Refresh a Braille 18 vs. Technology gods round 2:

Last school year, I worked with a teacher of the visually impaired and the technology person in a middle sized county somewhere in the middle of Florida…give you a hint…John Travolta lives in the vicinity. Okay with that said, my first round with the Technology gods last April didn’t bode well. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. Isn’t that usually the case when dealing with these crafty beings??

November 2011, Round 2:

I had my work cut out for me.. the computer that was suppose to have the software loaded on it, took forever to boot up and then as it was near completion, it completely died…Tech. gods: 1, me 0. None of the computers had power cords, TG- 2, me-0. Refresh a Braillers not charged..TG-3, me 0.  It was beginning to remind me of that day back in April, so the tech person and I decided to take a lunch break, and discuss our strategies on how to out wit these sly foes, in reality we needed to give the Refresh a Brailler time to charge.

30 minutes later: the Refresh a Brailler still wasn’t charged so that called for drastic measures…I called the APH tech. hot line and talked to Pamela again. She guided me through the entire process, such as plugging the Refresh a Brailler into a wall, loading the correct drivers and reading the Braille on the device- I discovered two things, I need to get my eyes checked because I was having a difficult time reading the Braille cells; either that or I need to refresh my Braille skills. I decided that I needed to get my eyes check and finally admit I need bifocals and it wouldn’t hurt to re-fresh my Braille either.

Once the device was charged and Jaws was rebooted,things went relatively smoothly with  loading everything on to the computers-Jaws and the Refresh a Brailler communicated with each other with almost no difficulties.. I overcame whatever the Tech Gods threw at me this time and prevailed. Chalk 1 up for me! Now this student will be able to use this device in class starting tomorrow. That is if the teacher remembers to charge the Refresh a Brailler…….To Be Continued!

Until next time,

Diana

212° Fahrenheit- a time to boil over:

Well, it has been a while since I last blogged. Eight weeks later, I am starting to feel better. It seems that everyone I know is under immense pressure, almost like we are at a boiling point. I guess, I came to a my boiling point a couple of weeks ago with one of my co-workers. All of us in the past eight weeks have been on the road and away from home. My co-worked had no idea that I was still not feeling well and had  “pushed” my buttons. I had a couple of words with him, okay, I was down right rude and it was uncalled for..knowing this, I started to blubber like the small child I was acting and  began to apologize profusely. Neither of us knew about our horrible weeks so of course we both blew up at one another. He was in his second auto accident and wasn’t feeling well either.  Anyway, my point,  I am glad he is okay and so were the turtles he was transporting.

I was lucky enough to go to the Annual Meeting at the American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville, Kentucky. Well, almost lucky I suppose if you count recuperating in a hotel room lucky. What was great about this trip was that I got to spend an evening with my brother and his wonderful family who still live in Cincinnati. I enjoyed spending time with my beautiful nieces and sister-in-law. Both girls were entranced by my Ipad. I spent the time catching up with my brother and sister-in-law. When it was time to leave my nieces kept asking me to stay another night…it was very sweet and tempting. I am not sure if they wanted me or the Ipad to stay!  I had to get to Louisville for the meeting.

Well the weather was typical of October in Cincinnati/Louisville, it was rainy and cold. Since I haven’t lived in the “hills” for 15 years, I was a bit nervous traveling on I-75 and I-71 through Kentucky. Prior to leaving Saint Augustine, I was running a fever..and I still got on that plane and was determined to make this meeting. When I arrived, I ran into a familiar face, Suzanne Dalton from FIMC-VI,  from our sister center in Tampa. I must have startled her because she told me to go to my room and lay down. When I checked into the room and saw my reflection, I understood the strange looks I was getting from people I passed. I was the color of a boiled Lobster, and running a temperature of 100 degrees(again, at my boiling point).... This made me want to get back on a plane and come home.

Needless to say, I stayed, went to a Doctor, attended meetings and came home on Sunday. I swear Delta Airlines was trying to kill me by making me run a marathon through the Atlanta airport. We landed at the last gate in Concourse B and I had literally 20 minutes to get to the last gate in Concourse A.  I made it to the plane and was the last person on board, whew! Where was the guy with the cart when you need one?!?!

