The following issue of The Bulletin was prepared by Deb Lewis (Statewide Vision Resource Centre).
Inside This Issue
- Professional Development 2001
- Braille Proficiency Certificate
- Student Needed for Short Film
- Disability Info Line
- Mountbatten Day Report
- Space Camp - More News
- Collins Large Print Dictionaries
- VAPVI Newsletter
- Large Coloured Cursors
- JAWS Basic Training Tapes - Free Download
- Christmas Suggestions
- Internet on Your Laptop
- Celebration of Ability Sculpture
- Sun Smart Over Summer
Professional Development
Monday 10 December: Expo 1pm - 6.30pm
Monday 10 December: SPEVI Christmas Drinks - SVRC 6pm
ABA Braille Proficiency Certificate
The ABA National Executive wish to advise that the next Australian Braille
Authority Braille Proficiency Certificate Exam will take place in the either
the last week of January or the first week of February, 2002. Test results
will be available by the April 2002 ABA meeting (held during the Round
Table Conference).
The practice paper for the early 2002 Proficiency test will be available
in the near future. In order to receive the practice test, please register
your intent to sit the exam with either myself or Josie Howse. The test
paper will be dispatched to individuals upon receipt of the registration
fee of $25.00.
If you wish to register your intent to sit the 2002 ABA Braille Proficiency
Test, please forward your cheque for $25.00, payable to the Australian
Braille Authority, to Frances Gentle, Secretary,
Australian Braille Authority, PO Box 582, Wahroonga NSW, 2076
Contact Frances Gentle on francesg@start.com.au/.
Student Needed for Short Film
Film maker, Emma Freeman is looking to make a short film where the story
focuses on a young boy with a vision impairment. She is looking for a student
who is between the ages of 6-11 years. The filming has been scheduled for
Saturday 8 & Sunday 9 December and will take place at one location.
Emma can be contacted on (03) 9525 0131 or emmafreeman@iprimus.com.au/.
Kaye Jones of Guide Dogs Association of Victoria can also be contacted
regarding this project on (03) 9854 4444.
Disability Info Line
Disability Information Victoria is operated by Vision Australia Foundation in partnership with the Association for Children with a Disability and Sausage Business Solutions, and funded by the Department of Human Services. It includes loads of information including Facts on Disability, Terms and Acronyms, Services, News and Events, Frequently Asked Questions, Hints and Tips, Financial Assistance etc. You can find this information on the website at http://www.disabilityinfo.org.au or by calling 1300 650865.
Mountbatten Day for Beginners - Report
Twenty four participants joined us at the Statewide Vision Resource
Centre for "Mountbatten Day for Beginners" in Term 4, 2001. Included in
the group were integration aides, teachers, therapists, Visiting Teachers
and parents from around the state, including Burwood, Ashwood, Morang South,
Frankston North, Comet Hill, Werribee, and Bendigo.
Presenter, Trevor Boyd from Quantum Technology, provided yet another
fun- and information-filled day for all. The Mountbatten Easy Guide and
Workshop Notes, produced by Quantum Technology were very well-received
and will prove to be very valuable resources for all Mountbatten users.
Some comments from participants included:
- well paced, great presentation
- the training manual was very easy to follow - a very helpful session
- I love the reference material - it is very well set out - thank you
- Trevor is so calm and patient!
Trevor encourages teachers and aides to make full use of the Mountbatten
in the classroom environment. Ideas to foster use of the Mountbatten by
both brailling and sighted students include:
- braille riddles or questions and answers for students to read
- use the Mountbatten to braille shapes and pictures eg heart shape,
person etc
- braille a border around student work
- as a decoding activity, braille a list of the student's names and
have them identify their own name and the names of their classmates
- bring in objects with braille labelling - McDonalds drink cups, cosmetics,
tupperware etc
See this report and more pictures on the website - go to http://www.svrc.vic.edu.au/MBDay2001.htm/.
Space Camp - More News
The following information was provided by intrepid Space Camper,
Bry:
Space Camp for the Visually Impaired is held once a year. It is a five
day program for visually impaired students from around the world about
space and science, based at the Space and Rocket Centre in Huntsville,
Alabama. When I attended this program in September this year, I learnt
more about 13 people including myself from the Gagarin team then I ever
thought imaginable, not to mention space history and science.
The highlight of Space camp was the extended duration mission (EDM).
This is a mission that takes 6 hours, it is done in Mission Control, the
Space Station or the Orbiter. I was part of the Payload Specialist track
who are the scientists and doctors of the mission. My specific position
was the Space Station Principle Investigator in Mission Control. My job
was to communicate with the Space Station and help their crew solve buzzer
and medical anomalies. I was also required to attend to medical anomalies
in Mission Control. Among dealing with an epileptic fit and an electric
shock I managed to help others overcome difficulties with communication
breakdowns.
