Louis Braille Touch of Genius Prize for Innovation
Applications for the next award cycle are already available. The deadline is January 9, 2017; applicants will have the opportunity to win up to $20,000.
The program is looking for projects that focus on tactile literacy for the blind and visually impaired and promote braille literacy or access to information. Previous winners include: the TactileTalk Toolkit and Guidebook for iPad submitted by Dr. Betsy Flener and Joni Nygard, which is a program that teaches and reinforces tactile communication and literacy for young students with multiple disabilities; the Tactile Caliper submitted by Pranay Jain and Anshul Singhal, which is a mechanical caliper that displays accurate measurements in braille; and the iBraille Challenge App submitted?by Dr. Cheryl Kamei-Hannan and Nancy Niebrugge, which is a mobile app that supports braille reading and writing for students of all ages. As you can see by the wide range of winners, the selection committee is looking for professional or educational software and applications and gaming software or apps that promote tactile and braille learning, and braille- or tactile-related hardware.
Applications will be accepted from individuals, groups, companies, and anything in between.
For more information, please visit the Touch of Genius Prize website.
National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2016 Announces Theme: #InclusionWorks
To reflect the important role disability plays in workforce diversity, the US Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy recently announced the theme of the 2016 National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM): "#InclusionWorks." This theme seeks to inspire social media awareness of workers with disabilities
Observed in October, NDEAM is a nationwide campaign celebrating the skills and talents workers with disabilities bring to our workplaces. Led nationally by ODEP, NDEAM's true spirit lies in the many grassroots observances held nationwide every year. Each spring, the theme for each year's celebration is announced to help organizations and groups plan their events.
ODEP created this year's theme with input from a wide variety of its partner organizations, including those representing employers, people with disabilities and their families, and federal, state and local agencies. The hope is that the hashtag theme spurs both individuals and groups to post images and stimulate discussion on social media about the many ways "inclusion works."
NDEAM's history dates back to 1945, when Congress declared the first week in October each year as "National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week." In 1962, the word "physically" was dropped to acknowledge individuals with all types of disabilities. In 1988, the federal legislature expanded the week to a month and changed the name to NDEAM. When the department established ODEP in 2001, the agency assumed responsibility for NDEAM.
AFB Awards Scholarships to 11 Outstanding Students with Vision Loss
The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) awarded its 2016 scholarships to 11 outstanding students who are blind or visually impaired and are pursuing their studies at institutions of higher education.?The grants support one of AFB's most important goals: expanding access to education for students with vision loss.
The awardees are as follows:
The Delta Gamma Foundation Florence Margaret Harvey Memorial Scholarship: One scholarship of $1,000 to an undergraduate or graduate student in the field of rehabilitation or education of people who are blind or visually impaired.
Kayla Prato recently completed high school and will be attending Towson University in Maryland this fall, working toward a combined bachelor's/master's degree in occupational therapy.?Kayla would like to work with children who have visual and hearing impairments.
The Rudolph Dillman Memorial Scholarship: Four scholarships of $2,500 each to undergraduates or graduates who are studying full time in the field of rehabilitation or education of people who are blind and/or visually impaired.
Rachel Bodek attends St. Thomas Aquinas College in New York. She will continue working towards her master's degree in teaching and would like to work with children with visual impairments. Rachel has a son who also has a visual impairment and she is a strong advocate for disability awareness.
Barbara Feltz is enrolled at the George Washington University in Washington DC, pursuing her master's degree in rehabilitation counseling, and would like to work with veterans with vision loss. Barbara has a background in exercise physiology, and is active with the American Blind Skiing Foundation.
Dmitry Neronov is pursuing his master's degree in special education at San Francisco State University in California and wants to work with children who are visually impaired. Dmitry currently works as a paraprofessional at a local public school.
Ra'Kira Tidmore is planning to attend the University of Alabama this fall, working toward a bachelor's degree in social work, and would eventually like to pursue a master's degree in vision rehabilitation therapy. Ra'Kira does volunteer work at a local hospital and at a nursing home.
The Paul and Ellen Ruckes Scholarship: Two scholarships of $2,000 each to a full-time undergraduate or graduate student in the field of engineering or in computer, physical, or life sciences.
Lauren Siegel is graduating high school and plans to attend North Carolina State University in the fall, majoring in computer science. She founded her school's robotics club and was a member of her high school's Science Olympiad team. As a young teen, Lauren wrote a computer program that would solve polynomial equations to help students in algebra.
Cassandra Mendez attends the Ohio State University and is pursuing her bachelor's degree in computer science and engineering. Cassandra has had an internship under the Air Force Research Labs, and she hopes to use her degree to change lives through technology and practical design.
The R.L. Gillette Scholarship: Two scholarships of $1,000 each to women who are enrolled in a full-time, four-year undergraduate degree program in literature or music.
Winona Brackett is a student at Stetson University in Florida and is working toward her bachelor's degree in music, majoring in trumpet performance. Winona has received multiple awards for her trumpet playing, including the Quincy Jones Award and the John Philip Sousa Band Award.
Precious Perez is graduating high school and will attend Gordon College in Massachusetts, majoring in music education and vocal performance. Precious was a member of the Boston Children's Chorus and is now a member of the Vocal Apprenticeship Soloists Program with the Handel and Haydn Society.
The Gladys C. Anderson Memorial Scholarship: One scholarship of $1,000 given to a female undergraduate or graduate student studying classical or religious music.
Christina Ebersohl is working toward her bachelor's degree in music at Portland State University in Oregon, majoring in music performance and viola. She has served as an Arabic linguist in the US Army. This summer Christina will attend a music study program in Italy at the Florence University of the Arts.
