Welcome back! The beginning of this school year may be not what you or your students envisioned, but we are all in this together.
FIMC-VI Reminders
FIMC-VI Updates
To learn more about what's coming this year from FIMC-VI, watch the archived Information and Updates #1 webinar on our past events page.

Loan Library Updates
Our complete Loan Library inventory is back up on our website. Loan Library materials may be checked out for 30 days with a maximum 90 day extension based on data and COVID 19 circumstances. Many materials and items may be sent home to students. Technology that is not available on quota funds will be handled on a case by case basis. Email Colleen Mulcahey (cmulcahey@fimcvi.org) or Andrea Wallace (awallace@fimcvi.org) with any questions.

Canvas for Florida Teachers
FIMC-VI is using the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) to provide a secure statewide resource site for you! This site includes resources for virtual instruction, instruction in the areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum, access to information from the Florida Low Vision Initiative and more, all in one location! There are also discussion boards for swapping APH products, asking general questions, and sharing job postings in your district or agency. To receive an invitation, contact Liz Anderson at eanderson@fimcvi.org.

Virtual Instruction Survey
Help FIMC-VI learn about your virtual teaching experiences. This survey will be used in a presentation at ATIA regarding teachers' experiences and what you wish you knew before school closures. Survey Link 
Upcoming Workshops & Conferences
Florida Festival of Families Takes Flight
September 25-26, 2020 | Virtual
It is not too late to register to attend the third annual Festival of Families. Family Flight Bags with goodies will be sent to families who registered in August, but others can still register until September 14 to attend the sessions.
The agenda has been posted on the event web page.
Hope you can come fly with us!

District Vision Contacts Meeting
October 13, 2020 | Virtual
FIMC-VI will be partnering with the Florida Department of Education Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services to provide a virtual Vision Contacts meeting.
Stay tuned for more information and the registration link.

Keep Your Brailler Clean During COVID 19
October 28, November 4, 11 & 18, 2020 | Virtual
Join the Ancient City Brailler Repair team to learn how to properly clean and oil a brailler to keep it brailling through the years. This workshop is limited to the first 50 people who register. Learn more.
2020-2021 FIMC-VI Training Topics

  • Working With the Experts
  • Brailling With the Experts: Literacy for All - October 19-23, 2020 (virtual)
  • Instructional Strategies for Students with Multiple Disabilities and CVI with Diane Sheline - April 20-21, 2021 (location TBD)
  • Webinars
  • FIMC-VI Information and Updates Series - 3 sessions
  • Florida Standards Assessments - Winter 2020
  • Florida Standards Alternate Assessment - Winter 2020

Dates, locations, and registration details for these trainings will be distributed via email and posted on our website.
Southeastern Orientation and Mobility Association (SOMA) Conference
December 14-15, 2020 | Virtual

Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) Conference
January 25-February 6, 2021 | Virtual

Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC)
January 26-29, 2021 | Orlando, FL
Florida Cane Quest
Florida Cane Quest Logo
November 9 | Virtual Judge Training
November 13 | Virtual Student Skills Assessment
November 14 | Tentative Face-to-Face Family Event at Wilson Middle School, Tampa

We are Reinventing the Wheel at the 2020 Florida Cane Quest! Let's make history, again, by inventing a new way to hold an old event. Scouts, Pioneers, Explorers, and Trailblazers will test their orientation and mobility skills virtually with a Florida Cane Quest Judge on Friday. Students and families are invited to a face-to-face celebration with all the wheely cool activities, food, shopping, and prizes as in the past. Share the event flyer in English or Spanish with students in grades 3-12 who are cane travelers. Students will need to be registered by October 9. Registration permission forms are coming soon! Check our event website for updates.
Quality Programs for Students with Visual Impairments (QPVI)
FIMC-VI would like to welcome all the new districts throughout the state that are beginning this meaningful process. They include the North Florida Cadre made up of Alachua, Marion, Nassau and Volusia, and the South Florida Brigade made up of DeSoto, Hendry, and Lee.

