In This Issue

Theme:

Functional Listening Assessments

Tech Tool of the Month

Diffit

Articles:

Deaf Awareness Month

News from RMTC-DHH:

Working with the Experts - Deaf/Hard of Hearing (WWE-DHH)
TA-Live!
Tea with the Teachers
Coffee with the Contacts

Teacher Toolkit:

Assessment Tools

Did You Know?

New Rule Language Available: Dual Sensory Impairments
Registration is Open Florida Educators of Students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Upcoming Events

9/3/25: Coffee with the Contacts (virtual)
9/10/25: TA-Live! Functional Listening Assessments
9/11/25-9/13/25: WWE-DHH: Foundations for Literacy (Orlando)
9/17/25: Tea with the Teachers
10/15/25: TA-Live! Hearing Assistive Technology
11/7/25-11/8/2025: FEDHH

TA-Live Topic

This month in Tech Notes, we’re excited to kick off the school year with our first TA-Live! virtual learning community webinar, featuring a discussion on functional listening assessments (FLAs). We welcome Dr. Jordan McNair from the University of Miami, along with Lynn Miskiel and Kathleen Vergara from the UM Debbie School, who will share their expertise on using FLAs to support access to instruction for students who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Tech Tool of the Month

Diffit

What is it?

Diffit is a free AI-powered platform that helps teachers create differentiated learning materials in seconds. Whether you're working with a news article, a textbook excerpt, or just a topic idea, Diffit can generate reading passages, summaries, vocabulary lists, worksheets, and assessments tailored to your students’ needs.

Why it’s great for educators:

Diffit saves time and supports effective instruction by allowing teachers to adjust reading levels, translate content, and generate classroom-ready materials instantly. It’s perfect for scaffolding lessons, supporting multilingual learners, and ensuring all students can access grade-level content.

Bonus for students who are deaf or hard of hearing:

Diffit’s visual-friendly formats and compatibility with captioning tools make it easier to support comprehension and engagement for students who rely on visual access to content.

Top Features:

📘 Custom Reading Levels – Adjust any text to match your students’ reading abilities

🌍 Multilingual Support – Translate and adapt content for multilingual learners

📝 Ready-to-Use Materials – Generate worksheets, quizzes, and summaries instantly

📄 PDF/Text Uploads – Modify existing materials for accessibility

🔗 Try it out!

Articles

Deaf Awareness Month

This month is dedicated to recognizing and supporting students who are deaf or hard of hearing. It honors the unique traditions and values of the Deaf community. It also provides an opportunity for educators to reflect on how they meet the communication and learning needs of these students, celebrate their strengths, and ensure they have meaningful opportunities to thrive in all educational environments.

RMTC-DHH offers a variety of resources to help educators and families work effectively with students who are deaf or hard of hearing:

Teacher Toolkit – Explore LiveBinders, Padlets, and assistive technology tools.
Assessment Tools – Use tools like the FLIPP to guide data-based discussions and support individualized planning.
Family Resources – Help families stay informed and involved in their child’s education.
The National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) published the 3rd edition of Optimizing Outcomes for Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: Educational Service Guidelines in 2018. This publication discusses components of quality deaf/hard of hearing programs including essential principles, laws and policies, evaluation, personnel, and so much more. The book also contains the Deaf Hard of Hearing Program and Service Review Checklist (Chapter 9), which outlines critical components of educational programs for students who are deaf/hard of hearing. RMTC-DHH developed a series of webinars that can be reviewed as a professional learning community on the Ten Essential Principles from Optimizing Outcomes.

News from RMTC-DHH

Working with the Experts - Deaf/Hard of Hearing (WWE-DHH) Foundations for Literacy

Working with the experts Foundations for Literacy Registration open September 12 and 13 2025

Join the Resource Materials and Technology Center for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing (RMTC-DHH) for Working with the Experts Deaf/Hard of Hearing (WWE-DHH): Foundations for Literacy, a specialized professional learning opportunity designed for educators working with early intervention and primary-aged children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Foundations for Literacy is a one-of-a-kind, evidence-based literacy intervention designed specifically for young learners who are deaf or hard of hearing. The training focuses on targeted learning objectives such as vocabulary, narrative skills, alphabetic knowledge, phonological awareness, and reading decodable words and short connected text. Each lesson incorporates strategies for differentiating instruction grounded in the science of reading, using explicit and sequential approaches to teaching phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and text comprehension with decodable or phonetic text.

📅 Dates:

Training: September 12–13, 2025

Optional Kit-Building Day: September 11, 2025

📍 Location:

Embassy Suites by Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista Resort

👥 Participation:

Limited to two participants per district

Registration

TA-Live!

