny’ and are priced at $249
and $299. Both offer 24X to 90 X electronic magnification on a small colour
screen. The more expensive one can be linked to a computer so that magnified
pictures can be ‘sent’.They are certainly not marketing these as
magnifiers for people with low vision, because they have fairly small screens
(1.8 inches square). They are described as small microscopes for the ‘hobbyist’
to look in more detail at nature (for example). They would probably not be suitable
for reading but might, for example, suit a science student for viewing specimens.
You can view them on the web at www.vitiny.com.
From American Foundation for the Blind, forwarded by Tricia d'Apice - SPEVI
New York, NY (May 19, 2008)-Today the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
announced that Dr. Susan J. Spungin, Vice President, International Programs
and Special Projects, and Treasurer of the World Blind Union (WBU), will retire
on December 31, 2008, after 44 years of distinguished work on the education
and rehabilitation of blind people in the national and international arenas.
"Susan's contributions to the blindness field in the U.S. and abroad are almost too vast to number," said Carl R. Augusto, President & CEO of AFB. "Her influence can be seen through the record of her many publications and the workshops, lectures, and keynote speeches she's presented around the world, as well as the awards and honors she has received and the enormous respect and reverence that greet her wherever she goes."
An internationally renowned expert on the education and rehabilitation of individuals who are blind or visually impaired, Dr. Spungin joined AFB in 1972 as a national specialist in education. In this capacity, she identified nationwide issues affecting blind, deaf-blind, and severely visually impaired children and youth, and worked in partnership with schools, agencies, state departments of education, universities, the federal government, and other organizations to resolve those issues. In addition to her education work, she was instrumental in shaping AFB's research and policy work, and its national programs in the areas of early childhood development, aging, employment, rehabilitation teaching, low vision, orientation and mobility, career education, and more. Dr.Spungin currently coordinates AFB's international activities.
Shortly after joining AFB, Dr. Spungin was tapped to run in-service teacher training workshops in Argentina, establishing her as a major figure in the international blindness field. Her teacher training, literacy (especially regarding braille), and education work in the United States frequently served as models for the international community, and her presentations, expertise, and consultative services have been sought out in Europe, the Eastern Block countries, Australia, Asia, East Pacific Asia, the Middle East, and beyond.
Dr. Spungin's work internationally is bolstered by her active involvement in several blindness organizations. In addition to her current role with WBU, she is a board member, former international vice president, and regional president of the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI), as well as past vice president of the North America/Caribbean region of WBU. She also helped to found the National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments (NAPVI), an international membership organization serving families in the U.S. and in 55 countries, and has chaired and held leadership roles with the Braille Authority of North America (BANA) and the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER). In addition, she has authored numerous books and articles for national and international journals.
Dr. Spungin has also been honored with several prestigious awards, including the NAPVI Founders Award, the 2003 Wings of Freedom Award from the American Printing House for the Blind, the 2002 Mary K. Bauman Award from AER, the Mary E. Switzer Scholars award, the 2001 Council on Exceptional Children (CEC) Distinguished Service Award, the AFB 1993 Equality of Access & Opportunity Award for her work in braille literacy, and the Josephine L. Taylor Award from the University Division of AER. In 1991, Dr. Spungin also became the first sighted women to receive the Russian Medal from the Byelorussian Association of the Blind.
Perhaps Dr. Spungin's greatest professional contribution is the development of standards that have brought the blindness field together in the areas of competency-based curriculum for universities in the United States; training teachers to work with blind and low vision children; guidelines for public schools after the passage of the mainstreaming legislation of 1975; and the formalization of national organizations in education that include state vision consultants, instructional material centers for the blind, preschool programs for early childhood education for the blind, and guidelines for public school psychologists. This work, as with everything else she has undertaken, reflects Dr. Spungin's priority to always consider the role of the blind consumer, and her early realization that program development and implementation must be guided by the consumers for whom the programs are intended. She will remain in her home in New York City, where she will consult in the field from time to time as needed.
Members of SPEVI will remember Susan from a conference in Melbourne where she was the keynote speaker and I'm sure everyone here would like to wish her all the best for her retirement.
Have you wondered about teaching your student braille music? There are a number
of options you could pursue. There are two publications that teach the Braille
music code in a systematic way: "Read, Sing and Play" by Ian Cooper
in both braille and print which teaches braille music in a step-by-step progression
using primarily piano and vocal music examples.