For more information or to sign up to participate during the 2021-22 school year, please email Cheri Hart at chart@fimcvi.org.
Free Technology and Training from CATT

APH products PageBlaster Mantis Chameleon and VideoMagHD
Yes, you read that correctly. Not only is the technology free, but it is for the student to keep!

The Center for Assistive Technology Training (CATT) in Alabama has a federal grant to provide APH technology, training and continued support for students in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

To learn more about CATT visit: https://www.aidb.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=3825

If you are interested in requesting APH Technology for a student through CATT, complete the form (link below) and email to Dr. Susie Thomas, thomas.susie@aidb.org. Link to form.
More Free Assistive Technology!
Did you know that any active DBS client in the state of Florida is eligible to receive free JAWS®, OpenBook®, ZoomText, or Fusion software? All they have to do is ask. There are no age limits or restrictions. Once approved, 3 licenses are provided: one for home, office and laptop. Have your students contact their local DBS counselor to apply for services or for additional information.
Lego® Braille Bricks
The Lego® Braille Bricks will be available to order from FIMC-VI after the Lego Braille Bricks session during the upcoming Brailling With the Experts. Attending this session is required to request the Braille Bricks. Stay tuned for more information!
New Videos from FIMC-VI
FIMC-VI has teamed up with Giving Tree Music (the drum circle guy!) and Tyler Merren of ReVision Training to provide short videos that facilitate concept and gross motor development. These fun and engaging videos can be found on FIMC-VI's YouTube page under the Concept Development with Music playlist. and the Gross Motor Development playlist. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get notifications of all new videos!
O&M Instructors, Input Needed!
There was such a great response to Chris Tabb's original Google Doc that he has moved the document to a Google Form. This form will collect your input and ideas for guidelines and standards regarding remote Orientation and Mobility instruction.

Provide your feedback to the form to contribute!
Technology and Learning Connections and ATIA Partnership - FREE ATIA WEBINARS!
Exciting Announcement from Florida's TLC!

Florida's Technology and Learning Connections has partnered with ATIA to offer exclusive professional development opportunities to Florida's educators. You must register with your Florida school district email address to get unlimited access to their library of online courses and webinars! Use this link for more information and to register.  Check out this video for information on how to register! It is highly recommend that you sign up for CEUs if you want to use these webinars to get inservice points.
Free Video Series for Classroom Teachers, Parents, Paraprofessionals, and Others
Tools to Support Having a Student with a Visual Impairment in Your K-6 Classroom

Dr. Tina Herzberg and Dr. L. Penny Rosenblum have created a series of 11 short on-demand videos for those working with academic students with visual impairments in K-6 classrooms. Some of the topics include "What is Braille and How Do Students Read It?", "What is my Role in Adapting Materials", and "Orientation and Mobility 101". The videos may be accessed at http://bit.ly/2VmO0Lf.
National Blind Sports Week: A Fantastic Virtual Event for Athletes Who are Blind and Visually Impaired
This year, the United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) is hosting a week of virtual events discussing the opportunities available for sports participation for athletes who are blind and visually impaired. The event runs from September 28, 2020 through October 3, 2020 and includes two webinars and two Facebook Live events each day. On Saturday, October 3, participants will take part in special experiences to celebrate the third annual National Blind Sports Day. Click here to learn more and join in the festivities. 
Updates from APH
The Sensorimotor Spotlight

APH is excited to announce the release of the new digital newsletter, the Sensorimotor Spotlight, which is all about the Sensory Learning Kit (SLK). The Sensorimotor Spotlight shines brightly as a resource for teachers of students who have visual impairments, special education teachers, classroom teachers, paraprofessionals, and families. This newsletter features videos, sample routines, assessment examples, case studies, and other strategies to implement the Sensory Learning Kit and its routines in the classroom. Subscribe to the newsletter here.
 
The newsletter is also linked on the APH site on the Educational Resources/Multiple Disabilities page. 

