FIMC-VI Reminders
Returning Textbooks to FIMC-VI
The end of the school year seems far away, but it will be here before we know it! Once summer gets here, there is a very real possibility that FIMC-VI will be moving to a new, yet to be determined, location. Therefore, we are asking that teachers wait to return textbooks to FIMC-VI until we provide instructions on when and where to ship books.

Returning Loan Library Materials to FIMC-VI
Contact Colleen Mulcahey for directions on ordering materials for ESY and returning Loan Library materials. 

Ordering Textbooks for 2021-2022 School Year
It's time to start ordering braille and large print books for next year! Getting your orders in as soon as possible helps ensure your students have their materials at the same time as their peers. The Accessible Instructional Materials page of our website has information regarding textbook orders, special order requests, obtaining textbook lists, and more.

For a quick refresher of the textbook ordering process, you may view our Using the Online System to Order Textbooks video, which addresses the specific tools within the Online System for ordering textbooks, renewing/reassigning items, and reporting lost, damaged, or consumed items. You may also view the General Tips for Ordering Textbooks video. This information will be reviewed in the upcoming FIMC-VI Info and Updates Webinar - Part 3 described in the next section of this newsletter.

FIMC-VI Spring Schedule
FIMC-VI offices will be closed the week of March 15 for Spring Break.
Upcoming Webinars, Workshops & Conferences
FIMC-VI Info & Updates Part 3 Webinar
April 4, 2021 | Virtual
This session will address end-of-year procedures, including returning materials to FIMC-VI and ordering textbooks for the next school year. FIMC-VI updates will also be shared, such as the 2021-2022 training calendar.

Visual Aid Volunteers of Florida Conference
March 30, April 6, April 13, 2021 | Virtual
VAVF is offering this free training opportunity to braille transcribers, teachers of students who are blind or have low vision, and others who produce tactile, auditory, and digital instructional materials.

Working with the Experts: Strategies for Students with Cerebral/Cortical Visual Impairment
April 20, 2021 OR April 26 & 27, 2021 | Virtual
Diane Sheline will present an introduction to cortical visual impairment (CVI), assessment strategies, and functional vision evaluation kit materials for this population of students. Participants have the option to attend a one-day session (April 20) OR a two-day session over two evenings (April 26 & 27).
Dates, locations, and registration details for all FIMC-VI trainings are distributed via email and posted on our website.
Save the Date!
Getting In Touch with Literacy (GITWL) and the Florida Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (FAER) are teaming up to provide a joint conference in December 2021! Both events will be held at the TradeWinds Island Grand Resort on sunny St. Pete Beach, Florida.

This will be an amazing opportunity for agency staff, teachers of students with visual impairments, orientation and mobility instructors, university staff and students, families and others to learn and network. The FAER conference will take place November 30-December 1 and GITWL will be December 1-4, 2021.

In addition, this will be the Getting In Touch with Literacy finale. If you have always wanted to attend GITWL, this will be your last chance!

The FAER and GITWL websites will be updated periodically, and stay tuned for more details!
Quality Programs for Students with Visual Impairments (QPVI)
The QPVI process guides teachers and their supervisors through a self-study program that has shown to improve outcomes for students with visual impairments. With the guidance of a trained QPVI facilitator, district personnel collaborates to develop uniform standards of practice that align with the Florida State Standards. Using standards of practice and data-driven decisions supports improved outcomes for each student who is blind, visually impaired, or deaf-blind in the district.

Sixteen districts throughout Florida have participated in QPVI this school year. For more information, please contact Cheri Hart at [email protected].
Thank you to the Florida Regional Braille Challenge Team!
A female Freshman contestant sitting at her desk with brailler, paper, bag, and decorations getting ready for the contest.
Thank you to the many teachers, administrators, support staff, volunteers and families that made participating in the 2021 Florida Regional Braille Challenge possible! Our braille dreams came true thanks to so much incredible teamwork. Eighty students were registered this season with teachers proctoring the contests at school or virtually. A virtual family event included hands-on activities and guest speakers sharing their success stories as braille readers and winners for each of seven competitive categories were announced at our Awards Ceremony. Braille Institute will announce the 50 National Finalists from all over the US and Canada at the end of spring. Stay tuned!
TVIs: Get free braille books!
Read on for information about this annual program from Seedlings:

1. Order your four free 1-volume books online (no multi-volume books please)!

2. Use the code TVIP20 as your 'Purchase Order number' so you won't be asked to pay. 

3. In the Check Out Information, please include your school name & address for our records. Enter your home address in the 'Send to' information so the books don't go to empty school buildings. 

4. Your books may take several weeks to arrive. Our production department is short-staffed due to Covid-19. And your books will be shipped "Free Matter for the Blind," which may take a while. 

5. Please understand that by ordering these free books, you are agreeing to be on our email list for our quarterly newsletters & other updates. 

If you have questions, call Seedlings at 800-777-8552 (M-F, 9-5 EST).
To download our catalog from our website, click here.
Parents and Caregivers: Get free braille books too!
From Seedlings:

If you haven't already registered in 2021...
 
Sign up TODAY to get free braille books!
 
 
Children with vision loss, ages 0-21, who live in the U.S. are eligible for 3 free braille books per year from Seedlings.
 
NOTE: If you registered for Book Angel and still don't have your books after waiting two months or more, email us at [email protected] or call us at 800-777-8552.
Nemeth Trainings from Project INSPIRE
Through the generosity of Paths to Literacy, Project INSPIRE has released two free self-paced courses related to Nemeth Code. Project INSPIRE: Increasing the STEM Potential of Individuals Who Read Braille, is a 5-year grant funded by the US Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (H235E190003). 

