The Bulletin
Statewide Vision Resource Centre
Number 20, Friday 13th December 2002

The following issue of The Bulletin - the final one for 2002 - was prepared by Deb Lewis (Statewide Vision Resource Centre).

Inside This Issue

- Technology Seminars - Report
- Great Victorian Bike Ride - Report
- Guide Dogs Program 2003
- Eastern Region Bowling Excursion
- Electronic Texts
- Suggestions for Teaching Writing with Slate and Stylus
- Message from GDV
- GDV Xmas Party, Skiing at Mt Baw Baw
- Clicker 4 and PowerPoint Resources
- Funding Submissions
- Resilience
- Wanted to Sell
- Staff and Student News
- SPEVI Conference
- In the News!

Technology Seminars - Report

The SVRC Technology Seminars which were held earlier this week were attended by 22 Visiting Teachers (with all regions except Gippsland represented), 10 members of school communities or interested others, and 2 parents. With a technology focus, presenters led us through the intricacies of new digital technologies eg e-texts and MP3 format, the exciting new features of Mimio - a device which captures anything from the whiteboard and saves or transfers to your laptop, BrailleNote which now includes optional GPS and Closed Circuit technology including Flipper which can be used for near work and as a distance aid and viewed either on your laptop or your television screen.

Feedback included:

- A very good program - very relevant to the work of the VT. Venue is great - handy for returning/collecting resources. Catering was also very good.
- Great organization. Great food. Most informative. Inspirational as to what to try with students.
- It was my first time at anything like this and I learned a lot!

Space Camp: The Video

A little light relief was provided by a 6 minute video of Space Camp which I pieced together using i-movie on a borrowed Apple Mac. One participant offered the following feedback: "perhaps spend more time at another PD Day explaining what happened etc." I am more than happy to spend time with anyone (parents, Visiting Teachers, funding bodies, other members of the community) talking about Space Camp - please call 9841 0242 and make a time to discuss it, view the video etc.

Handouts

If you missed out on the BrailleNote handout, please call and we'll post you one.

Audio Tapes

Audio tapes were made of the following sessions:
- Teaching Technology to Blind Students: an Es-Student's perspective - Chris Baillie
- New Technology in Audio Books: CDs and MP3 - Harry Mickalopoulos
- Dragon Naturally Speaking: Voice Activated Software - Rick Lake
- Mimio: A whiteboard with 'Captures' to your Computer - Tim Heap
- What's New from Quantum Technology? - Trevor Boyd

Please call the SVRC to order a copy.

9 Days on the Great Victorian Bike Ride - We Made It!!!

Jeni Blake (Visiting Teacher, Southern Metropolitan Region) and I accompanied two students - Ben from Ballarat and Nathan from Mordialloc - on a 590km odyssey across Victoria! We started close to the South Australian border in the historic village of Warrock. Our ride took us a hilly and sunny 35km to Casterton, with white cockatoos in the evening and black cockatoos the following morning. Hamilton was 73km away with long tall hills in each direction (up and down) - the boys didn't make it all the way - but the girls did! Then the weather turned - and the promised tail wind was a fierce headwind in which you even had to pedal down the hills or you'd be blown straight back up again! A welcome rest day in Halls Gap was followed by two cold and rainy days (some even had hail!!!) to Stawell and then to Maryborough. By Daylesford the following day, conditions were beginning to improve and the last 40 km from Hanging Rock to Sunbury was positively warm again!

The two boys did a magnificent job of riding the complete distance nearly every day, managing their belongings and erecting tents each evening, whilst maintaining their senses of humour. We often had the company of Darryl and his daughter Erin who were riding a tandem bike with Darryl's 32kg guide dog 'Van' in a trailer behind.

The sense of community within the 3,000 riders on the GVBR was extraordinary, and something which, in this increasingly speedy world in which we live, is becoming increasingly difficult to find…

I can strongly recommend the Great Victorian Bike Ride as a fantastic event for students (and Visiting Teachers) who have:

- a reasonable level of fitness
- a love of camping and the great outdoors
- a desire to make new friends
- a desire to improve their organisational skills (try living out of a 20kg bag for 1½ weeks), time management (making sure you get to breakfast before the queues) and fitness level (try riding 500km+ and remaining unfit!)