Not only did I learn about people and science, Area 51 a team building
course of activities helped me improve leadership and communication skills.
Despite my attempts no one will ever be able to understand the fun
that our group of Aussie travellers and our three outstanding chaperones
had when we went on the adventure of a life time.
More News from Space Camper, Michael:
Space Camper, Michael has featured in the Maroondah Secondary College Science
News 'Young Einstein Gazette' describing his experiences at Space Camp. He said:
"In the six hour mission, my task was to repair a hole in the spacecraft caused
by asteroids colliding with the craft. The repair was necessary to prevent the
escape of pressurized oxygen from the craft. We also had to perform experiments.
There was one experiment which I did where I had to make a polymer which I thought
was really funny, because it was a really weird material. I haven't seen anything
quite like it. Basically, it was very hard, but jelly like, which appeared to
be a solid, but if you walked away, it would be all spread out in a big puddle,
but it was quite solid."
Collins Easy Learning Large Print Bilingual Dictionaries
The Easy Learning Dictionaries are produced for learners of French, German and Spanish. They include verb tables listing the main forms of common irregular verbs and also usage notes of difficult grammatical areas. Produced in two A4-sized volumes using 18point Helvetica print, they are available from RNIB for £23.99 each plus postage and handling. Email cservices@rnib.org.uk/.
Information Newsletter from VAPVI: 1-11-2001
(Victorian Association of Parents of Children with a Vision Impairment)
Victorian parents have made a further step in establishing a support
group for parents of children with a vision impairment. On the 25th of
October 2001 at a meeting held at the RVIB Burwood, 10 Parents nominated
for positions on the committee of the Victorian Association of Parents
of children with a Vision Impairment (VAPVI).
On the 10th July 2001 Quantum Technologies and the RVIB organized an
information evening at RVIB in Burwood with Susan La Venture, Executive
Director of the National Association for Parents of Children with Vision
Impairments (NAPVI) USA. Susan was sponsored by Quantum Technologies to
visit Australia. Susan spoke about the growth and influence of her group,
which is now highly recognized at community and government levels. Susan
was very generous with her offer to help establish any such groups in Australia.
This meeting inspired a group of parents to pursue the establishment of
a much needed Victorian support group for the parents of children with
vision impairment.
The initial objective of the group was to contact as many parents as
possible, and make them aware of the proposed support group and nomination
evening to form the first committee. The parent group received help from
organizations such as the RVIB, BCA, and the SVRC to name some. Messages
of encouragement and support have also been strong from parents throughout
Victoria.
At the committee nomination and information evening held on the 25th
October 2001, speakers discussed the objectives of the support group, and
some parents shared personal stories regarding their vision impaired child.
Question time was active and a sense of enthusiasm was noticeable. An understanding
of the issues surrounding vision impairment needs was felt by everyone.
The vision of the support group is to help parents by providing information,
developing a membership referral base of parents and organizations, improving
education standards, and actively assisting service providers. The group
will be able to support families early in diagnosis, and be a voice throughout
the educational life of the child.
VAPVI would like to thank everyone that has helped spread the news
of their existence, and distributed the questionnaire data-form, which
enables the group to contact parents. VAPVI have been receiving a steady
stream of completed questionnaires, and will continue to build their membership
base.
VAPVI welcome any inquiries regarding their membership or continuing
developments. If anyone would like to become registered on their data-base
please send your contact details to the address below.
All inquires can be made to:
Michael & Ingrid Siles
Ph 03 9849 0900
Email: silesmi@bigpond.com
PO Box 638, Box Hill, Victoria, 3128.
Large Coloured Cursors
Lyn has copies of large and coloured cursors which might suit some of
your students. They come from Brenda Stewart Coordinator - Technology Specialist,
Illinois School for the Visually Impaired as a zip file. You can have your
free copy via email or Lyn can help you install them on your computer!
Contact Lyn on 9841 0242 or lynrobin@svrc.vic.edu.au
JAWS 4.0 Basic Training Tapes - Free Download!
The JAWS Basic Training Tapes have been included, free of charge, with
each purchase of JAWS. They are now available as an MP3 version of the
content of these tapes, and will be included on the JAWS program CD. These
tutorials are also available as a free downloadable file from the Quantum
website.