Please join RMTC-DHH for TA-Live! The sessions will be recorded for future viewing.

Sessions include:

September 10, 2025: Functional Listening Assessments with University of Miami and UM Debbie School
October 15, 2025: Hearing Assistive Technology
November 19, 2025: Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) with Cindy Camp from DCMP
December 17, 2025:ASL/English Bilingual Strategies with the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind
January 7, 2026: Supporting Multilingual Children who are DHH with Dr. Alfano from the Alfano Center and Daniella Berrios Reyes with Advanced Bionics
February 11, 2026: Involving Parents with Mark Keith from RMTC-DHH
March 11, 2026: Listening and Spoken Language (LSL) Strategies with Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech
April 15, 2026: Working with an Interpreter with the Educational Interpreter Project

Our first discussion is on functional listening assessments (FLAs). We will be joined by Dr. Jordan McNair from the University of Miami (UM) and Lynn Miskiel and Kathleen Vergara from the UM Debbie School. Do you have questions you would like to submit before the discussion session for our guest speaker? Please fill out this form.

When?

The next TA-Live! session will be September 10, 2025 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET (1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. CT).

Coffee with the Contacts

Please join RMTC-DHH for Coffee with the Contacts, a virtual collaborative learning community (VCLC) designed for DHH program leads and contacts or their designees. The sessions will not be recorded and transcripts will not be available after the event.

When?

Date(s): 9/3/25; 12/3/25; 2/4/26; 4/8/26

Time(s): 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. EST (8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. CST)

Tea with the Teachers

Please join RMTC-DHH for the 2025-2026 kickoff session of Tea with the Teachers, a VCLC. Participants are encouraged to add questions/topics for discussion using the Tea with the Teachers Collaborative Notes. The sessions will not be recorded and transcripts will not be available after the event.

When?

Date(s): 9/17/25; 11/12/25; 1/21/26; 4/1/26; 5/6/26

Time(s): 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. EST (8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. CST)

Teacher Toolkit

Assessment Tools

Looking for more information related to this month’s TA-Live! on functional listening assessments? Visit the Assessment Tools page on the RMTC-DHH website to explore a curated list of resources designed to help educators evaluate how students access spoken information in everyday environments.

🔗 Assessment Tools page

Resources include:

A variety of functional listening assessments
Instructional guides and evaluation templates
Recommendations for implementation and interpretation

📦 Did you know?

Several of these assessment tools are also available for checkout through the RMTC-DHH Loan Library, making it easier for educators to access materials without purchasing them.

Loan Library

*Florida stakeholders may borrow materials from RMTC-DHH's Media and Materials Loan Library, for FREE. Each material comes with a return label, making even the shipping at no charge to the borrower.

Did You Know?

New Rule Language Available:

Dual Sensory Impairments

The final language for Rule 6A-6.03022, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.), regarding Exceptional Student Education Eligibility and Assessments for Students Who Have Dual Sensory Impairments, is now available. This amendment enhances Florida’s ability to support students with dual sensory impairments, helping ensure every learner has the opportunity to thrive in our education system.

Registration is now open for the 2025 Florida Educators of Students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing (FEDHH) Conference, themed “From Beepers to Breakthroughs: Evolving Access in Deaf Education.”

📅 Dates: November 7–8, 2025

📍 Location: Hilton University of Florida Conference Center, Gainesville, FL

🏨 Hotel Booking: Reserve by October 6 to receive the special FEDHH rate

This annual conference brings together professionals in deaf education for engaging sessions, networking, and shared learning. A draft agenda is available, with updates to follow.

🔗 Click here to view details and register

Upcoming Events

9/3/25: Coffee with the Contacts (virtual)
9/10/25: TA-Live! Functional Listening Assessments
9/11/25-9/13/25: WWE-DHH: Foundations for Literacy (Orlando)
9/17/25: Tea with the Teachers
10/15/25: TA-Live! Hearing Assistive Technology
11/7/25-11/8/2025: FEDHH

Check out the RMTC-DHH 2025-2026 Calendar for more upcoming events!

Quick Links

RMTC-DHH Team

Carmelina Hollingsworth

RMTC-DHH provides Tech Notes as a free resource to teachers, professionals, and families around the state in order to pass along potentially useful information and expand the knowledge and opportunities available to educators and families of children who are deaf/hard of hearing. This email was funded by the Florida Department of Education Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services through federal assistance under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part B funds and through an agreement with the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind. The information included does not reflect any specific endorsement by any parties involved.