The following free courses are available on the Paths to Literacy website:
New Freedom Scientific Program
From Freedom Scientific:

Freedom Scientific announces a new program featuring K-12 students in the US who are blind and visually impaired who use Freedom Scientific technology to achieve their academic goals.
 
"We intend to inspire students by celebrating their academic successes," says Rachel Buchanan, Vispero's Product Manager for User Education and Outreach. "We want to encourage and help our young learners to be fully engaged as they move through their educational career, and the Student of the Month Program is the perfect opportunity to recognize their achievements."
 
Nominees must be students who are blind or low vision and who use Freedom Scientific technology in pursuit of their individual educational goals. A student can either self-nominate or be nominated by someone else. Nominees under the age of eighteen require parental consent.
 
Freedom Scientific will award a $500 Amazon gift card to an eligible student each month and feature their story on our blog and social media.

We kick off with a special nominee and this program's inspiration: our 2020 User Education intern, Taylor. Learn more by watching Taylor's video.
 
If you are or know a student who should be considered, we encourage you to visit the Student of the Month Program page for full program details.
InSights Art Contest 2021
The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) announces APH InSights Art 2021, an art competition and exhibition for visually impaired and blind artists of all ages. The exhibition will be shown in Louisville, Kentucky. Works in the exhibition will be selected from entries submitted for jurying. Award winners will be selected from the juried exhibition.

Any person who meets the following definition of blindness may enter artwork: corrected visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye (determined by a Snellen Chart), or a visual field limited to 20 degrees or less. This includes those who function at the definition of blindness (FDB), listed above, due to brain injury or dysfunction.

Entries must reach APH by March 26, 2021. View the application for details.
TVI Survey Opportunity
From Dr. Pamela Shanahan Bazis:

We are writing to ask for your help in conducting a research project at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln. The project is about how writing is used and taught to students with visual impairments. We have put together a survey that should take 15-20 minutes to complete. The survey asks questions about the kinds of writing activities you use with your students generally. We know that many of you have large caseloads that include students with a wide span of developmental levels and our questions try to be sensitive to that. Everyone completing the survey will receive a $5 Amazon e-gift card for their time.   
  
If you agree to help, click on the following link to participate in our survey:  
  
If you have any questions, you can contact Mackenzie Savaiano at [email protected] or Michael Hebert at [email protected]. 
 
Pamela Shanahan Bazis, Ph.D.
Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders
318P Barkley Memorial Center
University of Nebraska—Lincoln
Lincoln, NE 68583-0738
972-814-7987
Finding Wheels Now Available!
The much anticipated update to "Finding Wheels: Strategies to Build Independent Travel Skills for Those with Visual Impairments" by Drs. Anne L. Corn, and L. Penny Rosenblum, Ph.D. is now available!

From the TSBVI website:
Finding Wheels focuses on travelers with visual impairments who are teens and adults in their early 20s. As they seek greater independence, they have still much to figure out about how they will travel from place to place. In Finding Wheels the authors put into very practical terms the many strategies that those who will not drive and those who are potential low vision drivers can employ. Whether it is riding public transportation, using rideshare services, negotiating a ride with others in a mutually beneficial way, or driving with a bioptic telescopic system as a low vision driver, Finding Wheels informs and empowers travelers to take total charge of their need for transportation. Families and professionals alike will discover that Finding Wheels informs them and provides an up-to-date definitive tool for supporting travelers who are finding their wheels.

View the flyer to learn more.
FSDB ECC Interactive Learning Series/Spring
The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (FSDB) is excited to continue their Virtual Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) Interactive Learning Series for children ages 6-13 who are deaf/ hard of hearing (D/HH) or blind/visually impaired (B/VI).

Space is limited & registration is required, so please don’t wait to sign up! Registration deadline for events on Fri. March 26 & 27 is March 13, and for Sat. April 9 & 10 is March 26 to allow time for shipping materials.

Click the link to learn more about the session and how to register. 
From Southeastern Guide Dogs...
Dogs and kids go together! Whether it’s Guide Dog Camp, Guide Dogs for teens, or Kids Companion Dogs, find out more about the many programs that Southeastern Guide Dogs currently offers children and youth by visiting www.guidedogs.org/children.
APH Resources
If you're not subscribed to APH's newsletter, you should be! APH regularly updates their schedule of Access Academy webinars (education and training for professionals and others) as well as the APH Virtual ExCEL Academy for students.

If you miss a webinar, they are typically recorded and available on APH's YouTube channel afterwards.

APH also recently launched the APH Hive, an online platform with free courses for vision professionals, family members, consumers, and others.

Southeast Deafblind Webinar Series
The Southeast State Deafblind Projects have announced their webinar series for March-June 2021. All sessions are free and open to families and professionals. ASL interpreting, captioning, and Spanish interpreting are provided. Trainings are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:30-3:00 Central/2:30-4:00 Eastern.

Check out the Southeast DeafBlind Webinar Series flyer for session descriptions and Zoom registration links. Topics include positive behavior supports, experience books, orientation and mobility for students who are deafblind, communication skills and more. Please share with others!
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 recommended that you sign up for CEUs if you want to use these webinars to get inservice points.
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, [email protected]. 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.
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, [email protected], to learn more!
 
Scholarships available through other agencies:
Thank you for reading!