The photos are all still in the shop or the camera - so hopefully we'll include some with the first edition of The Bulletin - next year! But if you want to see just how far we actually rode, just take a look in your atlas!

Thanks to Jeni Blake for organising our participation in this event for a fourth year - and for the dozen or so students who have participated over those four years, congratulations on your magnificent achievements.

Guide Dogs Victoria - 2003 Program

Attached (print copy only) is the 2003 Program Guide. It includes exciting activities such as the 'Stepping Out' Program in Jan/Feb, Tips and Techniques for Parents in June and Kitchen Skills for Children in April, June and December. Perhaps you'd like a Cane Skills Refresher - that's in May. For further details, contact the Referrals Co-ordinator Cath Caddis: (03) 9854 4567 or catherine.c@guidedogs.asn.au

Eastern Region Bowling Excursion

The Eastern Region end of term get-together was held at the Healthway Fitness Centre in Mont Albert North. There, 15 students who ranged in age from pre-schooler to year 11, bowled up a storm. It was great to see the students get on so well - particularly as there was such a wide range. Initially some were very shy - Matt and Luke were too shy to even say "hello", but by the end of the session, were firm friends! Accompanying the students were six Visiting teachers and four parents who stayed for the duration.

Above: Cameron bowls up a storm!

Above: Johanna, Keeley, Eliza

Above: New friends - Luke and Matt

Types and Sources of Electronic Texts

Lyn Robinson researched and presented a very interesting summary of types and sources of electronic texts at the SVRC Technology Seminars on 9th December 2002. You can find the summary on the SVRC website at: etexts

Suggestions for Teaching Writing with the Slate and Stylus

- Develop in the student an understanding of the value and uses of the slate and stylus through modeling prior to beginning instruction (for example, teacher uses slate and stylus to jot down feedback and grade on test).
- Use a hand-over-hand method to introduce mechanics of forming characters and contractions with the slate and stylus. Some teachers may prefer to use dot-number formations if this is the way the student learned to write with a braille writer.
- Avoid unnecessary drill and practice in forming characters and contractions. Place emphasis on communicative effectiveness and the efficiency with which successful communication takes place.
- Begin using the slate and stylus for functional writing purposes as soon as possible:

+ jotting down homework assignments
+ writing note to teacher of the visually handicapped
+ making personal list, such as, things to get at K-Mart
+ labeling personal items, such as compact discs, cassettes, clothes
+ writing name and telephone number of a friend
+ taking notes in a class
+ jotting short note or letter to a blind friend
+ signing a birthday card or other greeting cards
+ writing recipes and labeling canned goods.

- Incorporate use of the slate and stylus throughout the school day and into the evening. Start with tasks that do not require a high degree of accuracy (such as making personal lists) and move toward those that do require accuracy (for example, jotting down a telephone number).
- As instruction advances, place emphasis on developing speed for note-taking purposes. Prior instruction in note taking on the braille writer is necessary. Again, avoid overemphasis on accuracy.
- Practice note-taking skills from a cassette recording of a class lecture.
- Discuss with the student the difference between writing for personal uses in which accuracy and neatness are judged by the writer himself or herself and writing for others in which accuracy and neatness are judged by others.
- Discuss with the student the tasks for which the slate and stylus should be used and those tasks for which another mode of writing is more appropriate. For example, a computer word-processing program would be more appropriate for completing a term paper.
- Reinforce student's appropriate selection of one mode of writing over other options. If an inappropriate selection of a writing mode is made, use problem-solving techniques with the student to gain an appreciation for use of an alternative mode.
- Incorporate study of personal contractions for note taking with the slate and stylus as student progresses into high school.
- Familiarize the student with a variety of different types of slate and stylus instruments and their uses (for example, one-liner for labeling).

Source: Rex, E.J. Koenig, A.J. Wormsley, D.P. & Baker, R.L. Foundations of Braille Literacy. AFB Press, New York, 1995.