It has been like 212° F  since the beginning of the school year and this won’t be over until the end of January. We have done two Usher Screening Trainings, so that means we have three more to do. This week we start our ESE Focus Groups, seven in all that are all over the state. I am looking forward to February when things start to slow down for a bit and I can catch my breath. Until the next boiling point that begins in March.

Oh by the way, next time I will provide a dictionary for some of these acronyms I use!

Until next time,

Diana

Getting off to a rocky start.....

The school year is going full steam ahead but I feel like I can’t catch up…well it doesn’t help that I ended up out for a week with a virus. Usually, I am the last person to catch the nasty bugs, by then they have morphed into something else and I am down for a day or so. Nooo, not this time, I was out an entire week, the third week of school. That was the worst week to miss. I had scheduled two O&M assessment which are still in the process of being made up. I also missed an important FLDRS meeting in Tampa. The team voted and they didn’t want Typhoid Diana anywhere near them, I couldn’t blame them!

That was four weeks ago and have been on the road ever since. My first trip back was to the “sweetest town” in America (Clewiston, FL), there were fields and fields of sugar cane everywhere and lots of bear crossing signs. This was going to be a team function: RMTC and OSBD working together. We had our parent liaison Mark Keith (RMTC/OSBD), Our Deaf and Hard of Hearing Specialist, Nada El-Khoury (RMTC) and myself, COMS® and VI Education Specialist (OSBD). Let me just say that we did awesome working with the parents, teachers, and support staff, principal and of course the students. I was so pleased at how everything went together!

 What is up with all of the acronyms?  RMTC, OSBD or COMS…well RMTC is Resource, Materials, and Technology Center, OSBD: Outreach Services for the Blind(B/VI) and Deaf. COMS® means Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist® (yes, our titles are registered).

After that I went to the Keys, yes for work and by myself. The trip was very productive as always. I am always grateful to Sharon Day, she helps this trip run smoothly. I was there for four days and saw seven students and six staff. I also met a teacher who tried to get me to go a Zumba class while I was down there. Maybe next timeJ

The next team function was the Usher Screening Training for SW Florida, last week. This time Leanne Grillot (our project manager, amongst other things) from FL Dept. of Education was there. We had four counties attend: Lee (the host county), Collier, Sarasota, and Highlands. Not bad for our first training. We will be doing four other trainings across the state before the end of this year(December). I have to say that again we did a great job and we learned so much from this first training that the next one is going to be better. A big high five to Nada for getting the power point done!

 For the past three weeks, I have traveled down I-95 and Highway 27 and of course US 1.......next week, it will be I-4, I-10, I-75, highway 40 and highway 90

Now we are to this week, I found out my mother is not doing as well as expected with her lung cancer and my husband now has my awful cold( he is resting right now!) My mother’s news, although expected, still is hitting me pretty hard. I finally have my O&M assessment rescheduled and have two presentations to give… yes, this is going to be a rocky year full of ups and down. I know it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey. With that, I think I am going to take this time and not sweat the small stuff and appreciate all that is around me.

Ready or not, here comes the 2011-12 school year: welcome back students and teachers!

Starting tomorrow, it will be the first day of school for all students and teachers in the State of Florida. Some districts started last week but most will start tomorrow. I want to take this time to wish everyone: students, teachers, all other school staff, and parents, a successful and fulfilling school year! Every school year starts off with promise and hope. I know that  I always make promises on what I am going to do better and improve at the beginning of every school year, sounds just like a “new years” resolution of sorts, doesn’t ? Last school year, for example, I talked to my co worker Mark Keith about how I was going to give myself more time in the office so I could get my paperwork done on time and not let myself get overwhelmed. I also decreed that I was going to work on more projects. Well before that school year ended, I started booking trips for the 2011-12 school year…. So much for spending time in the office and getting paperwork done on time, right?! I am not complaining, this just means I have to reexamine my “new school years resolution”, now doesn’t it?? Humm let me think about that one for a bit….

