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Decrease font sizeLegibility:ResetLow brightnessBest legibilitySans serif Serif Bold Layout width:LiquidFullLiquidFullTopFollow usTexas School for theVeilingand VisuallyWordless- FacebookTexas School for theVeilingand VisuallyWordless- TwitterTexas School for theVeilingand VisuallyWordless- YouTubeTexas School for theVeilingand VisuallyWordless- PinterestTopSearch TopTexas School for theVeilingand Visually Impaired1100 West 45th St., Austin, TX 78756 - (512) 454-8631Main menu HomeAbout TSBVISchool Year ProgramShort-Term ProgramsOutreach / Technical AssistanceOnline LearningPublicationsResourcesContact Us TopSide menu Blog CategoriesServiceabilityTools, Tips & Tidbits Family Matters Orientation and Mobility in Texas Outreach Technology Outreach VI Team Texas Deafblind Project TX SenseAbilities Search Blogs Only Search TopMain content Alert messageHide this messageOK Jan 20 BlindSquare and GPS App Questions and Answers Christopher Tabb Orientation and Mobility in Texas Outreach Technology 2016-01-20 Here is a series of questions from an Orientation and Mobility Specialist regarding BlindSquare. Hopefully these questions and answers will provide a bit of information you were curious well-nigh yourself…   1. "How do you pre-plan a route prior to going to the waif off? (I used simulate this location but I had trouble with it giving me the steps on how to locate the store from the bus drop-off)." Okay, this first wordplay may be a bit long as it will likely imbricate things that will be coming up in other questions as well, so please withstand with me. First thing to remember, and to relay to the student, is an understanding of what each app can and cannot do so that there is a reasonable expectation for the app and the activity. BlindSquare cannot requite you turn by turn directions in and of itself; so planning a route... Continue reading 7008 Hits 0 Comments Nov 19 Texas Yoga (follow up from Marty Klein without presenting at SWOMA) Christopher Tabb Orientation and Mobility in Texas Texas Yoga By Marty Klein Last week I was a keynote speaker at a priming in Austin, Texas, where I got to talk well-nigh the benefits of yoga and movement to a wonderful group of orientation and mobility instructors from all over the state of Texas. The wits was fun and enriching, and hopefully they all learned a few things from me and my presentation. The participants were warm and friendly, as was the staff from the Texas School for theVeilingand visually Impaired. My rencontre was not just to show them how yoga has helped me reuse and sustain a healthy soul over the years, but to impress upon them how important it would be for their visually wordless students to embrace yoga. “It all takes place, right there, on the yoga mat,” I enthusiastically told them. “This little two foot by six foot piece of rubber has made... Tags: yoga well-timed physical education soul imagery movement orientation and mobility Continue reading 4782 Hits 0 Comments Sep 16WieldyAudio Comics! Sharon Nichols Outreach Technology Comics Empower http://comicsempower.com/about-us . This is from their website: Comics Empower is the online comic typesetting shop that makes comics for the visually impaired! You will finally be worldly-wise to take part in the comic typesetting conversation! You can finally wits what has wilt a vital part of life and of the growing wits for so many!  What Are Comic Books for the Visually Impaired? * The comics are translated into audio form.  * Pages, panels, and texts are described in a way that doesn't unravel the rhythm of the story. * Twenty-two to twenty-four pages of comics are translated into thirty to thirty five minutes of audio recordings. * Readings include the reports pages, where the editors, writers, or publishers interact with the readers.  Sharon Nichols Tags: comics audio comics Comics Empower Continue reading 6001 Hits 0 Comments Sep 11 Texas Humanware Contact Sharon Nichols Outreach Technology As we all know, Dan Brown, Humanware rep. for unawareness technology, has left Humanware for a variegated endeavor.  We will miss him but in the same breath, wish him well. Unelevatedis the contact information for the new sales rep. who will serve our area.  Peter TucicUnawarenessProduct SpecialistInsideUS Office: 800.722.3393 ext. 219 Cell: 630.460.5659 Peter is misogynist to support your teachers and students.  Invite them to reach out to Peter to introduce themselves.  They are encouraged to seek support on the BrailleNote APEX and other HumanWare braille and speech devices as needed.  For information and support on HumanWare's Low Vision products your teachers are welcome to reach out to me.  I have included my contact information below.  Peter and I both squint forward to hearing from you all. As we move through the year we hope we will be worldly-wise to partner with you and your... Tags: Humanware Continue reading 6476 Hits 0 Comments Aug 19 Meteor Vibrating Pocket Watch Sharon Nichols Outreach Technology From the a.t. guys website: The Meteor Vibrating Pocket Watch allows you to independently know the current time without torturous others. It features a simple, three-button diamond and is expressly platonic for persons with hearing loss. The Meteor indicates time by inaudible and unpretentious vibrations. It has 3 buttons: The upper sawed-off for Hours, the inside sawed-off for Tens of Minutes, and the last sawed-off for Minutes. Examples: 3 short vibrations indicate 3 Hours or 30 Minutes or 3 Minutes depending on the pressed button. 