This issue was edited by Lyn Robinson, Resource Teacher, Statewide Vision Resource Centre.
Visiting Teacher Professional Development Day Wednesday 13 August at The Statewide
Vision Resource Centre
To see the annual program and to download programs for professional development
activities, go to: http://www.visiontech.svrc.vic.edu.au/pd2008.htm
IBM launched on Tuesday an application that seeks to harness the power and time of Internet users around the globe to make the Web more accessible to the visually impaired.
Many blind or partially sighted users run screen reading software that describes the content of a Web page but often encounter problems. The screen readers rely on text or descriptive tags to explain the items on a page but these are often added as an after thought or are incomplete.
Using the new IBM software users can report these problems to a central database and ask for additional descriptive text to be added to a site. Other Internet users that want to contribute can then check the database, select one of the submitted problems and "start fixing it" by added text labels.
The additional information isn't incorporated into the original site's HTML
code but into a metadata file that is loaded each time a visually impaired user
subsequently visits the site.
"This idea came from my own experience with inaccessible Web sites,"
said Chieko Asakawa, a researcher at IBM in Tokyo who led a six-person team
on development of the software. Asakawa is blind herself so knows well the problems
of navigating the Web and its increasing rich multimedia pages.
"As users we face a lot of problems everyday but currently we don't have
any mechanism to report what we have found. Every day we find images without
alternative text (the text description of an image that usually accompanies
it in the HTML code) but there is no way for me to say 'I want to have a description
for this image.' It's a simple motivation but if we can report this kind of
problem without difficulty and have it easily understood by sighted people I
think it's going to be great."
IBM began offering the software from Tuesday as a beta release through its AlphaWorks
Web site.
The software for blind or partially sighted users runs with Internet Explorer
and the "Jaws" screen reader while the software for supporters of
the project is available as a plug-in for Firefox. It runs in English or Japanese.
Demonstrating the system, Asakawa typed in the address for the White House Web site and soon found problems. While the site appears to have been designed with accessibility in mind, the headings at the top of the three main columns had no data attached that would allow her screen-reading software to make sense of what they were.
A couple of key presses brought up a box into which Asakawa typed her request for headings, which was then entered into the database. Upon finding the request, a user could enter the desired headings quickly and, later when checked again, the navigation was made a little easier with the additional metadata.
Looking ahead, Asakawa said she hopes the project will be expanded to help
users with other disabilities including those who are deaf, hard of hearing
or have motor disabilities.
"We started from a small group but to make this project successful and
to make information accessible we really need to collaborate with the community,"
she said. "Our goal is to expand the applicability of this project."
By Martyn Williams, New York Times, July 8, 2008
Source:http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_852573C4006938800025747F007CBD5E.html?scp=1&sq=IBM%20software&st=cse
For the past couple of months we have been lucky enough to have the talented and creative Taryn working in the Braille department. She has been busy producing some wonderful tactual braille books. Ready to go out on SHORT TERM LOAN (no more than a month please) are:
Roman tragedian Seneca (4 BC–AD 65) is said to have read “all the books in Rome” by peering through a glass globe of water. A thousand years later, presbyopic monks used segments of glass spheres that could be laid against reading material to magnify the letters, basically a magnifying glass, called a "reading stone."
In the Middle Ages wearing spectacles signified knowledge and learning. Painters of the time often included spectacles when portraying famous persons even when depicting people who lived before the known invention of spectacles. On numerous paintings the religious teacher Sofronius Eusebius Hieronymus (340 - 420 AD) is portrayed with a lion, a skull and a pair of reading glasses. He is the patron saint of spectacle makers.
It actually is true that eating carrots can help you see better. Carrots contain Vitamin A, which feeds the chemicals that the eye shafts and cones are made of. The shafts capture black and white vision. The cones capture colour images.
The oldest known lens was found in the ruins of ancient Nineveh and was made
of polished rock crystal.
In 1718, Edward Scarlett, a London optician, put arms on eyeglasses to hold
them on the ears.