Download Instructions
To download JAWS Basic Training Tapes MP3 files, go to www.freedomscientific.com
then Tutorials and then:
1. Locate the link to the file and press ENTER.
2. Select to save the file to disk.
3. Note the name of the folder to which the file is being saved.
4. Once the file or files you want to listen to are downloaded, open
Windows Explorer and locate the folder to which the files were saved.
The files are self extracting zip files, each one containing one MP3
file. When you locate one of the downloaded files and press ENTER to run
it, the MP3 file is copied from within it. You are prompted to specify
the folder to which the file is to be extracted. If you do not specify
a folder, the file is extracted to your default temporary folder. (Such
as C:\Windows\Temp\.)
To listen to the file, locate it and press ENTER to start it. You must
have an MP3 player installed, such as RealPlayer, WinAmp, or Windows Media
Player.
The Basic Training Tapes Files
The following JAWS Basic Training Tutorials are available
Tape One: Installing JAWS, Authorization, Registration; Starting JAWS,
The JAWS for Windows User Interface, JAWS Help
Tape Two: An Introduction to Windows, Including The Desktop, Start
Menu, Taskbar; Windows Explorer, The Recycle Bin, The Windows Find Dialog,
Windows Control Panel
Tape Three: Windows Taskbar Properties, Windows Help, An Introduction
to HJPad, Including General Application Layout, Using Menus, Navigating
a Document, Creating a Document, Sample Dialogs
Tape Four: Formatting a Document in HJPad, Using Find and Replace in
HJPad, Using the Spell Checker in HJPad, Printing a Document Created in
HJPad and Using the Windows Clipboard
Tape Five: An Introduction to the JAWS Managers, Dictionary Manager,
Graphics Labeller, Introducing Internet Explorer, Contact Information for
Freedom Scientific Blind Low Vision Group.
If you would like to listen to these Training Tutorials, we have a
copy at the SVRC - contact Deb Lewis on (03) 9841 0242.
Christmas Suggestions
Lea Philp has some great ideas for toys for students with low vision:
1. Number Detective - Ravensberger spelling game - $37.50
2. Junior Labyrinth - Ravensberger - $34.90
3. Learning Can Be Fun - Words to Sound Bingo - $34.95
4. Snap - $12.90
5. Holda Card - holds up to 20 cards, will stand on the table or flat
surface - $9.00
6. Magnitic Linking Letters - $34
These toys and more are available from 'Childsplay' 151 Queens Parade,
Clifton Hill 3068
Tel (03) 9489 7037
Need Help Getting the Internet Connected to Your Laptop?
Lyn is very happy to assist those of you who are still struggling to
get the internet connected to your laptops - please call
9841 0242 to make a time!
Celebration of Ability People Sculpture
The following information was sent by Robin Paul, Project Manager -
Celebration of Ability People Sculpture.
To celebrate International Day of People with a DisAbility all are
welcome on Sunday 2 December for the Celebration Of Ability People Sculpture.
To make this event memorable we are aiming for at least 2,000 people
of all abilities to join the people sculpture and form the Celebration
of Ability logo by the Yarra River. This will be photographed from above
(a blimp!), and made into a postcard.
Where:
Polly Woodside forecourt, adjacent to the Melbourne Exhibition and
Convention Centre (Ferrars Street South Melbourne)
When:
Sunday 2 December from 11.30am to 1.30pm
What to wear:
Orange or black clothing - the Celebration of Ability colours
How do I get there?
Public transport Tram numbers 12, 96 and 109
Trains from Spencer Street Station
Parking in Ferrars Street and MECC parking station
For further information, contact Arts Access:
Ph: (03) 9699 8299 Fax: (03) 9699 8868
Being Sun Smart this Summer!!! (Especially for students with Albinism)
Here is a GREAT idea from one of our mums whose son has albinism and
needs to apply sunscreen frequently whilst outdoors. Here is her solution:
- Sunscreen can be purchased in bulk from the supermarket - choose
a sunscreen with a high SPF factor eg SPF30+.
- Save all your old roll-on deodorant containers. Remove the ball with
a spoon or knife, taking care not to damage the opening. Thoroughly clean
the container and the ball with mild soap. Remove the labelling. Refill
the container with sunscreen.
- A roll-on container is small enough to easily fit in a pocket or
bag and can therefore be with the student at all times.
- Any deodorant container can be used, though some (eg Rexona, Mitchum)
have a screw-off top, which is easier to remove and clean.
- Some balls are larger than others - allowing more sunscreen to be
rolled out.
- Only 1/3 fill the roll-on container - if it gets lost, only a small
amount of sunscreen is lost - and the container was free anyway!
If you have something you would like included in The Bulletin, contact:
Deb Lewis (who can be emailed at deblewis@svrc.vic.edu.au).