"The Survivor's Guide to Braille Music" by Helen Merrin which is aimed
at the adult learner who wishes to learn braille music on their own - however
it is a great resource for sighted folk who are interested in assisting their
students. Accompanying the book which has been produced in both braille and
print is an audio CD containing the musical examples. Both publications are
available free of charge from Vision Australia upon request. The SVRC has several
copies of "A Survivor's Guide to Braille Music" in the new Resource
Room if you would like to check out this wonderful resource next time you drop
by.
The National Braille Music Camp is held every year at Frensham Girls' Grammar, Mittagong, NSW, during the July school holidays. The camp is aimed at secondary school children who have a serious interest in music where they can improve their braille music skills in a practical setting. Reading scores in a choir and having individualised music classes daily to focus on a particular area are just some of the activities. For more information contact Roma Dix on (02) 4871 1086.
This workshop covers the basics of how to read and write grade one (uncontracted)
braille. Common uses of braille for independent living will also be described
and demonstrated. The workshop will be held on Monday 23rd June 2008 at 9.30
am – 4.30 pm. The venue is The Vision Australia Training Room, 454 Glenferrie
Road, Kooyong. The trainer is Jordie Howell, Vision Australia Adult Braille
Instructor and the cost for the workshop is $200.00.
The workshop is suitable for any sighted person who wishes to learn about the
basics of braille. After completing the module, participants should be able
to:
• identify braille letters of the alphabet
• describe common daily uses for braille by people who are blind or vision
impaired
• identify whether or not a page of braille is upside down. For further
information please contact Jordie Howell on (03) 9520 5555 or email
jordie.howell@visionaustralia.org
Original manuscripts and news items are sought for the fourth issue of the Journal of the South Pacific Educators in Vision Impairment. The journal presents essays, quantitative and qualitative research articles and analyses, conceptual papers, comprehensive reviews, case studies, policy analyses and innovative practice descriptions and evaluations as well as perspectives and opinions on a wide variety of issues and topics related to the education of children, youth and adults in the South Pacific region who are blind or have vision impairments.
It is intended that the journal will be useful to a much wider audience than researchers. The focus of all articles appearing in the journal will be upon their implications for practice. It is intended that the journal will be a vehicle for informing other researchers, educational administrators, Commonwealth and State personnel and service providers, as well as specialist and generic teachers, parents and others in our communities about research, issues, policies and their implications for practice in the South Pacific Region (Australia, New Zealand, parts of Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands).
Editors are, Dr Gillian Gale, Vision Impairment Consultant, Melbourne, Dr Paul
Pagliano, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Education, James Cook University, Ms Fran
Gentle and Dr Mike Steer, RIDBC Renwick Centre. There is an impressive Editorial
Advisory Panel for the Journal. All submissions will undergo blind peer review.
Having this issue will depend on the number of high calibre submissions. To
enable timely review and manuscript revision, it would be appreciated if authors
could submit manuscripts in print and on disk for review no later than 30 August,
2008. Manuscripts should be sent to: Dr Mike Steer, RIDBC Renwick Centre, Private
Bag 29 Parramatta, NSW 2124 or email: mike.steer@ridbc.org.au
Prospective authors may obtain a copy of JSPEVI’s Notes for Contributors
from the above address.
Tamarico, distributes a funny ABC-book with Braille and printed drawings and texts. Each letter of the alphabet is illustrated by an animal and by the letter and the name of the animal in Braille. Each animal is also represented by a drawing (with colours) and by the same drawing in relief. That means that each element of information is available in several ways: printed words, Braille, drawings, relief. The book introduces seeing children to Braille and will allow them to discover some animals using their fingers only. Several kindergarten classrooms in Belgium have already tested the book and used it with success. This ABC-book is available in English, French, German and Dutch and is available from http://tamarico.com/index.php?page=abc-book-the-alphabet-book
From Denise: A good resource for teaching handwriting and computer skills is the series called “Hands-On Handwriting, including computer keyboarding skills”. A McGraw Hill publication, Hands-On Handwriting is a series of seven books that has been developed to teach Victorian Infant Cursive Handwriting and basic computer skills to children from Prep to Year 6. The series introduces keyboarding skills in a measured way, teaching young children how to navigate the keyboard and use special keys such as capslock. There is also a checklist in the back so you can assess the student’s level of skill development. There are some copies in the Resource Centre or you can purchase for $10.00 from Landmark Books. The Landmarks web site is at http://www.elandmark.com.au/
Thanks to Annette Godfrey-Magee, Marion Blazé, Deb Lewis, Tricia d'Apice and Denise Probert and all those who contributed to this edition of The Bulletin. Thanks also to the fabulous team of proof-readers, stuffers and mailers.