About one person in 30 is colour blind.
More men than women are affected by colour blindness.
Healthy eyes are so sensitive to light that a candle burning in the dark can
be detected 1.6km away. The human eye can distinguish about 10 million different
colours.
There currently is no machine that can achieve this remarkable feat.
Source: http://www.didyouknow.cd/spectacles.htm
Helen Caldow is, again, kindly organising Car Camp this year and it will take place in early December 2008. Students in Department of Education and Early Childhood Development schools aged 14 years + are eligible to attend this camp.
If students attending non-government and Catholic schools would like to participate
in this program, they are more than welcome - but they will need to arrange
their own paperwork, transport and supervision.
The cost will be approximately $160 - cheques payable to "Heatherwood School".
To discuss your participation in Car Camp 2008 please contact Helen on 0409
381723 or email caldow.
helen.f@edumail.vic.gov.au
The question for the braille competition was “Can you think of a word of nine letters made up of four single-cell contractions?” And the winner is… Ramona, for the word, “showering”. Congratulations Ramona you have won our Braille Puzzle Competition and the prize of a memory stick.
Term IV – SPEVI Day
The first day of Term IV is our “combined agencies” PD Day.
Date: Monday, October 6, 8.30am to 4.30pm
Venue: Vision Australia, 454 Glenferrie Rd, Kooyong
Theme: Prematurity: implications for vision impairment, development and learning
Cost: $44 for members, $55 for non-members
Download program details and registration form (word
document)
Please contact your SPEVI Victorian Counsellors if you would like more information:
Lil Deverell: Orientation & Mobility Instructor with Guide Dogs Victoria.
Phone: 03 9854 4444 Mobile: 0418 370 312 or email lil.d@guidedogsvictoria.com.au
Garry Stinchcombe: Assistant Head of School, Vision Australia School. Phone:03
9808 6422 Mobile:0419 528 180 or email garry.stinchcombe@visionaustralia.org
Marion Blazé: Education Officer for Vision, Statewide Vision Resource
Centre, Department of Education & Early Childhood Development. Phone: 03
9841 0807
Mobile: 0409 860 251 or email marionblaze@svrc.vic.edu.au
• Assessment of Writing and Spelling
Topics include: Developmental Stages in Writing and Spelling; VELS Progressions
Points; Analysing Children’s Writing; Assessing Spelling to Inform Teaching
Presented by Debbie Sukarna at Darebin Arts & Entertainment Centre Saturday
16th August
• Strategies for Success with Non-fiction
Topics include: Shared Reading of Non-fiction; Features of non-fiction texts;
strategies to deepen comprehension; comprehending visual texts.
Presented by David Hornsby & Debbie Sukarna at Darebin Arts & Entertainment
Centre. Saturday 6 September, 2008
• Reading Assessment-the how, what and why!
Topics include: Read and Retell; The four H’s of Comprehension; Assessment
of phonological awareness; Assessment of letter knowledge and graphophonic connections;
VELS and NAPLAN.
Presented by David Hornsby & Debbie Sukarna at Darebin Arts & Entertainment
Centre. Saturday 25 October, 2008.If you would like the flyers and registration
details for these PD activities please phone Dianne on 03 9841 0242.
Quantum Events, a technology display, will be taking place in Melbourne over a six week period. Explore the latest in technology from Quantum at the following locations:
• NORTHCOTE
Friday 22nd August 2008, 10am—3pm Northcote RSL, 496 High St, NORTHCOTE
• YARRAVILLE
Friday 29th August 2008, 10am—3pm The Yarraville Club, 135 Stephens St,
YARRAVILLE
• MALVERN
Friday 12th September 2008, 10am—3pm East Malvern RSL, Ellison St (off
Stanley Grose Dr), MALVERN
• GEELONG
Friday 19th September 2008, 10am—3pm Buckley’s, 54 Fellmongers Road,
GEELONG
• KILSYTH
Friday 26th September 2008 Kilsyth Club, Canterbury Room, Cnr Canterbury &
Colchester Rds, NORTH BAYSWATER
For more information please contact Lexie Challi, Quantum Technology, Phone:
02 8844 9834 Fax: 02 9684 4717 Email: lchallis@quantumtechnology.com.au
The Toyota Paralympic Talent Search Program is an initiative of the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC). Its main goal is to identify people with physical disabilities and vision impairments who display the athletic potential to one day make it to Paralympic level competition. A secondary goal is to help introduce people with disabilities to enter into regular sport and physical activities.