 My biggest problem is not being able to say “no” . If I get a call from a district…I drop everything I am doing and go where I am needed. Thank goodness I have an understanding husband. He has always been supportive of my work and encourages me to do better. After we got married (5 years ago!) he told me that he didn’t expect me to stop traveling because we were married. All I can say is that I truly am lucky to have him in my life. It also helps that I have an understanding supervisor who “gets it”. Again, I am truly lucky.

With that said, I want to share this article from Krista Ramsey from my hometown newspaper the Cincinnati Enquirer: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110818/COL01/108190332/Note-teachers-Thanks-loving-our-kids?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Columnists|p

Till next time!

The swing of the pendulum: getting ready for change

The one thing that I have learned over the years is that the more I know about my field, the less I know…what do I mean by that? Well, it seems that just when I grasp and understand the new changes that are thrown my way; it changes yet again, no time for the “old, new way to gel” in the brain. The old, new way of doing things is out and passé. For example, I went to a training not too long ago (last school year).. This was a follow up to a training that was offered at the end of the 2010 school year…Well, come to find out that everything we learned that previous year is being thrown out and new initiatives are being introduced. Soooo, what we did last year is no longer any good and  we have to start all over again with new assessments this year…which by the way will be out dated next year.

Speaking to a veteran teacher whom I admire, she told me that this happened to her many (I leave it at the one many) years ago. She too, went to many professional development opportunities and tried to implement what she learned in her trainings with her students…the next year, she said everything she learned  was “out” and something new and cutting edge was in, only she said that this “cutting edge” way of doing things was not new, it was done in the previous decade and she noted that  some of these “new, old” ideas are being brought back again in this century.  So, I must ask: Isn’t that insanity?  And we all know the definition of that!

This reminds me of what we were told recently  by the experts about nutrition… for example as a child my parents made me drink skim milk and eat wheat bread…now, I  come to  find out that skim milk is not good for you. Great, so all this time, I have been doing more harm to myself then good for the sake of being healthy. I guess I should have stuck with my original plan…the chocolate/bacon diet…instead of being unhealthy and unhappy by drinking skim milk and eating wheat bread, I could have had chocolate and bacon and a healthy heart. Oh, and had more fun getting this way. Not to worry, as far as I know I have a healthy heart but still. I heard that chocolate cancels out the bad cholesterol of the bacon-no not really. This goes to show that the more we learn, the less we know.  Confused yet? I know I am!? Hang in there, I am sure it has to get better, right!?!?!

I am currently working on a wiki space for itinerant teachers who work with blind or visually impaired students. I just finished my outline and will be putting together the pieces one day at a time. I hope to have something up and running by the end of the week.I will also post my first I-movie I made using my I pad. I'll keep you posted on the release date for that as well

By the way, the beginning of the 2011-12 school year begins: T (being for teachers): T- 4 more works days for teachers.  S( for students) it is 8 more school days (that does not include weekends) so that would be: S-8 days. I guess this is my sad attempt at embracing Math(see last post)  So, teacher and students savor what is left of this very hot summer…go to the beach, swim, eat chocolate- bacon flavored ice-cream or what ever makes you happy. I plan on enjoying spending time with my two nieces and playing auntie! 

Math the other four letter word.. and other musings

I had the opportunity to attend the Florida Diagnostic & Learning Resource System (FDLRS) Region 2's Summer Institute that featured Judi Sweeney as the speaker, she is the founder of Onion Mountain Technology a firm that specializes in assistive technology for all students. Her workshop on this day was about Math and Technology. First off, I want to go on record to say that Math is not my favorite subject and have yet to meet a teacher with whom I work that gets real excited about teaching this subject to their students. Math is a four letter word that I tend to avoid if possible...The only thing Math it is good for is helping me balance my check book which is by no means an easy task.