Gross Motor Development Quick Tip Sheets

Two of Dr. Lauren Lieberman’s students, Hannah Williams and Lindsay Ball experimented with the Gross Motor Development Curriculum adaptations—one as the human guide and the other an athlete with visual impairment to create Locomotor and Object Control tip sheets as features for the APH website. 

The Job Seeker’s Toolkit

APH has great news! They've revised the Job Seeker’s Toolkit and made it available as a free, accessible PDF. The Job Seeker’s Toolkit is a self-paced online training course that helps students and job seekers who are blind or visually impaired develop career exploration and job seeking skills. The course covers self-awareness, career exploration tools, and resources, the preliminary employment process, the interview, and maintaining employment. It can also be used by professionals to follow their students’ progress and provide feedback. 

September is CVI Awareness Month

September is CVI Awareness Month! Stay tuned for a webinar for parents conducted by two TVIs who are also parents of children with visual impairments. Also, watch for a blog post featuring interviews with Christine Roman-Lantzy, Amanda Lueck, and Diane Sheline. Read Julia's blog on being a parent of a child with CVI.

Attention: All Users of APH Products in Education and Rehabilitation Settings

If you have purchased APH products and services, we want to hear from you! By responding to this brief, 11-question survey, you are making an impact by helping APH improve our products and our product development. We encourage everyone who has used our products in an education or rehabilitation setting within the last year to take a few minutes to reflect on your experience with our products. All responses will remain confidential. This brief annual performance survey is designed to accomplish several key goals:

  • To measure our performance in order to improve our products and our product development processes
  • To gather input for our strategic planning and product development priorities
  • To collect APH performance data for the US Department of Education

The survey response deadline is Wednesday, September 30, 2020. Take the survey

2020-2021 APH Virtual ExCEL Academy

As our nation continues to adjust with some schools and students remaining in virtual instruction, and others returning to brick and mortar buildings, APH will continue to provide the APH Virtual ExCEL Academy for students.
 
Based on feedback from attendees during the spring and summer, we will be offering FREE engaging lessons for students with a variety of abilities. We also hope to model ways that online learning may be used to supplement services. We understand that childrens’ needs are unique and that lessons may not apply to all children, but we are dedicated to working out a plan to provide as much as we can.
 
Beginning October 13, 2020, the APH Virtual ExCEL Academy will include a live hour at 2:00 EST, on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. A more detailed description of each day will soon be available on our website. To help with organization, our attendees suggested organizing the days by age; therefore, we will work hard to provide classes as follows:

  • Tuesday: Focus from Birth to 6th grade
  • Wednesday: Focus from 7th to 12th grade
  • Thursday: Focus on students with multiple impairments


Once a student is registered, the link remains active from October 13 until December 17, 2020. A new registration link will be provided for our spring programming. Because we know students are not always able to attend during the scheduled hour, we will be recording these sessions so all have the opportunity to learn.

We also know that many educational professionals as well as college students preparing to enter the field will be participating in the webinars to watch teachers at work. Remember, you are able to observe, but please, stay in the background just as if you were in a physical classroom. We will not be able to provide you with ACVREP credit for this type of activity.
AER Member Webinars
Are you an AER member? If not, you're missing out! AER has announced three webinars for the month of September, which each offer 1 hour professional development credit. And they're free to members! Check out the announcement or go to the online AER calendar to learn more.

And … AER is partnering with APH to provide an additional 12 hours of professional development beginning in November. These free webinars will only be available to AER members! This will be a great way to rack up some ACVREP points as well as expand your knowledge about APH products and their use in the field. Click here to learn more about becoming an AER Member. 
Lavelle Fund Study - Invitation to Participate
Through a generous grant from the Lavelle Fund for the Blind, Inc., the Institute on Movement Studies for Individuals with Visual Impairment or Deafblindness (IMSVI—through SUNY Brockport) in conjunction with the American Printing House for the Blind are conducting a study to determine two questions:

  1. What professional and parents would like in a training on improving physical activity for children who have visual impairments with additional disabilities, including severe disabilities or deafblindness and
  2. What is the best way to access this information? 