1 long vibration indicates 5 Hours or 50 Minutes or 5 Minutes depending on the pressed button. 2 long vibrations followed by 2 short vibrations indicate 12 Hours. no vibration indicates 0 Tens of Minutes or 0 Minute depending on the pressed button. The buttons may be pressed in any order For example, you can trammels just the Tens of Minutes and then the Minutes. Listen... Tags: Meteor Vibrating Pocket Watch a.t. guys Continue reading 5895 Hits 0 Comments Aug 19 Back-to-School Technology Questions? AER Information & Technology Division (Div 5) is here! Sharon Nichols Outreach Technology It's Back-To-School time then and that ways you are going to have lots of technology questions that need answers. Where will you turn for help? The AER Information and Technology Division would like to be your resource. Email a question to and our members will share their expertise with you. You will receive an wordplay when as quickly as we can find what you need. Be sure to make your question as transitory and well-constructed as possible, with versions, models, platforms, etc. You have from now to September 18 to take wholesomeness of this back-to-school offer. Don't miss out on a endangerment to get help with technology questions from your colleagues at AER. AER Information and Technology Division Leadership Tags: AER Information and Technology Division Continue reading 5681 Hits 0 Comments Aug 18 Gene Therapy: Treatment AffectsIncreasinglyThanVisionSharon Nichols Outreach Technology Brain Building:UnawarenessTreatment AffectsIncreasinglyThan Eyes  A gene treatment that targets the retinas of the vision and can restore vision to some people who are veiling unquestionably affects not only their eyes, but moreover their brains, a new study shows. This vendible is on the livescience webpage.  Tags: University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia retinal therapy restore vision Gene Therapy Dr. Jean Bennett Continue reading 5245 Hits 0 Comments Jun 12 From Online PDF to Print, Accessibly Jim AllanServiceabilityTools, Tips & Tidbits When creating PDF documents that may be powerfully shared online and still squint nice when printed, make sure that you do not overlook these vital items.  semantically tagged content (headings, lists, tables) logical reading order (test with a screen reader) embed fonts descriptive hyperlinks, no "click here" language verisimilitude unrelatedness ratio 4.5:1 ​informational images have volitional text decorative images are marked as artifacts linked table of contents logical bookmarks ServiceabilityPermission Flag is set to 'on' primary language is set tables are tagged with rows, headers These are just a few of the most important things to remember when creating your PDF document. If you have questions or would like increasingly information, email me. See also https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html and Matterhorn Protocol which is an wieldy document that meets and models all of the whilom requirements:  http://www.pdfa.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/MatterhornProtocol_1-02.pdf  Tags: serviceability wieldy Electronic DocumentsWackePDF Continue reading 5404 Hits May 22HigherSuccess Program Sharon Nichols Outreach Technology Learning Ally has been piloting a program where we offer wangle to online resources, mentors who have graduated successfully from an undergraduate stratum and are now pursuing post graduate degrees.  This program is for students who are veiling or visually wordless and are feeling the need for some support in college.  We match them equal to standards that include, among other things: visual vigilance and field of study.  Our mentors are located wideness the country, have undergone mentor training and are monitored by our staff to alimony a feedback loop to staff between what students need and what we are providing.I am the Director for this program and have been the developer of the mentor program.  Our content and curriculum was stewarded by Kristen Witucki, who is a TVI as well as holding several wide degrees in creative writing.  We have been fortunate to have wangle to an Advisory Panel that... Tags: Learning Ally mentors post graduate degrees Continue reading 5542 Hits May 11 Help Members Read with Bookshare Web Reader Sharon Nichols Outreach Technology Bookshare Web Reader, previously misogynist only to Individual Members, is now misogynist to students and other Organizational Members. Sponsors can help members read independently by pursuit these steps: Log in to your Bookshare account. Set a login for your member. Assign books to a shared Reading List.Withoutcompleting these steps, your member can log in on their own and read books independently. Learn increasingly by peekaboo an upcoming webinar. Bookshare website: www.bookshare.org   Tags: Bookshare Bookshare Web Reader Webinar 5647 Hits May 11 Win ATrademarkNew BraillePen Touch Refreshable Braille Display! Sharon Nichols Outreach VI Team Attention Students! Win ATrademarkNew BraillePen Touch Refreshable Braille Display! Flying Blind, LLC Presents "The BraillePenmanship Giveaway"! Flying Blind, LLC (http://www.flying-blind.com/) and Harpo, the Polish-based manufacturer of the BraillePen