Message from Children's Mobility Services: GDV

Many thanks to the children, parents, Visiting Teachers and Integration Aides who have supported the Children's Mobility Service programs throughout 2002.

This year we have run a number of new programs including the VCE Weekend, Big Night Out and the program in Sydney. It is pleasing for us to see that programs are received so enthusiastically and that they are supported so well.

We look forward to continuing to develop and expand the Children's Mobility Service while maintaining the current range of Orientation and Mobility programs. All programs seek to offer students the opportunity to participate in programs and activities which seek to consolidate and extend their skills. The programs also provide an excellent chance for students to meet with their peers.

Guide Dogs Xmas Party & Kris Kringle

The Children's Mobility Service Christmas Party to be held on December 17 at 12 noon at the Guide Dogs Victoria Campus in Kew. Students, their families and Visiting Teachers and Integration Aides are all welcome to attend. Please contact Dean Johnson on 9854 4506 if you want more details.

Interesting Camp Idea: Skiing at Mt Baw Baw

We have been approached by members of the RVIB Ski Club who are keen to promote their venue as for use by students. The cost seems reasonable - $30 per person for the lodge. Food and transport would be extra. There are 4 rooms, sleeping between 3 and 6 people each. Mt Baw Baw is the closest ski resort to Melbourne - just 2½ hours away. Please let me know if this is of interest and we'll go ahead and plan something.

Clicker 4 and PowerPoint Resource Materials

The following information was sent by Gerry Kennedy.

Locate and download a "How to" guide for Clicker 4:
www.ace-centre.org.uk/download/ClickerV2b.pdf

There is also a "How to" Guide for making PowerPoint books and resources. And another site for downloading some useful ready-made books. Ideal for parents to know about! Go to:
www.ace-centre.org.uk/download/Powerpoint%20V3.pdf

Another site with ready-made PowerPoint stories to download can be found here:
http://www.wati.org/LAPOT.HTM
One story appears to centre around the selection of a Christmas tree and decorating it.

2003 Funding Submissions

Principals will be receiving their copy of the school's global budget funding shortly, if they haven't received them already. Included with this information is usually an attachment application form for partially sighted students on the Visiting Teacher Service for the Vision Impaired to apply for communication equipment (closing approximately the first Friday in February).

To assist those making submissions, quotes from two companies for Acer TravelMate Notebooks have been included for Visiting Teachers with this edition of The Bulletin, one from 'Learning with Technologies' and the other from 'Histar Invotek Group'. Normally, submissions require three quotes - so you will just need to approach your local computer store for the third one. Of the attached models, the ACER TravelMate 270 series appears the best value and has adequate memory to run JAWS or other enlarging or talking software.

Resilience

Characteristics of Families That Work Well

1. Spontaneous & curious. Parents need to model good mental health and how to lead lives that are fulfilling and joyful, and how to make mistakes and to get over them.
2. High degree of emotional independence that allows individuals to be loved and different. Families need to have a playful quality, in which individuals can play at different roles and feel comfortable to be themselves.
3. Clear family structure - parents need to be in charge! Families work best as "benevolent dictatorships" in which the parents consult the children but make most of the decisions. Parents need to work together as a team and need to resist manipulation.
4. Teach self-esteem skills - individuals are praised a lot, self-praise skills are taught. These skills are important for high academic performance.
5. Teach how to fight fair. Parents need to teach children how to resolve differences of opinion within the family, so that they can use these skills in the outside world.
6. Maintain family rituals, such as birthdays, anniversaries and other special events. These celebrations give a family a sense of progression through life and act against blandness and boredom.
7. Perceive the world very clearly & are able to accept their own feelings. Important to accept that everyone has positive and negative aspects.
8. High level of emotional support from a clear belief system enables them to cope with change. 9. Important to draw strength and meaning from a belief system that puts day to day issues into perspective.
10. Consistent, reliable yet unpredictable. Parents need to be reliably unpredictable, to keep their children interested in learning from them.