Anyway, I digress back to Judi's workshop. Siting there freezing, in dread , and afraid she was going to talk about quadratic equations or the Pythagorean  Theorem ,  I found myself fascinated by her presentation. She didn't focus on the M-word  and the national standards all that much but instead on the different types of learning styles, eye movements and how we process information...Brain based learning.It was so interesting and it applied to some of what I do when administering a Learning Media Assessment that determines how a student access information be it visual, auditory or kinesthetic/tactile(tactically for the Brailler reader). Did you know that 50% of people are are hardwired to be  visual learners, 20%  of the people are auditory and 30% of the people are kinesthetic/tactile  learners. I find this fascinating since I work with children who are blind or visually impaired and many of the children are visual learners.

She also discussed the various types of low tech devices to assist a student in math. I think sometimes, I forget and think that if it is technology then it has to be "high"tech and expensive-the bigger the better! Not true as I have found out this past school year a simple pencil and a piece of paper can be technology. Oh, I also found out from this workshop that I am a visual symbolic learner...I should be good at...yes, you guess it,  Math!

I have also been working with my braille note taker The Braille Sense. At the recommendation of the LATS, I managed to get a computer monitor to hook up to my device. Again, visual learner here and I need all the help I can get with learning how to use the Braille Sense... The monitor made all the difference and has made it so much easier to navigate the different menus, create documents and even check my emails or surf the web. Look out facebook here I come via the Braille Sense!!  This device is helping me refresh and remember Braille.

With my I pad, I also made a couple of i movies. I am still waiting to down load  my movie debut "Eye Heart the Ipad 2: Embracing Technology . When making this short film, I discovered how to laid down some music tracks, a voice track, some sound effects and take screen shots to use  for images in the film. Sure the short film is "campy" but it was fun to make and helped me understand just how use this tool. My second attempt at the movie was even better"Mainland 2.0" and even more "campy". I can't wait to show some of the teachers how to use this with their students

Well as summer wraps up, more and more people are on campus everyday. Most of our team is back and is getting ready for the school year. In a few short weeks, we will be all over the place.

the three R's: relaxing, reflecting and reinventing.....

As summer time draws to a close, not literally but figuratively, it is time to get ready for the new school year. I was fortunate this summer to have a chance to relax before I get on the road again at the end of August. My dearest and oldest friend of 30 years came to visit. We met in the 7th grade when I first moved to the greater Cincinnati area. I had a chance to show off where I live and  an excuse to relax; spending time catching up with my friend and going to the beach.

This next school year is going to be busy for our project. We are going to collaborate with the Florida Department of Education(FLDOE), Resource, Materials and Technology Center (RMTC) and The Florida Outreach Project for the Deaf blind(FOP) to provide Usher's Screening Training across the state. There are going to be five trainings provided to district staff. OSBD is also going to be conducting Focus Groups for the Exceptional Student Education(ESE) Directors throughout the state, I believe there are going to be four of these scheduled. Both the Usher's Training and Focus Groups have to be completed before the end of December. This is in addition to providing technical assistance and assessments to our districts. Needless to say, my co-worker and I are booked until the end of January.

Reflecting: Also this summer- my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. She has caught it in the early stages and goes in for surgery next Monday August 1st. Once you get the news, it feels like someone has punched you in the stomach, the past couple of weeks have been full of ups and downs but the one thing that is constant is that my mom has maintained a positive attitude. I guess we won't know what to expect until after her surgery....

Reinventing: As with every summer, I try to reinvent myself and make improvements to how I will deliver our services to the districts or develop new trainings. This year, I feel more confident than ever, this is going to be a fantastic school year!

vacation fog....

For the last two weeks I was on a mental vacation . Believe me it was needed. Today, I went back to work to meet with the LATS (Local Assistive Technology Specialist) from the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, Paula Brannon. We wanted to perfect our knowledge on the Braille Sense. This is a note taking device that uses either a braille key board or a qwerty key board.  Paula has the braille key board and I have the qwerty keyboard. For those who don't know Paula has a visual impairment and she was teaching me to use a peice of equipment that is designed for non-visual learners...as you can guess, I am a visual learner... anyway, Paula did a fantastic job in guiding me through this non-visual maze. I still have a long way to go but it is a start. She even gave me home work...come on Paula, this is suppose to be summer!