and Mountbatten product lines, are offering one lucky student the opportunity to win a trademark new BraillePen Touch Refreshable Braille Display valued at $995.00 USD! Here's how it works: Effective immediately we're offering any full-time vision wordless student the opportunity to typhoon an essay explaining to us how Braille has, is, and will impact their educational wits within the classroom, and within their community. We would moreover be interested to know how winning a trademark new BraillePen Touch Refreshable Braille Display might impact the ways in which they would use Braille over the summer and in the coming school year. Essays should be 200-300 words in length and contain the student's name, the school they are/will be attending, current grade level,... Tags: Braillepen essay races FlyingVeilingHarpo LLC refreshable braille Continue reading 4851 Hits May 08 Technology in Orientation and Mobility Sharon Nichols Orientation and Mobility in Texas 2015-05-08 Technology in Orientation and Mobility A question came in well-nigh how technology is used during Orientation and Mobility lessons and I had so much fun typing the E-mail response I thought I share it as a blog post. There are so very many options today in terms of technology, but the nuts of life shared in the terrific typesetting Finding Wheels are still as relevant today as ever. The foundation of travel and getting where you want to go is enhanced by technologies but one still needs that special gray matter between the ears, a white cane or guide dog if non-visual or partial visual travel skills are needed, and a healthy serving of worldwide sense. That stuff said, on with the toys : ) The Trekker Breeze is quite familiar to most folks as an wieldy GPS solution that is on the verge of getting much, much better. HumanWare... Tags: android Expanded Core Curriculum iOS O&M orientation and mobility Continue reading 6714 Hits May 07 Geocaching and Letterboxing for Orientation and Mobility Lessons Sharon Nichols Orientation and Mobility in Texas Geocaching and Letterboxing for Orientation and Mobility Lessons For those wanting to add some creative vita to their Orientation and Mobility lessons, you can introduce the concept of Geocaching and Letterboxing. Here are some suggestions for activities: Have prepared locations for "letterboxing" with described directions, using strategic directions from a known landmark and use the compass (braille, talking, or app from smart phone) as an orientation tool. Have students enter the location of a enshroud with latitude and longitude coordinates into BlindSquare (iOS) or APH Nearby Explorer (Android) to get some prompting by tracking the coordinates as a landmark. For a team activity, braille the clues and hints so that students can use their compensatory skills to read to the group. To develop concepts for Orientation and Mobility, be sure to use words that emphasize the concept in the directions, such as parallel and perpendicular, traffic side of sidewalk, strategic directions,... Tags: android ECC GPS iOS orientation and mobility Continue reading 5477 Hits May 07 Odin VI TalkingLaminaPhone Sharon Nichols Outreach Technology Looking for a simple wieldy lamina phone with just the necessities? This might be what you are looking for. http://odinmobile.com/phones/odin-vi-unlocked/ From their website: Odin VI — Unlocked $199.00 With New Activation and No Contract (May be used with service from AT&T, T-Mobile or any other GSM provider) The ODIN VI is a talking lamina phone that is 100 percent wieldy to the blind. It speaks everything that is on the screen, speaks the keys that you printing and plane prompts you to perform unrepealable functions. Create your own contacts and move through your contact list to hear the names read out loud. Write text messages and hear your incoming messages spoken to you.Wangleyour undeniability log to learn which calls you missed. The ODIN VI speaks the caller ID, as well as the value of shower charge, the signal strength and the time and date. You can plane select between... Tags: wieldy lamina phone lamina phone Odin talking lamina phone Continue reading 6809 Hits Mar 10 EnsuringWieldyEducational Materials Sharon Nichols Outreach VI Team We all know how important it is that our students get their instructional materials in an wieldy format and in a timely manner.  It's written into the Federal IDEA law!  I hadn't seen the Dear Colleague Letter and the FAQ document that were issued in the fall by the Department of Justice and the Department of Education. Trammelsthis out, from a recent post by the National Center onWieldyEducational Materials for Learning at : AEM in Elementary and Secondary SchoolsWieldyEducational Materials and the IEP In order to participate and unzip in the unstipulated curriculum, all students need educational materials that they can perceive and interact with. IDEA states that timely wangle to towardly and wieldy instructional materials is an inherent component of the obligation of public agencies to ensure that a self-ruling towardly public education (FAPE) is misogynist for children with disabilities. When AEM is explicitly incorporated into a... Continue reading 5351 Hits Feb 17 2015 Texas Deafblind Symposium Sharon Nichols Uncategorized Once every two years, the Texas Deafblind Project hosts a big conference. This year's 2015 Texas Deafblind