The Paralympic Talent Search day is only open to people with disabilities which would enable them to participate in events currently on the Paralympic Games schedule. This includes but is not limited to amputees, people with cerebral palsy, limb deficiencies, people in wheelchairs and people who are blind or have vision impairments.
All age groups are welcome to participate in the program however it is difficult to provide specific pathway advice to younger participants.
General sport tests and activities are conducted, plus some sport specific tests for sports that are on the Paralympic program, e.g. archery, athletics, boccia, cycling, equestrian, CP football, goalball, judo, powerlifting, rowing, sailing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis and wheelchair rugby.
Participants are encouraged to take part in all activities. Sport specific
testing is dependent on coach availability. Therefore we are unable to guarantee
that sport specific testing in all PPP sports will be available at all Talent
Search Days.
The APC will forward results from the Talent Search day to coaches from these
sports for their information. If you require further information on any of these
sports, please go to www.paralympic.org.au.
Participants are required to complete a registration form prior to attending
the day. Registration forms are available from www.paralympic.org.au
For more information phone Tim Matthews on 03 9614 6800 or email Tim at tim.matthews@paralympic.org.au
. Directions and final information will be provided to all registered participants
one week prior to the day.
Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Graeme Innes AM, today congratulated the Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot, on announcing funding to assist 12 cinemas to provide access features for the many thousands of Australians who are currently not able to fully enjoy the cinema experience.
Minister Elliot is providing funding for 12 independent cinemas to purchase the technology to allow for captioning and audio description of films. Captioning provides access to films for more than one in six Australians and audio description, which provides background information on what is taking place on the screen, will benefit the more than 600,000 Australians who are blind or have a vision impairment.
“The Minister’s announcement recognises the fact that as our population gets older more and more of us will need captioning and audio description to continue to enjoy things we take for granted like TV and cinema,” said Commissioner Innes.
“This announcement will be welcomed by the community as it will increase the current availability of cinema access by more than 100%,” said Commissioner Innes. “In the longer term I would want to see all cinemas provide access for every Australian and look forward to the outcomes of the Governments investigation into Media Access currently underway.”
Captioned films are only available in 10 cinemas throughout Australia at the moment following an agreement 5 years ago between the three major exhibitors; Greater Union, Hoyts and Village and organisations representing deaf people and people with a vision impairment.
“This announcement will not only significantly improve the availability
of captions in cinemas but will also introduce audio description for the first
time”, said Commissioner Innes. “It will also extend the service
beyond the major exhibitor chains to include independents, making it more likely
that Australians with a disability will at last be able to access Australian-produced
films.”
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission News Release 25th June 2008
Source:
http://www.hreoc.gov.au/about/media/media_releases/2008/67_08.html
Are you currently studying or thinking about studying in 2009? Then you may
be able to apply for Teacher Professional Leave to further your studies.
Teachers can apply to take Teacher Professional Leave for periods ranging from
a minimum of four to a maximum of ten weeks, commencing on January 28, 2009.
Applications for Teacher Professional Leave for the 2009 school year are now
open.
Application forms should be completed and submitted to the appropriate Regional
Director by close of business 12 August 2008.For more information please refer
to the following link
https://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/Schools/Circulars/2008/s199-2008_tpl-clr.doc
Officials unveiled the prototype of the first U.S. coin with readable Braille characters on Wednesday, a silver dollar commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille, the creator of the alphabet for the blind. The coin's display opened the National Federation of the Blind's annual convention in Dallas."This is going to put Braille in front of people in a very dramatic way," said Chris Danielson, a federation spokesman.