Before going on my mental vacation, I had to opportunity to attend another exciting I pad training in a near by school district- Bradford County. All participants were given an I  pad 2's, cases, keynote, numbers, Imovie,pages and garage band. In this training we learned how to make a power point using keynote, a flyer using pages and of course an i movie..don't fret, I plan on sharing the i move in the near future. It is a follow up to one of my post: "Eye heart the I pad".  My husband also enjoyed using garage band and spent an hour composing a strange soundtrack....I will just call that "Pat-Stock: the summer of 2011".

Besides learning how to use these various applications, this was a great opportunity to collaborate with other professionals  from different fields in education from all over the State of Florida.

Well, it back to my vacation until next Monday....enjoy the rest of your summer!!

end of the school year... a quick wrap up!

Well, it is the end of the school year for students across the State of Florida..Summer is a time to rest, relax, recharge and reflect on the past school year. Summer is also a time for professional development or working a second job. This summer, I plan on learning how to use my new technology devices(Braille Sense in particular), develop trainings and plan for the upcoming school year.

For the first time in seven years, I am booked into October. The school districts usually don't start calling until mid-August or early September but this year it is different...and I am going to be ready!

As I reflect on the past year, it sure has been an interesting ride. Our team which consists of Mark Keith and myself, worked closely  with the staff of Resource, Materials and Technology Center(RMTC), we collaborated to work with staff in school districts, hosted a few conferences, and presented at state wide conferences...we spent a lot of time together working and getting to know one another. Like any new partnership, we had to get comfortable with how we all worked together and I think we have all done a great job. I look forward to see where next year takes us!


Speaking of presenting, I had the opportunity to present "Blind Awareness" at The Family Cafe which was held at Disney's Coronado Springs. My husband Pat came to help me with my set up but to also see the presentation and what I do. He is use to working with a big corporation and was surprised by the small crowd that attended. I told him, it's not about the numbers but the people's whose lives you touched on that day. He learned that first hand when a couple of the attendees came over and talked to him..that was the "A HA" moment for him.


After that I went to Disney...seriously, it was my first time and I finally earned my ears! The staff makes a big deal out of your first visit...I felt five years old again for a short time and boy did I have fun!!!!

until next time
have a safe and fun summer!

Refresh A Braille 18 vs. the technology gods

Yesterday I had the opportunity to do a training with the Refresh A Braille 18 from APH. Well, the Technology gods were not smiling on me on that day. Imagine everything that could go wrong and more. I started the day off forgetting my computer, strike 1. I drove 82 miles and two hours to do this training so there was no turning around and going back...onward with a positive outlook, right?!
 
Strike 2- the room where the training took place was less then adequate...no wireless and the wire that was provided to connect us  was too short. So I could not bring the computer close to the participants, we all had to stand around a cluttered desk. Oh did I mention that the computer also lacked blue tooth and the cord provided for the Refresh A Braille was also very short. Oh and someone turned on the heat (it was 90 degrees outside) so we all were perspiring and I am being kind when I say that. Thank goodness someone had the sense to turn on the AC!
Strike 3, when everything was finally set up, the Refresh A Braille wouldn't respond. The tech person and I tried everything we could think of to trouble shoot the problem, nothing worked. Several hours later and more frustration I still had to drive back 82 miles and and two hours through the Ocala National Forest.

Okay so the Technology gods didn't smile on me that day but it was still a great opportunity to do a tech. training. After all I am a tech. geek in training and these things happen, I must learn from my experiences . Needless to say, I called APH to find out what went wrong...What I found out  was that we needed to update the drivers for JAWS 12...d'oh!
Thank you Pamela from APH you were a lifesaver!

Speaking of refreshable braille. I just received my Braille Sense plus with qwerty key board. It is charging as I blog. I am going to read through the manual this evening and begin my new adventure tomorrow

eye heart the i pad

Yes, it's true, I love my i pad....I am still using the first i Pad and am still amaze at all it can do for someone who is blind or visually impaired. What really surprises me, however, are that the teachers with whom I work. They are still are not aware of these accessibility features that the i Pad has to offer. Even better these features come built into the device, that means no extra software to buy!