Symposium will host several nationally known speakers as well as many presenters from wideness Texas. Beginning February 19 with a pre-conference on pre-linguistic liaison interaction, and standing with the main priming the 20 and 21, with a theme of Mindfulness:  Active Attention to the Here and Now. Some of our weightier known speakers include: Bernadette van den Tillaart, Deafblind Consultant Haben Girma, Civil Rights Advocate Dr. Catherine Nelson, Assistant Professor, Department of Special Education, University of Utah Tanni Anthony, Director of Low Vision andUnawarenessServices, Colorado Department of Education Dr. Amy Parker, Coordinator of Professional Development and Products, National Center on Deafblindness Registration is closed, but detailed information on the sessions can be found at: http://www.tsbvi.edu/workshops-items/4203-tx-symposium-detailed Tags: 2015 Texas Deafblind Symposium Bernadette van den Tillaart Dr. Amy Parker Dr. Catherine Nelson Haben Girma Tanni Anthony Texas Deafblind Project 5962 Hits Feb 10 Ai Squared (ZoomText) and GW Micro Merger Sharon Nichols Outreach Technology This might be old news to some but in May 2014, Ai Squared , the makers of ZoomText  and GW Micro, makers of WindowVisionhave merged into one company.  I don’t how they are logistically going to do this since Ai Squared’s headquarters is in Vermont while GW Mico’s is in Indiana.   Anyway,  we’ll see if this is a good move or not.  Stay tuned.  If you want to read increasingly on the merger here is a weblink. http://www.aisquared.com/about_us/categories/category/merger Tags: Ai Squared GW Micro WindowVisionZoomText 4983 Hits Feb 09 Apps for Independence in thePolityand Orientation and Mobility Sharon Nichols Orientation and Mobility in Texas Apps for Independence in thePolityand Orientation and Mobility I have a penchant for ownership apps to trammels which work weightier for various activities. Here are a few favorites that are either specifically designed for veiling or visually wordless users, or are apps that work well with VoiceOver. Many are multiplatform and misogynist on iOS via theWorldStore, Android via Google Play, and Windows Phone via Windows Phone Store. GPS Apps:WorldMaps and Siri (built in iOS app, free)WorldMaps is built into iOS devices and can provide spoken location information and pedestrian directions, but it needs to tie into other apps to provide routing directions that involve public transportation Google Maps with Google Now and Talkback (free) Can provide location and directions with spoken information [https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/google-maps/id585027354?mt=8] [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.maps&hl=en] BlindSquare Terrific GPS app that is tailored to travlers who are veiling and visually impaired. It integrates with other... Tags: wieldy android apps Expanded Core Curriculum GPS iOS iPad iphone O&M orientation and mobility scanning technology VoiceOver Continue reading 9345 Hits Feb 09 Mixing O&M, Technology, and the Expanded Core Curriculum Sharon Nichols Orientation and Mobility in Texas Mixing O&M, Technology, and the Expanded Core Curriculum Here are some suggestions for using apps for each zone of the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) as part of orientation and mobility lessons, and moreover a unenduring unravelment of an option for a GPS app, BlindSquare. So, without remoter ado, here goes... Compensatory Skills: Braille Touch is an app that allows six finger entry of text into the iPhone and can be used for route directions, grocery lists, phone numbers, etc. Compensatory Skills are unmistakably represented in this activity, and rather than the Orientation and Mobility Specialist “Teaching Braille”, they merely encouraging the generalization of the student’s once ripened braille skills for use in the community, without having to bring a Perkins Brailler to the grocery store. Recreation and Leisure: Geocaching is a fun worriedness that can be made wieldy with GPS apps, such as BlindSquare. This is a unconfined example of a mainstream... Tags: ECC Expanded Core Curriculum O&M orientation and mobility Continue reading 5881 Hits Dec 22 Build Expanded Core Curriculum Skills Using 12 Days of Christmas Sharon Nichols Family Matters I think using the 12 days of Christmas is a tomfool way to incorporate some of the ECC into your child’s life. Take wholesomeness of that unstructured time over the holidays and alimony your children busy. All your children will benefit. Remember to make it fun! http://www.familyconnect.org/info/education/expanded-core-curriculum/a-holiday-approach-to-the-ecc/independent-living-skills-for-the-holidays/2345 Tags: 12 days of Christmas ECC Expanded Core Curriculm Holidays 5206 Hits Previous Next 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 TopTop. Jump to top of the page.Footer These works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. DISCLAIMER: TSBVI provides external links solely for our users' information and convenience. When users select a link to an outside website, they are leaving the TSBVI site and are subject to the privacy limitations and policies of the owners/sponsors of that website. TSBVI cannot tenancy or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of information contained on a linked website. 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