If you serve children who have visual impairments with additional disabilities, including a severe disability or deafblindness, or if you are a parent of a child who fits this description, please consider completing the following questionnaire(s) by clicking on the corresponding link below.
 
In addition, we will host focus group sessions via Zoom. Please, consider joining us for one of them and participating in the conversation. To register for a focus group, please, e-mail Peter Rifenburg with your first and second choice of date and time. Each session is limited to 20 participants.
 
October 14 at 12:00-1:30 PM (ET)
October 14 at 2:00-3:30 PM (ET)
 
October 21 at 12:00-1:30 PM (ET)
October 21 at 2:00-3:30 PM (ET)
 
IMSVI's hope is to apply for another grant in 2021 to develop trainings for teachers, paraeducators, and parents to help them improve physical activity and physical education for children who have visual impairments with additional disabilities, including children with severe disabilities or deafblindness.
 
If you have any questions or ideas, please contact Lauren Lieberman Ph.D. 
Research Opportunity
Calling all professionals in the field of visual impairments!

Keep reading for this message from Dr. Gaylen Kapperman of the Visual Disabilities Program at Northern Illinois University:

By way of introduction, I am Gaylen Kapperman, a professor who works in the Visual Disabilities Program at Northern Illinois University. My colleagues and I want to generate information from individuals who work with persons who are blind or visually impaired—be they children and/or adults. Thus, the purpose of this message is to request that you consider providing us with your name, e-mail address, and cell number. Our intention is to gather the contact information of as many professionals in our field as possible in order to conduct polls which will generate useful information for all of us. It is our intention to use commonly accepted research methods by selecting groups of people to contact randomly. Thus, we would like your permission to allow us to contact you should your name be selected. The polls which we intend to conduct include our asking the selected individuals a few questions. Be assured that none of the questions will involve any political issues. We are interested only in generating information that will benefit all of us professionally. You can be of invaluable assistance in this regard by sending us your name, e-mail address, cell number and the areas of certification which you hold. These might be TVI, COMS, CVRT and/or CATIS. If you are chosen in the random selection, we will contact you to ask a few questions regarding issues in our field. At this writing, we do not have specific questions to describe because we do not want to bias the results of the polls. Should you be contacted, of course, you will be given an opportunity to decline the opportunity to contribute your opinion and/or knowledge regarding issues in our field. We intend to publish the results of the polls. We will not indicate the identification of the individuals who participate in the polls. Also, be assured that we do not intend to ask for a lot of your time. You will be able to answer the questions quickly. Also, be assured that we will not publish your contact information or share it with any other organization or individuals. If you wish to participate in this effort, please send us your name, your e-mail address and your cell number along with a list of the certifications you hold. Send your information to our secretary, Jill Draves at jdraves@niu.edu.

Write in the subject line, participation in polling. Finally, if you want to talk to me about this, you may call me at my home office at 815-895-3078 or send me an e-mail to gkapperman@niu.edu. Thank you very much for your consideration of this.

Sincerely,
Gaylen Kapperman
Professor Emeritus
Visual Disabilities Program
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115
home office tele. 815-895-3078
Florida State University Program
Is There a TVI Service Shortage in your District?
 
Are there teachers in your district who are alternatively certified or teaching out of field and need to learn the specialized skills to work with students who have visual impairments? Do you have general or special educators who want to become TVIs? Is there a promising paraprofessional who would make a fabulous TVI?
 
Florida State University now offers an online Master of Science program to prepare teachers who can provide effective instruction to students who are visually impaired.
 
This online program is specifically tailored for teachers who are working. 
 
The deadline to apply each year is July 1. The graduate application is available online at https://admissions.fsu.edu/gradapp/. For those who cannot wait until next school year to to get started, Literary Braille can be taken online as a non-degree seeking student.
 
Funding from TEACH grants is available to those who agree to teach full time for at least 4 years at a school or educational service agency that serves students from low-income families.
 
Email Dr. Eileen Bischof, bischof@fsu.edu, to learn more!
 
Scholarships available through other agencies:
Thank you for reading!