VoiceOver as you can guess speaks to you telling you what is on the screen. It is controlled by one's finger(s) to touch the screen in order initiate a command- ask me about the split tap or the three finger right flick sometime!

For the low vision user there is also zoom which also uses one's fingers to enlarge or move around the image on the screen and the white on black to change the contrast. The only thing about the white on black is that you can't change the colors...what you see is what you get.

The best part of the i pad is the blue tooth capabilities that connects to a wireless braille display. I had a chance to use this feature a couple of weeks ago and I was so thrilled..it also reminded me that I need a refresher course in grade two braille-that's another story. If you want to use the i pad and the refreshable braille display, check out Chase Crispin, a 5th grade student who is blind. With the assistance of his teacher of the visually impaired, LeAnne MacDonald, they made a you tube video on how to use the i phone and Refresh a Brailler 18,  the link is
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjQSU88j1kj&feature=related.
Let me just say, prepared to be dazzled! This young man is an excellent teacher!

Welcome Leanne Grillot

I am sure that everyone knows now that we have a new Program Specialist for the Deaf and Blind for the Department of Education, Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services (BEESS). Prior to taking the position at DOE, Leanne worked as the Itinerant Teacher of the Visually Impaired and Orientation and Mobility Specialist for Flagler County. Besides wearing those two hats, Leanne was also the districts LATS(Local Assistive Technology Specialist) and the person who handled the students who were deaf and hard of hearing within the county. Let's see that's how many hats?? I believe 4!

On a personal note, I've been fortunate enough to have worked in the" trenches" with Leanne since she started in Flagler County in 2006.  She contacted Outreach Services SRD, as we were known back in those days, to assist her with trainings or technical assistance or to discuss and brainstorm ideas that related to her students who were blind or visually impaired. The last time I visited her county, at her request, a few months before she took her new job, I was amazed at all she had accomplished for her students who were both deaf/hard of hearing and blind/visually impaired. I know that Flagler County really misses her .

I look forward to working with her in a new capacity and I think she is going to do wonderful job in her new position! Thank you Leanne for your services to the students who are blind and visually impaired in the State of Florida

Social Media

I am just amazed at how much social media has changed our lives. Thanks to Facebook, for example, I am able to reconnect with long lost friends and catch up. Another thing I have noticed is how social media has brought many people together for one cause or another. Take a look at what happened in Egypt or in Japan, people came together to rally for their cause or to begin humanitarian assistance for people in need after a natural disaster. Even locally, one can find out what is going on in Tallahassee with our elected officials and how these rules may effect our lives.
 Our organization started its own Facebook page and it is called RMTC and OSBD. Check it out to see what we are up to around the State of Florida.
For better or worse, social media is changing the way we access information and connect with
others
Have a nice day!

News from around Florida....

I received an email today from Just for teachers, a listserve from Florida's Department of Education, that Commissioner Eric Smith from the Department of Education (FLDOE) is going to resign in June. Just want to say thank you Commissioner Smith for your services to the children and teachers of the State of Florida.

news from around the state

When I go into a school district work and work with a teacher(s) who does something special or goes above and beyond, I like to spread the word: 


Sharon Day the AT Specialist from Monroe County organized the second annual eye exam/vision testing on February 28, 2011 with Dr. Paul Mauer, Ophthalmologist from Key West. Dr. Mauer and his staff donated his time to test students who attend Monroe County schools and are visually impaired. Five students from Key West participated in the clinic. A big thank you to Dr. Mauer for your expertise, caring and generosity for the students of Monroe County who needed your service! A big thanks to Sharon Day for all of her efforts and taking the time to set this up for her students!

welcome to the world of blogging!

What can I say, I am excited to be able to discuss some of the exciting things that happen in the field of blindness, technology and education. This "blogging" thing is new to me so be patient, I am still learning but I can't wait to see where this journey takes me!