The Karen D. Carsel Memorial Scholarship: One scholarship of $500 to a full-time graduate student.
Silpa Tadavarthy is attending the Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine in Pennsylvania for her Doctor of Medicine degree and would like to specialize in neurology. Silpa plans to serve the low-income patient population of North Philadelphia during her medical school clerkships.
American Printing House for the Blind and Freedom Scientific Partner to make JAWS and MAGic Student Edition Available to Students
American Printing House for the Blind (APH) and Freedom Scientific have partnered to make a JAWS and MAGic Student Edition available to students who are blind and visually impaired in primary and secondary schools in the U.S. using Federal Quota funds.
APH now offers JAWS and MAGic Student Edition for purchase with Federal Quota funds. These licenses are sold exclusively by APH as annual subscriptions and will allow students who are visually impaired to install full versions of the screen reader software JAWS and/or the screen magnifying software MAGic on any computer they use, including computers at home. This will allow students to have 24-hour, 365-days-a-year access to their computers at both school and home. The annual subscriptions are priced at $300 per student. Read details about the products and how to order at APH Shopping Site.
Eric Damery, VP Software Product Management, Freedom Scientific and Dr. Craig Meador, President, APH, announced the JAWS and MAGic student licensing offer at the Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference, CSUN 2016.
AER International Conference 2016: Connect, Collaborate, Achieve
Information about sessions scheduled for the AER International Conference 2016 is now available online in a searchable format.
This conference is scheduled for July 20–24 in Jacksonville, Florida. Experts in the vision field will present more than 160 hours of content on a wide array of topics that address both the education and rehabilitation needs of attendees.
The AER International Conference 2016 Program main page shows sessions at a glance. For more in-depth information, select the "By Date" option to view titles, speaker bios, and full abstracts. You can even add a session to your desktop calendar.
You can also search sessions alphabetically, by room and by author/presenter. Within each is another search function that allows you to enter a key word, such as aging, braille, mobility, teaching, or sports.
Check it out, share it with colleagues, then register for this conference.
Make hotel reservations for the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront online or by calling 402-592-6464 and indicate you are attending the Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER) Conference.
More information is available online.
Wichita Transit, Envision, Gimbal Partner to Add Beacon Technology to Bus Stops
Envision, the City of Wichita Transit Department, and Gimbal, Inc. announced a partnership that marks the first step toward revolutionizing mass transit within Wichita for individuals who are blind or visually impaired. As part of the joint pilot project, Gimbal beacons will be installed at 1,200 Wichita Transit bus stops and Envision's two Wichita locations on Main and Water Streets. Gimbal, a California-based technology company, will supply the beacons and the tools needed to effectively manage the solution.
Wichita's beacon project will utilize Bluetooth low-energy signals to broadcast navigational information and timely and relevant messages to smart phones near areas where the beacons are installed, allowing users to pinpoint locations with greater accuracy than can be achieved with basic GPS applications. City officials see it as a necessary step forward for the community.
A timeline for installation is being finalized. Plans call for the beacons to go live as soon as they are put in place. At that time, all Wichita bus riders will have the opportunity to download a free smart phone application that will provide details about system usage. After this initial application, the new insights will drive the development of a mobile application specifically tailored for blind or visually impaired riders. Envision, Wichita Transit, and Gimbal will work together to onboard qualified mobile application developers.
Free Digital Accessibility Courses for People with Disabilities
In honor of Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2016, Deque Systems will now be offering their entire curriculum of Deque University online courses in web and digital accessibility to people with disabilities for free.
Employment for people with disabilities is often a difficult endeavor.? They face discrimination during the hiring process and barriers to employment all along the way, including barriers to acquiring the skills necessary for employment.
Meanwhile, the demand for accessibility professionals is greater than it has ever been, and people with disabilities have a lot to offer in this field. They live the experience, so in many ways they're already experts, but there are still technical skills to learn.
Deque's mission is to help achieve digital equality for people with disabilities and hopes that making this new initiative will empower users with disabilities to become the experts that will teach businesses and governments and everyone else who shares the web how to be accessible.
If you have a disability, you qualify for free access to Deque's in-depth web accessibility curriculum for a full year (a value of $315).
The online courses offered include:
- Web Accessibility Fundamentals
- HTML & CSS Accessibility
- ARIA & JavaScript Accessibility
- Mobile Web Accessibility
- IAAP CPACC Certification Preparation Course
- Web Accessibility Testing Techniques
- Testing with Screen Readers
- MS Word Accessibility
- MS PowerPoint Accessibility
- PDF Accessibility
- InDesign Accessibility
- EPUB Accessibility
And more.
The full details of the offer and the registration are available at the Deque University scholarships website.
Release of I-M-ABLE: Individualized Meaning-Centered Approach to Braille Literacy Education
AFB Press is pleased to announce the recent publication of I-M-ABLE: Individualized Meaning-Centered Approach to Braille Literacy Education, by Diane P. Wormsley, Ph.D.
I-M-ABLE: Individualized Meaning-Centered Approach to Braille Literacy Education is a comprehensive practice guide that provides creative and practical strategies for designing and delivering individualized braille literacy instruction to students with visual impairments who have difficulties learning to read braille using traditional approaches. This book is aimed at teachers of students with visual impairments who are teaching braille reading to those students with mild to moderate cognitive disabilities; students in personnel preparation programs studying to become teachers of students with visual impairments; and other special education teachers working with children who are visually impaired. The paperback format is 162 pages long and is available for $49.95; e-books for $34.95; and online subscription for $29.95.