U.S. Mint director Ed Moy, federation president Marc Maurer and U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions revealed the design of the 2009 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar in front of about 1,000 people at an outdoor plaza.
The heads side of the silver dollar depicts Louis Braille with the word "Liberty"
above it.
On the back of the coin, the Braille code for the word Braille — or "Brl"
— is inscribed, above a depiction of a school-age boy reading a Braille
book with a cane resting on his arm. Behind him is a bookshelf bearing the word
"Independence."
"It really expresses the hopes, the dreams and the independent spirit," NFB Executive Director Mark Riccobono said of the design.
While all coins distributed by the U.S. Mint are distinguishable to the blind
by their size and weight, the Braille silver dollar is the first to have Braille
characters that can be read, Moy said.
The commemorative 1-ounce coin will be available in spring 2009, the 200th anniversary
of Louis Braille's birth.
The U.S. Mint will produce 400,000 of the coins. Braille was born in France
in 1809.
A $10 surcharge will be added to each coin, with money from the coin sales going
to support programs to help the blind.The group is launching one of the largest
campaigns to boost Braille literacy by doubling the number of young Braille
readers by 2015. Fewer than 10 percent of blind children are learning Braille,
NFB officials said.
Related Web Sites: National Federation of the Blind http://nfb.org
Article: By Anabelle Garay
Source:http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j7sdL1zUfJrW76TsqQVADojnZoqAD91LTN3G0
We were delighted to hear recently that student, Kieran, was a recipient of the Pierre de Coubertin Award! The Award is designed "to recognise senior secondary students who demonstrate attributes consistent with Olympism through participation and commendable behaviour in sporting activities".
Specifically,
“ATTITUDE, SPORTSMANSHIP, PRIDE, INDIVIDIUAL RESPONSIBILITY, RESPECT,
EXPRESS YOURSELF”
Kieran attended a ceremony on June 22nd at Melbourne University where former
Olympians presented the awards, shared a few anecdotes and provided a great
deal of encouragement and positive reinforcement. The award is the initiative
of the Victorian Olympic Committee and the Department of Education and Early
Childhood Development, who went to a great deal of trouble to commend and reward
the recipients' efforts, resulting in a very warm and supportive atmosphere
on the day. Congratulations Kieran from everyone at the SVRC.
It’s always great to hear of your student’s achievements so if you know of anyone who’s exploits should be applauded, please send me an email!
Congratulations also, to Jenny McKenzie, Lyn Petty, Nola Houghton and Zhi Jin who have successfully applied for positions in the braille department. They join Sue Sharp, Jackie Murphy, Toni Chilton and Maria Elford as part of the on-going team in the braille room.
The Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year Committee has announced pod slurping as the Word of the Year 2007 from the new words selected for inclusion in the annual update of the Macquarie Dictionary Online. For those of us wondering what “pod slurping” is, here is the definition:
pod slurping-noun- the downloading of large quantities of
data to an MP3 player or memory stick from a computer. “In this increasingly
tech-savvy world we live in, it seems pod slurping really is the new memory
bank for us busy bees. Why carry around vast reams of documents, or CDs or anything
for that matter, when you can download absolutely everything!” I thought
some Visiting Teachers would be able to relate to this one!
In another category, "The People's Choice Award", the winning word
was password fatigue. I think we can all relate to that one!
I've almost got to the stage where I need to "pod slurp" my passwords
just to remember them! Source:http://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/anonymous@9c9FFC13199875//p/dict/WOTY07/index.html
Thanks to Deb Lewis, Marion Blazé, Toni Chilton, Annette Godfrey-Magee,
Mike Steer and all those who contributed to this edition of The Bulletin.
Thanks also to the fabulous team of proof-readers, stuffers and mailers.
Lyn Robinson (who can be emailed at lynrobin@svrc.vic.edu.au).
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