Source: Fuller, Andrew (1998) From Surviving To Thriving: Promoting Mental Health In Young People

Reference List for Parents of Adolescents

Balson, Maurice - Becoming Better Parents
Bennett, David - Growing pains
Bluestein, Jane - Parents, teens and boundaries
Cline, Foster & Fay, Jim - Parenting teens with love and logic
Covey, Sean - The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens
Covey, Stephen - The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Families
Fuller, Andrew - Raising Real People: A Guide For Parents Of Teenagers
McIntyre, Roger - Teenagers and parents

All these books are available to purchase from: Peoplemaking, 375 Camberwell Rd Camberwell 3124 tel: 9813 2533; web: www.peoplemaking.com.au

These books may also be available from your local library. Remember that you may request that a book be purchased by the library.

Wanted to Sell

Jeni Blake is keen to sell a brand new Targus Deluxe Back Pack, suitable for carrying laptop and books etc. Apparently, the guarantee applies for the life of the bag! Retails for $149 - Jeni is keen to sell for $125. Call Jeni on 0428 134660.

Braille Course Completed

Congratulations to Michelle Wilson from Rutherglen Primary School for completing the SVRC Literary Braille Course by Correspondence. Great effort! Michelle works with two brailling students at Rutherglen Primary School and in a couple of years, 'number three' will be starting school too!

Student News

There must be student news out there somewhere - call and let us know!

SPEVI Conference 2003

The SPEVI Conference to be held in Brisbane over the holidays looks excellent - see the website for further details: http://www.icms.com.au/spevi2003/

A few folks from the DE&T Visiting Teacher Service - Carolyn Mentiplay, Faye Squires and Deb Lewis will be attending and will hopefully bring back the latest to share with the network upon our return!
If you are going, we'll see you there!

SPEVI Conference in Melbourne 2005

Do you know about SPEVI? Do you know the SPEVI conference will be in Melbourne in 2005? Do you want to be involved in a new and exciting project? Do you want to put something impressive on your CV?

SPEVI is OUR professional organization. 'The South Pacific Educators of the Vision Impaired' is a professional organization of educators of VI kids and adults. The organization distributes a newsletter and journal, holds regular meetings on topics of interest in each state/territory/country and holds a conference every two years, hosted by a state/territory/country in the South Pacific region. The 2003 conference is in Queensland and it is hoped the 2007 conference will be in Fiji!!

Deb Lewis and Marion Blazé are on the conference organizing committee, together with other VTs, and RVIB, Carronbank and St Paul's personnel. The theme for the 2005 conference is "Facing Challenges: Families and Educators". We are going to need LOTS OF HELP to host this conference. Deb and I (Marion) would really like to make this conference one which you will all want to attend. To do this we need as much of your involvement as humanly possible. We currently need more people for the organizing committee and down the track will need help with running social events, ideas for speakers, writing letters for raising funds, organizing AV technology, etc. etc. etc.

Please speak to Deb or Marion if you have an interest or a suggestion. We also want to involve same parents in the organization of the conference (fair enough, considering the theme!), so if you can put us in contact with anyone, please do so!

Oooh Look! We're in the News Again

The 28 November edition of the AEU News featured an article about the Statewide Vision Resource Centre with photos from Braille Games Day and Space Camp. The article states, "Many classroom teachers are probably unaware of this group of quiet achievers and its profound impact upon the .01 per cent of the student population who are vision impaired... For teachers who suspect they might be dealing with a student with vision impairments there's plenty of useful material online. Lyn Robinson is the centre's website editor and she suggests a visit to the 'Tips for Teachers' site as a starting point."

Finally

Just a few more days to go… you've finished all your reports, you've tidied your offices (or even moved in the case of Lee and Jeni in Southern Region) and you've done those Chrissy things with your kids, schools and colleagues... It's nearly time to drive off home for a well-deserved break. The weather will improve, you will have time to start a project, stick your feet up or read a book… So enjoy! Have a great break and a lovely Christmas. See you in the new year. Cheers from Deb Lewis and the staff of the Statewide Vision Resource Centre.

And please note: The SVRC will be open most of the holidays for those of you who just can't stay away - but call before you come - and we'll be sure to put out the welcome mat!

If you have something you would like included in The Bulletin, contact:

Deb Lewis (who can be emailed at deblewis@svrc.vic.edu.au).

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